VTuber
Is It Natural to Mourn the 'Death' of a Character?
When a VTuber character reaches retirement or the end of their story, is it natural to feel they have 'died' and mourn them? This question re-examines whether it is right to feel genuine emotion toward a fictional character and what the true nature of that emotion is. Why do we feel 'death' toward VTubers in the same way we mourn characters from anime or games? Is it mere projection, or does it arise from the unique reality that virtual beings possess? We explore where the sense that mourning is 'natural' comes from and what meaning that sense holds, from the perspectives of psychology, philosophy, and cultural studies.
Humans are inherently beings who direct emotion toward stories and characters, so mourning the 'death' of a VTuber is an extremely natural reaction. Not feeling emotion would be the unnatural thing.
Feeling 'death' and mourning a fictional character is a misdirection of emotion and carries the risk of devaluing real human relationships. It views the excessive deepening of parasocial relationships as problematic.
The emotion of mourning is not a binary of fiction vs. reality, but a natural reaction to the 'relationship' itself that was born through the character. Emotion when a relationship ends proves the depth of that relationship.
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When a character in anime or a game died, what emotions did you feel?
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Have you ever felt a VTuber's retirement as 'death'? What was the hardest part at that time?
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Have you ever thought 'It's just fiction, so feeling genuinely sad is strange'?
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What do you think is the difference between directing emotion toward a character and toward a real human?
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Do you think mourning ends your relationship with that character, or does it continue?
This topic is not about 'correcting' emotions. It is a space to simply affirm and share with the other person the self that feels genuine emotion toward fiction. Mourning may not be weakness, but an expression of humanity.
- Character Death
- When a fictional character permanently leaves the work. In VTubers, this corresponds to retirement or end of activities, giving fans a strong sense of loss.
- Empathy / Identification
- Projecting one's own feelings onto another's (whether real or fictional) emotions or situation. With VTubers, strong identification easily occurs through avatar and voice.
- Parasocial Relationship
- A one-sided relationship in which the viewer feels intimacy toward the streamer, but the streamer does not recognize individual viewers. Typical among VTuber fans.
- Fictional Reality
- The power of fictional beings and stories to influence real emotions and actions. VTubers appear technologically 'alive', giving them particularly strong reality.
Please tell me about the time you felt the saddest about a 'character's death'.
When you felt 'death' toward that character, what did you feel had ended inside you?
While the other person is talking about mourning a character's death, quietly think to yourself: 'That emotion is very human.'
- Does mourning a character's 'death' heal something within yourself?
- Are people who feel 'death' toward VTubers also sensitive to real death?
- Is the act of mourning a ritual to 'keep the character alive'?
- If an AI character 'died', would humans mourn in the same way?
- Does sharing 'death' among fans amplify or soften the sadness?