Twitchs first moth spirit influencer
Lightning doesn’t strike the same place twice, but success does.
VTube superstarYuzu Sanagiis a testament to that.
Twitch, where she recently celebrated her 100,000-follower milestone.
Yuzu Sanagi
“I don’t care about the numbers too much nowadays.
When I first started, I did, but now?
Quick Facts
A Budding Star
Growing up wasn’t easy for the would-be streamer.
Yuzu Sanagi
Through her relatively traditional Asian household, Sanagi said, invisibility became the backdrop of her life.
She felt like a familial outcast: always playing second fiddle to her siblings.
“We would share everything.
“I was super depressed, and gaming quickly became an obsession of mine.
I would always fantasize about being in a game.”
She was introduced to the medium through her brother, who would often seek Sanagi as a gaming companion.
The virtual worlds of video games became a refuge for Sanagi.
This would be the catalyst to her eventual ascent into the gaming-centered content, but not before a detour.
Sanagi had an unconventional journey to content creation.
Prior to becoming a full-time content creator, the streamer worked as a registered nurse.
She resigned to find her true purpose.
It was very stressful, and I realized it wasn’t really my dream.
It was my father’s,” she said.
TikTok was her first instance of viral success.
Her now-deleted TikTok page was nerdom comedy often centered around JRPGs.
Her videos amassed as many as 1 million views before she left the platform to reinvent herself.
“There was a lot of emphasis on looks.
When I was recording myself, there was tons of pressure to look a certain way.
But the theatricalalmost performance artistryof Vtubing captivated her.
The possibilities were endless.
With curated identities cultivated by artists and technological advancements in facial tracking software, you could become anyoneor anything.
The Unhinged Goblin
VTube starsPekoraandGawr Gurawere two of Sanagi’s early inspirations.
Seeing the success of the faceless users behind these digitized virtual avatars ignited a spark in the fledgling TikToker.
When I was recording myself, there was tons of pressure to look a certain way.
Vtubing seems to be a revolution for women on the platform.
It offers privacy and a reprieve from the inevitability of objectification that female content creators often endure.
“I didn’t want people to know me for what I look like,” Sanagi said.
Quickly, she created her virtual alter ego, Yuzu Sanagi.
Now, she says, there’s little artifice.
What you see on screen is exactly who she is.
Sanagi enjoys her newfound success.
The ability to exist online on her own terms was revolutionary.
“I never thought gaming could be something to make a living off of.
