Gawr Gura is a virtual YouTuber, or VTuber, that will be a part of a promotion during Friday’s game at Dodger StadiumHololive Production
Virtual YouTuber (VTuber) Gawr Gura on Friday will be “shouting out the traditional ‘It’s Time for Dodger Baseball!’ exclamation” at Dodger Stadium as the team aims to further connect with new Japanese fans, according to Bill Shaikin of the L.A. TIMES. Gura is the “most popular VTuber in the world” (VTubers usually use anime in videos), and her YouTube channel has 4.5 million subscribers. The trading card sets that will be distributed Friday “already are on sale for as much as $125 on eBay.” The promotional T-shirt with Gura in a Dodgers uniform -- “with her shark tail sticking out -- are on sale there for as much as $195.” For Japanese company Cover -- and its signature Hololive brand -- the Dodgers’ promotion is “one step in a campaign to broaden the appeal of VTubers beyond the fervent core of Japanese young men.” Of the viewers of Gura’s YouTube Channel, “half are 24 or younger, and nine in 10 are male.” Max Kim, Cover's U.S. sales and licensing dir, said that the company “would have pursued the collaboration with the Dodgers even if the team had not signed” P/DH Shohei Ohtani. Shaikin: “Is it possible the Dodgers could win new fans in Japan by tapping into an activity which is wildly popular among Japanese teens who just might be looking for a team to follow, even if they might not know it yet?” Cover CEO Motoaki Tanigo said, “The Dodgers and Hololive have distinct fan bases. It’s the diversity of our fan bases that allows us to blend and connect our followers into a unified community, which is the essence of this collaboration” (
L.A. TIMES, 7/3).
