Manar Elbaz
DUBAI: Egyptian content creator MeowlyVA started her career in content creation by posting Arabic voiceovers of anime scenes before discovering virtual streaming (VTubing), a type of streaming that emerged in Japan in the 2010s that skyrocketed her career. Now, she hopes to bring a positive image to virtual streaming in the Arab world and remove the stigma around it.
“It’s still controversial in the Arab community, and I believe that Arabs are not fully ready to accept VTubing yet,” the content creator, who currently has around half a million subscribers on YouTube, told Arab News Japan.
A VTuber, or a virtual streamer, is a livestreamer who uses an avatar generated by computer graphics. The avatar is usually animated through a webcam that captures the streamer’s motions.
The first VTuber that experienced mainstream success was a Japanese streamer named Kizuna AI In 2016. Since then, a new generation of VTubers started to appear not only in Japan but also worldwide.
VTubers are usually associated with Japanese culture, specifically otaku culture, as their avatars are created in the style of anime or video game characters.
Sometimes, in order to reach a wider audience, amateur VTubers cosplay as existing anime or video game characters prior to creating their personal avatar and online persona, which was how MeowlyVA started her career.
“It all started with Furina from Genshin Impact,” she said. “She was the first VTuber model I ever had, and during my streams, I used to mimic her way of speaking a bit. My fans told me that I sound a lot like her, and I wanted to make them happy.”
“But the longer I kept going with streams, the more comfortable I felt showing the real me without mimicking. And when I got my custom VTuber, I gave her my true personality fully,” she shared, adding that her current avatar is inspired by the 1991 Japanese manga series Sailor Moon.
Prior to streaming, MeowlyVA was a regular university student who graduated from architectural engineering in 2022. Like many kids in the Arab world, she grew up watching dubbed anime, which had a great impact on her upbringing and her life.
The content creator began posting short videos of her doing Arabic voiceovers of content that had not been dubbed before, like anime and video game scenes as well as cat videos, which led her to cultivate a small community online.
“I (started posting dubbed content online) as a way of showing Arabs that, yes, it could be fun to play this game in Arabic or imagine watching this anime in Arabic,” MeowlyVA told Arab News Japan.
She wanted to find a way to expand her audience and communicate closely with her existing one without showing her face; that’s when she came across VTubing and started streaming around eight months ago.
“Back in the day, streaming felt like it wasn’t for everyone, including making online content, because you only had one choice: show your face on camera,” she said.
“Introverts never got to experience the joy of making content or streaming because of it, and I was one of them. That’s why the idea of creating content never crossed my mind.”
The content creator told Arab News Japan that she believes anime played a part in her career of becoming a streamer and a voice actress.
“I’ve been watching anime since a young age, and I’m pretty sure that played a role in shaping how I saw things and grew up,” said MeowlyVA. “You learn a lot from anime. The amount of fantasy in it helped me become creative with content creation. (The motivation episodes) teach you so much,”
During her streams, MeowlyVA shares advice on how to become successful in the voice acting industry, sharing tips for beginners and advanced artists on how to improve their skills. Her educational sessions are usually posted on her YouTube channel after her stream.
Using engaging editing style, subtitles, and scenes from anime, the creator goes in-depth on dubbing techniques, hoping that she will inspire Arabs to start dubbing or simply make them fall back in love with Arabic-dubbed anime.
“Arabs have stopped taking dubbing seriously. The skills, training, and overall level are falling behind. The dubbing field in the Arab world is slowly dying. We used to watch anime or animation only in Arabic back in the day, but now we only watch it in Japanese,” she told Arab News Japan.
“This is where I want to make a difference in voice acting. I want to change that. I want to improve the quality of voice acting in our community as Arab. Or at least, become as good as Japanese voice actors—but in Arabic. I want to bring characters to life in Arabic. I want people to enjoy listening to Arabic dubbing like we used to,” she added.
Additionally, she also plays a variety of video games on stream, such as Yandere Simulator or Dress to Impress, with clips from the latter going viral on Instagram and YouTube.
MeowlyVA impressively accumulated a big following on YouTube and Instagram in less than a year of starting her VTubing career. However, even though she is currently experiencing a lot of success, she believes that VTubing is not fully accepted in the Middle East yet.
“I get the casual hate comments now and then for being a female Arab VTuber. I’m judged for using my character and how she is designed—whether it’s her outfit or cat ears,” she told Arab News Japan.
“People assume that I must be doing something wrong and that’s why I chose to hide who I am. I’m not sure why Arabs are against VTubing. But I’ll keep doing what I’m doing, and hopefully, one day they’ll change their minds,” she added.
She noted that although she is still receiving hate, many people are slowly accepting VTubers in the Arab world and are becoming more open-minded towards them.
“After my channel grew on YouTube, I saw a whole new generation of Arab VTubers starting to emerge,” she said. ” A lot of people keep asking me how I made my character and how they can start VTubing. I believe that although some people might dislike it, some still love the idea of having an anime character representing them as a person.
Through her unknown identity and Sailor Moon-inspirated avatar, MeowlyVA wants to encourage Arab kids to be truly themselves without thinking too hard about how others perceive them.
“I want my audience to not be afraid to show their true selves, even if what they need is an anime character representing them,” MeowlyVA shared.
“Don’t overthink or plan too much about how you should act or behave as a VTuber. Just be yourself and give it a try,” she said, advising Arabs who want to give VTuber a shot.
MeowlyVA’s streams can be found on Twitch and her videos can be found on Instagram and YouTube.