VTubing is deeply connected to Japanese culture, being its origin country, home to the leading VTubing corporations, and with most VTubers being avid fans of anime and manga. This, combined with the freedom to craft your online streaming persona on any person or creature led to a VTubing space that has a lot of Japanese folklore creatures like mystical foxes, shapeshifting raccoon dogs, and hulking oni.
But VTubing has also become a platform for Filipino creatives to explore their cultural roots. Some artists have chosen local themes – food is a popular one – as a basis for their online personas. Others, like the members of the Philippine independent VTuber group Balangay Live, have drawn inspiration from our local folklore and diverse ecosystem.
Check out the upcoming sub-unit – Takipsilim – on why they chose their VTuber persona and what Philippine folklore means to them.
“My grandfather used to gather up his children, and now his grandchildren, to tell scary folklore stories in the dark. He’s the type who swears that the diwata, aswang and duwende are real, and I’m inclined to believe him,” said Magindara, whose Vtuber persona is that of a man-eating mermaid of the same name. “I want to continue our family’s tradition of telling stories, and I happen to be fascinated with merfolk, so here I am.” Magindara once had a panel at a local pop culture convention on how creatures of Philippine folklore are portrayed in modern media.
Moshi, a Bisaya and a cat lover resonated with the Visayan leopard cat, also known as the maral, which is currently an endangered species. “I’ve always wanted a catgirl persona for my Vtuber, and by being a maral Vtuber, I’ll be able to show my interests and raise awareness of our country’s diverse wildlife.” While it wasn’t in the initial plan, Moshi has somehow managed to incorporate the Indigenous belief of “mariit” from the people of Panay, which involves preserving the natural environment to maintain the delicate balance between the human and spirit worlds.
“I like legendary creatures and the stories behind them,” said Myon, who chose the mysterious dog-goat creature called the sigbin as his persona after a dive into local folklore. “I’ve always been a fan of franchises that catalog monsters like SCP, God Eater and Monster Hunter. Philippine folklore has a great collection of monsters too!” He’s also a big fan of dogs and is especially fascinated with the Filipino witch dog.
All three will debut on October 19, 2024 (Saturday), on their respective Twitch channels. Magindara will debut at 7:00 pm, followed by Moshi at 8:00 pm and Myon at 9:00 pm.
Mayamaya Magindara
Magindara, the eldest of seven mermaid sisters, was content with not being the prettiest or the smartest—that acclaim went to their youngest. She was fine as long as she got to eat a sailor or two. However, when the youngest was dragged to the surface world by a human “hero,” Magindara made a deal with the sea witch to get her back. Oryol, who lived in the hottest of waters, appointed Magindara as her liaison in the human world in exchange. The witch also reminded the little mermaid that merfolk were always creatures of chaos, the first one being the daughter of the Chaos God himself.
Magindara is tasked with getting humans to give their souls to the Chaos God. Selling rare books, information, and magical trinkets is great for making enticing but ultimately dangerous deals. She likes playing cozy farming sims and 2D horror games. She sometimes does book reading and doll-making streams. Her sea slug companions are named Boboboboy and Mephistopheles.
Magindara debuts at 7:00 pm on her Twitch channel.
- Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/magindaravt
- X: https://x.com/MagindaraVT
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@magindaravt
- Tiktok: https://www.instagram.com/haliya_vt/
- Gank: https://ganknow.com/magindaravt
- Vgen: https://vgen.co/MagindaraVT/
Moshi Maral Vienna
Moshi was once a simple Visayan leopard kitten, with a heart full of questions and a nose for adventure. After a fateful encounter with Patag’aes, the God of Souls, she decided that it was time to leave her old life behind and start a new one– serving coffee and pastries in her cafe! There she serves many lost souls, both living and dead, and creatures that modern man has mostly forgotten about. Speaking of things that should be forgotten, Moshi had a jejemon phase.
Moshi enjoys playing RPGs and otome games. She does just chatting streams about life and pop culture, and mukbangs of local snacks. She used to read and write fanfiction and is very knowledgeable about social media trends.
Moshi debuts at 8:00 pm on her Twitch channel.
- Twitch: https://twitch.tv/moshivienna
- X: https://x.com/moshivienna
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/moshivienna
- Tiktok: https://tiktokcom/@moshivienna
Simeon “Myon” Fabio Facundo
Myon was once the loyal sigbin familiar to a babaylan, but humans don’t live as long as monsters do. For centuries he was trapped in a clay pot of darkness until he was freed by a fellow creature who bore a striking resemblance to his old mistress. This new mistress’ powers and his affable nature made it easy for him to reintegrate into human society, which he’s rediscovering through toys and pop culture. He loves plastic models so much that he decided to open a shop that specializes in them. In exchange for his relative freedom, his mistress has him do some of the darkest deeds– paperwork (and occasionally murder).
Myon loves cars and jet fighters, although he is forbidden to chase after them. He enjoys hero-shooters like Valorant and Overwatch, and simulators like War Thunder. A talented artist who knows how to make colors pop like the stars, he drew his own VTuber model.
Myon debuts at 9:00 pm on his Twitch channel.
- Twitch: https://twitch.tv/myon_san
- X: https://x.com/myonsanvtuber
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/myonvtuber
As a group of independent vtubers with a shared love for Filipino culture, the members of Balangay Live control their content and image. They debuted their Gen 0: Liwayway in 2022, composed of Bibi Bakunawa and Mino Minokawa. This was followed by Gen 1: Marahuyo in early 2024, composed of Haliya, Alab, and Majii. Please look forward to their future activities, as well as additional debuts.
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