The Top 5 Vtubers Who Are Dominating in 2023

Vtubers are taking over the live-streaming platforms little by little, but who are the ones at the top? Keep on reading to find out about the top 5 vtubers of 2023 as picked by us

There has been a significant rise in the popularity of vtubers or virtual streamers recently. A vtuber is a virtual streamer who uses an animated avatar design as an online persona on stream. Such streamers are generally seen streaming their gameplays, doing karaoke, doing Q&A sessions with viewers or doing interactive streams to engage with their viewers. They have gained a lot of attention in recent years because of their unique approach to streaming. Different from typical streamers, most of the vtubers are associated with other agencies to get support and management for their various online activities. Hence, we present to you a list of the top 5 vtubers who are most popular in 2023 as picked by us.

Gawr Gura 

Credit: Gawr Gura

• Streaming Platform: Youtube
• Followers: 4.34M 

The top vtuber of all time including 2023 is none other than, Gawr Gura. She is affiliated with HoloLive English exclusively as a vtuber and is a member of HoloMyth or HoloLive English – Myth. She was initially introduced as a vtuber first on September 9, 2020, on Twitter. Her first debut or first live stream on Youtube was streamed on September 13, 2020. Gawr Gura’s debut live stream peaked at almost 45K viewers. The VOD (Video On Demand) of Gawr’s debut live stream gained more than 800K views in a total of three days. 

Within October 22nd of the same year, Gawr Gura reached 1 million followers. This made her the fastest-growing vtuber of all time. She gained 2.97M followers by July 2021, quickly surpassing fellow vtuber, Kizuna AI, to become the most subscribed virtual Youtuber of all time. After that, she reached 3 million on Youtube and became the first vtuber ever to reach 3M subscribers. She then broke her record and became the first vtuber to reach 4M subscribers, which she reached in 2022. Her primary content focuses on general entertainment, karaoke, Let’s Play’s and interactive chats with her viewers. 

ironmouse

Credit: ironmouse

• Streaming Platform: Twitch
• Followers: 1.6M

The second top vtuber on our list is ironmouse, another female streamer. Ironmouse is an American and Puerto-Rican vtuber on Twitch's platform. She has been an active vtuber since 2017 on Twitch’s platform. She is the founder of the vtuber group named VShojo which was formed in 2020. Ironmouse is the most followed English-speaking vtuber on Twitch's platform, with over 1 million followers. She had the most active Twitch paid subscriptions out of all the channels in February 2022 for a brief period. 

She began her streaming career in 2017 because of being bored and lonely. She was hesitant to show her face online, so she decided to use a digital avatar to conceal herself. She got inspiration from Kizuna Ai, the first Youtuber to identify as a vtuber or virtual YouTuber. Ironmouse has Common Variable Immunodeficiency (CVID), a condition or disorder that affects the immune system and causes the bearer to produce a low protein that helps to fight against infections. Because of this, her speaking voice is quite high-pitched which attracts a lot of viewers to her growing fanbase and is one of the main factors of her popularity. She is also well known for her charming and sarcastic personality. 

Shxtou

Credit: Shxtou

• Streaming Platform: Youtube
• Followers: 1.37M

Introducing the first top male vtuber on this list, Shxtou, pronounced as “Shoto” is an American and Vietnamese Twitch streamer, ASMR voice actor and Youtuber. He is affiliated as a vtuber with the talent agency named United Talent Agency (UTA). He is also an active member of the group of vtubers named Hanamori. He debuted in 2021 on 2 October with a song cover on his Twitch channel. His debut was first announced on his Twitter account in early September, which got a good response from the public. His debut was well anticipated because of his persona being portrayed as a rogue or outcast being born in a village named Bakumori in a demonic capital. 

Shoto is best known for his amazing voice, which he utilizes to its full potential. He has published multiple song covers on his Youtube channel, for which he is praised as a talented singer. His voice is incredibly soothing and soft, which is what makes him a really popular ASMR voice artist. He uses this talent for voice acting in his lets plays by acting out the voices of the game’s characters, or for letting out hilarious high-pitched streams. He is beloved for his puppy-like soft personality on stream, which has earned him the nicknames “dog boy” and “good boy”. His cutesy, soft personality and amazing skills have made him the popular and accomplished vtuber that he is at present.

Vox Akuma

Credit: Vox Akuma

• Streaming Platform: Youtube
• Followers: 1.36M

Moving on, the next top vtuber on this list is Vox Akuma, a British or English vtuber active on Youtube. He is affiliated with the vtuber agency named NIJISANJI EN as a part of the fourth wave named “Luxiem”. His debut along with 4 other vtubers was announced by NIJISANJI on 17 December 2021 along with teasers of designs and voices. Vox made his official debut on 20 December 2021 alongside his fellow vtubers. He was the last one to debut out of the group but he got a huge response from the viewers, who immediately loved him. He quickly became popular and was the first NIJISANJI EN Liver or vtuber to reach 1 million subscribers on Youtube.

Vox is best known for his suave and mysterious personality which he portrays on stream. What mainly attracts viewers to his streams is his deep voice laden with an English accent which he uses to do ASMR. He also has a silly or goofy personality, which he uses to do impressions of other characters and people alongside flirting with his fellow vtubers including Shoto, Mysta and Ike. His most notable impression that his fans love is of Gordon Ramsay, the well-known celebrity chef. He is often a wise and knowledgeable person who shares his accumulated experience over the years with his viewers. He is also prone to fanboying over franchises such as Five Nights at Freddy’s (FNAF) and Monkeys. 

Shylily

Credit: KJOEE88/Twitter

• Streaming Platform: Twitch
• Followers: 1.2M 

Shylily, better known by her name, “Lily” is a female vtuber and streamer based in the Netherlands. She is an independent streamer and is not affiliated with any agencies or organizations. She made her own model when she first started streaming as a vtuber, but now she has a new 2D model. Her primary streaming platform is Twitch but she also posts Video On-Demand (VODs) on her Youtube channel. She is part of a trio group named The Bikini Bottoms along with fellow vtubers Bao and Akuma Nihmune, where they sometimes do collaborative streams together. She began her streaming career as a vtuber on Twitch on 29 August 2015 before re-debuting on 10 January 2022 with her new 2D model. 

Lily’s model is a hybrid of an orca and a cat, which makes her a very cheerful and wholesome vtuber. She is best known for her wholesome personality but she is also well known for her lewd innuendos that she makes on stream. She is often seen as being unexpectedly wholesome during her streams while interacting with her viewers, which they love a lot. This is owed to her catlike personality alongside the cheerful orca personality, making her an entertaining vtuber. She is specifically beloved for interacting with lewd sentences or jokes in a unique and very cute way. Her unique charm and lewd personality have made her one of the top vtubers on Twitch at present. 

Conclusion

At present, vtubers are continuing to make their mark on all streaming platforms including Twitch, Youtube, NicoNico and Bilibili in 2023. As they are making their ascent, more and more amazing vtubers are debuting on different platforms. Yet, the ones on top are still going full throttle and remain unwavering. Each and every vtuber out there has their own talents, but the top vtubers are beloved because they know how to entertain their audience. They are rapidly gaining more viewers and expanding their fanbase because of their own unique skills and personalities which they portray on stream. The vtuber community is ever-growing and it is huge already, so it can be hard to keep up with at all times. 

Hence, we created this list of the top 5 vtubers who are dominating all the different streaming platforms in 2023. If you are looking to watch some talented and entertaining vtubers who are on top of the vtuber community, don’t look any further! Take a look at our list of the top 5 vtubers and start watching them today, because we can guarantee that you will not be disappointed.