Virtual idol Sakura Fujima stands out from the pack with a voice that sounds familiar…
Virtual YouTubers in Japan are a 10 yen a dozen these days, which, at current exchange rates, means the market is even more saturated than if they were a dime a dozen. Inexpensive yet capable software packages mean that just about anyone can slip on the digital mask of a cute anime girl and start their own channel.
But virtual YouTuber Sakura Fujima, who just posted her first video on Thursday, has a special skill up her sleeve: she speaks fluent English!
▼ Even Sakura’s Japanese-language videos start with a cheerful, in-English, “Hey, guys!”
To clarify, Sakura isn’t an English-only YouTuber who’s based overseas and likes anime aesthetics. She’s a Japanese-speaking YouTuber who’s also capable of jabbering away in perky, funny, and perfectly pronounced English. For example, here’s her Japanese-language self-introduction video, which includes a portion where she shows off her bilingual skills.
Sakura, who says she can speak English because she used to live overseas, is actually just one member of virtual idol singer unit 22/7, but she’s the sole representative with her own YouTube channel. “I can speak English, so I feel like they want me to be a YouTuber because I can speak English,” she says, sounding every bit as Southern Californian as any of my friends I grew up with in L.A. “Like that’s the only reason they want me to be a YouTuber.”
She also tells us that her favorite food is her grandma’s tataki ume kyuri, a traditional Japanese dish of cucumbers seasoned with plum sauce and sesame. But while that might be true for Sakura, we know that her voice actress really has a soft spot for tacos, because providing her voice is Los Angeles-born burgeoning idol Sally Amaki.
▼ Who can now add “Onegai shimasu with a cherry on top,” to “They don’t have no Chipotle!” to the list of things she’s the first idol to ever say.
The effervescent Amaki is extra-chatty in Sakura’s English self-introduction video, which is about 30 seconds longer than the Japanese version and contains what feels like quite a bit more ad-libbing. The English humor also has just a touch more bite to it, such as when she talks about her goal of getting 10,000 YouTube subscribers, saying “They told me I can do anything if I get 10,000 subscribers. Except for like, you know, illegal stuff, so that kind of canceled out 90 percent of the things I was planning, but…we’ll get over it,” a line that’s nowhere to be found in the Japanese video.
Still, as both an idol and a pro, Amaki never lets her performance sound too salty, and while she gently pokes fun at 22/7’s promoters blatantly using her English-speaking ability to try to attract overseas attention, she also comes across as genuinely happy for the opportunity to expand the group’s fanbase beyond Japan’s borders. “Don’t get me wrong though. I really, really, really am excited,” she assures us, and even after just one day, she’s already half-way to her 10,000-subscriber goal.
So best of luck Sakura/Sally. Oh, and if your Mexican food cravings are rising, we’ve at least found a place in Tokyo where it’s Taco Tuesday five times a week.
Source: YouTube/藤間桜【22/7公式】 via Otakomu
Top image: YouTube/藤間桜【22/7公式】
Follow Casey on Twitter, where hearing that California accent now has him feeling pretty homesick.