The rise and rise of VTubers

Gawr Gura, the most popular VTuber in the world, has officially announced her retirement. A computer-generated cross between a girl and a shark, Gawr Gura acted as a "torchbearer" of this fast growing internet subculture, said The Gamer.

VTubers, or virtual YouTubers, use face or body tracking to "puppeteer a digital avatar" anime character and sing, stream and speak often to massive audience bases, said Polygon.

The online community, which started in Japan, has "exploded in popularity"...