By Nana Nanato and Siokazunoko. Released in Japan as “VTuber Nanda ga Haishin Kiri Wasuretara Densetsu ni Natteta” by Fujimi Fantasia Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Alice Prowse.

I’m not even sure how to review this at all. I’ve talked before about how I’m not a gamer, but that doesn’t stop me from reviewing endless amount of isekai titles that rely on level ups and power balances. Even if the lingo sometimes confuses me, there’s at least a plot structure to be had. That is not the case with VTuber Legend, which mostly exists to be read as an amusing chat stream turned into a light novel. Even the author was surprised when Fujimi Shobo approached them and asked if they could make it a real book. So I should approach it from a plot or characterization perspective… but there really isn’t one. As for the VTuber stuff… I’ve never watched a single one. I know there are comments that scroll either on the side of the video or literally in the video by watchers. And there are cute personas. That’s about it. Did I like this? Mmmmrrrmmm… not really.

Yuki Tanaka is a 20-year-old NEET, whose sole job turned out to be exploitative and evil. As a result, she’s holed up in her apartment for the most part. That said, she recently got a job with Live-On, a management company that has VTubers. She creates a persona, Awayuki Kokorone, who is refined and placid, with lots of ‘snow’ imagery. Unfortunately… she’s not really that popular. Then one day her computer freezes at one point after she ends the stream, and she does not realize that the stream is still going. So she cracks open a can of Strong Zero and starts blabbing to herself, getting drunker and drunker… and still never realizes her stream is still running. Now people are sure interested in her! In fact, management hints that they hired her expecting her to sort of be a disaster. Should she take this and run with it?

I should note the above paragraph is the first 15 pages of a total of 212. Most of what follows is the crafting of a character based around getting wasted, hitting on any other VTuber that moves, and generally being a chaotic force. With the audience and her fellow VTubers, for the most part, approving. There’s little to no conflict here, and the only time people seriously think about what’s going on is when they tell Yuki not to get drunk EVERY day. The rest of the cast are her fellow VTubers, all of whom seem to be eccentric, and all of whom also seem to be gay. (Yuki identifies herself as a “real-life lesbian”, and honestly that may be another reason why she was hired, but this is mostly used as an excuse for over the top sexual comments rather than anything serious.) I assume as a VTuber novel it works quite well. But the formatting and the lack of any real story make it fall flat for me.

If you enjoy VTubers and are looking for a funny and crass comedy, this may be for you. I ended up drowning in a sea of chat and Strong Zero.