Like many things in life, the first impression of a convention is important.  A convention's first-year oftentimes determines its ultimate fate.  The inaugural OffKai Expo took place between April 29 and May 1 of this year at the DoubleTree Hotel right next to San Jose's Mineta International Airport. As mentioned previously, "OffKai" translates to "offline meetup," and usually in the context of people who have met online through video games, chat rooms, or otherwise, and are now meeting for the first time in person.  That's exactly the name of the game here, and the focus is on Virtual YouTubers.

Virtual YouTubers, henceforth VTubers, are the streamers that have exploded in popularity over the last few years. They especially enjoyed growth during the pandemic. While streaming itself is not new, VTubers in particular put an anime spin on it.

I write this from the viewpoint of someone who, honestly, didn't know the vast majority of the guests at this con. I'm on the casual side of things. This con helped expose me to just how wide the VTubing world is.  I knew Kizuna Ai, Kaguya Luna, Kiryu Coco, Hololive, and Nijisanji at large.  I didn't know just how many VTubers there are out there.  

But you know what? I had a lot of fun. More fun that you would think given that there are only a couple of guests physically here. More than you'd think for basically sitting in a big room watching someone stream from across the world. More fun than you'd think for listening to someone sing karaoke. Given that VTubers are all about their persona and their anime appearance, it kind of comes with the territory. Their real identities are more or less kept under lock and key so an in-person appearance at a convention would be a little difficult.

One thing that I heard from multiple VTubers throughout the weekend is that they were really happy to participate. While I did boil things down to its simplistic components, this con gave you one thing that is hard to get elsewhere. Live, tangible, interaction. "You're not just words on a screen." "I can actually hear you guys, and know you exist." No, we're not robots. We are real people and we're out there rooting for you.

Something also unique about this con is the fact that there was a virtual meet and greet with many of the VTubers. You actually got a couple of minutes of one-on-one time to talk, chat, say hello, express your love, give gifts, or whatever you wanted to do. Again, not just words on a screen. Vtubers very rarely will ever get a chance to put a name to a face given the nature of their work and I'm sure they appreciated it just as much as fans did.

The best event of the convention, without a doubt, was on the first night. Nijisanji's LazuLight trio, composed of Elira Pendora, Pomu Rainpuff, and Finana Ryugu, had a karaoke concert and the room was absolutely packed. There were penlights, wotagei (dancing, often times with glow sticks), and a whole lot of fun. For those who have listened to Pomu for a while, they know that she's a big idol fan. She's even introduced "the mix," which is something that got started with idol group AKB48. You've probably heard it before: the rhythmic chanting of "Tiger, fire, cyber, fiber, diver, viber, jaa jaa!" Once upon a time, she said she wanted to do it live with everyone. I'm sure she's done it as her real self but never as Pomu, at least not until tonight. In the performance for LazuLight's Diamond City Lights there's a bridge in the composition which is a perfect place for it, and Pomu capitalized on the opportunity.  A lot of attendees in the crowd were ready and jumped in too.

Yes, that's a Gura standee

It was a great way to end the convention's first night.

The climax of the show with UOs and streamers

The convention had many other karaoke performances from various VTubers like Tomoko, Bao, and the girls of Phase Connect. There were some more fun panels too like Family Feud with PRISM Project and VTubing in Japan, where Phase Connect's Japanese talent took us on a quick jaunt around Japan to some of the staples like Akihabara and anime collaboration cafes. It's been a few years since I've been able to visit and fingers crossed I'll be able to go soon. I definitely want to check out more cafes after experiencing the Macross Delta one while I was there.

Bao, the singing whale

Uruka from Phase Connect

There's never a bad time for a little self-promotion

Late-night entertainment was handled by VShoujo's Ironmouse and Projekt Melody. Given that I was staying offsite, I was unable to attend either of those panels, but I'm sure they were quite interesting and had a few things that you wouldn't have been able to hear of elsewhere.  VShoujo has many of the English world's biggest names in it, and both Ironmouse and Projekt Melody are amongst the top in the business.  

One of the more interesting things that I found was the behind-the-scene panels for people curious about the more technical aspects of being a VTuber. Doing it on a budget, what goes into making a Live2D, ways to get better at singing, and all number of other things. Lots of things that you don't really think about unless you're trying to actually do it. I'll be honest, I didn't realize that for a high-end Live2D, you need about a million different layers to handle all the various parts that are animated.  VTuber Artist/Designer Wanilmith went over some of the detailed bits that go into a Live2D of that caliber. Now, a high-end Live2D isn't a necessity as Live2D artist and rigger 2wintails demonstrated. She started from scratch and made a rigged, mocap-ready Live2D in less than 60 minutes, and still had time to spare to answer questions.  Mind you, it wasn't a very detailed one due to time constraints, but it was still cute.  

That's a lot of layers, and that's just ONE EYE

So, bottom line. Is OffKai Expo worth going to? Yes. Great location right next to the San Jose International Airport and Casino M8trix (which had some good food to eat, which is sometimes a challenge at a con). Very chill atmosphere (they even had a designated party floor for hosting open room parties!). If you're interested in Virtual YouTubers at all and are looking to discover a few new names to follow and watch, it is definitely worth it. Being graced with the girls of Nijisanji's LazuLight, having the ability to do virtual meet and greets with VTubers, and just being able to connect with fellow fans and to buy merch. It's been a long time coming and I'm glad conventions are back. This is the first anime convention I've been to since Bushiroad's CharaExpo in December of 2019. I was able to reconnect with some friends I haven't physically seen in three years, and that alone is priceless.

OffKai Expo had a huge guest list for being a first-year convention.  The format definitely helped; no need to fly or house guests when they can stream to the convention from the comfort of their own homes.  In the back of my mind, there was the possibility of technical problems.  Outside of a few quirks here and there like unavoidable internet lag, especially with some VTubers broadcasting from halfway across the world from places France and Australia, the convention ran very smoothly.  Lines and capacity were not a problem at all, which is a breath of fresh air compared to some of the other conventions I go to like Anime Expo and San Diego Comic Con.

Assuming OffKai is held next year at the same time, it'll be a nice segue to start the California con season.  It definitely has a niche that is currently underutilized.  Larger conventions may have a group here or there, but no other convention in America is focused solely on VTubers.  This also gives the smaller studios and independent streamers a place to show off and not get lost in the noise, and maybe pick up a fan or two along the way.

Until next time, OffKai Expo.