Indie virtual YouTuber (VTuber) group Balangay Live, which aims to promote Filipino folklore and culture, will be debuting their first batch of Vtubers on November 19-20.
The characters include Bibi Bakunawa, the moon-eating, fortune-telling dragon from the depths of Biringan, will be debuting on November 19; Mino Minokawa, the sun-eating, fortune-stealing bird of hellfire and chaos, will be debuting on November 19; and Saysay, the fortunate goddess of fire and magic, whose “borrowed” powers transcend time and space, will be debuting on November 20.
Vtubers have changed the landscape of online entertainment dramatically. Streamers, often posting video game content, using anime-styled characters as avatars, these artists have grown in popularity since the late 2010s. There are no limits on what a vtuber’s character might be, though most would follow Japanese pop culture tropes and naming conventions.
This is where Balangay Live stands out. A proudly Filipino group made of independent vtubers, all members based their persona on creatures from local myths and legends. Aside from enjoying their favorite video games on stream, they all endeavor to discuss, educate and appreciate Filipino culture in their own ways.
Currently a group of 12 talents, Balangay Live is holding a weekend-long debut to showcase the skills of its Generation 0 subgroup. Generation 0: Liwayway is composed of three vtubers— the debonair fortune teller Bibi Bakunawa, the devilish trickster Mino Minokawa, and the spontaneous goddess Saysay.
Bibi and Mino will debut on November 19 (Saturday), at 7 pm and 9 pm respectively, on their own channels. Saysay will debut on November 20 (Sunday), at 7 pm, which will be followed by a collab stream of the three as a unit.