Basement-Dwelling Loser VTuber

Hello, I’m MarFcle, the author of ‘The Basement Dweller VTuber’.

The main story has concluded along with an additional Chapter 52. In terms of word count, that’s ‘269,778 characters’…

If we roughly calculate it as a book, the two-volume ‘Basement Dweller VTuber’ is finally completed as of June 30, 2023, at dawn.

Does it feel like I’m reiterating a review of something you’ve already read?

Well, I basically copied the content from the review I wrote when the main story ended.

Putting that aside, let’s jump straight into the review!

The Basement Dweller VTuber.

With side stories and extra episodes included, the series has truly come to a close.

Realizing that this is really the end feels a bit awkward, even writing this review feels strange.

I wonder if there will come a day when I become accustomed to such feelings.

I started writing ‘Basement Dweller VTuber’ with the strong desire to achieve one of three goals.

First, 10,000 bookmarks.

Second, 1 million views.

Third, being picked by the PD.

I failed to achieve the first and third, but I confidently achieved the second.

As of this moment I’m writing, it stands at a whopping 1,859,561 views… nearly double that!

Thank you so much.

Even while writing, I had many worries.

I set a simple plot but constantly wondered, just how much detail should I include?

From what I remember, ‘Basement Dweller VTuber’ was the second original VTuber work to start serialization on Novelpia.

Combining it with TS, it was the very first.

That made my worries multiply.

A VTuber story, which is quite unfamiliar to many.

However, VTuber content falls under the ‘Internet broadcasting’ genre.

So how should I handle the crucial aspect of ‘broadcast chat’ in a web novel of this genre?

That’s the question I grappled with the most.

Should I write it with the original flavor?

Or should I appropriately adapt the words and write in a style that resonates with the readers’ familiarity with internet broadcasting chat?

After much deliberation, I found the answer to be option 2.

Instead of www or 草, it became ㅋㅋ and ㅋㅋㅋㅋ.

And for 오시 and 사이오시, it became my favorites….

In the beginning, I even introduced various Korean memes in the chat.

Thanks to that, there were parts of the descriptions that felt lacking, but for readers encountering the subculture of VTubers for the first time, it seemed like it made it more accessible.

In fact, when I previously conducted a poll for feedback, most readers preferred the current chat atmosphere.

However, after the Novelpia contest began and the number of VTuber works increased, I gradually started to shift the chatroom’s tone.

I believe comparing the early chats to the last episode’s chats will make it evident.

Of course, I did exclude the more risqué, genuinely harrowing original flavor from the chats.

Honestly, reflecting on it now, it’s somewhat disappointing.

Wasn’t there a way to maintain the original’s gritty essence while keeping it appropriate?

Considering that I’m still pondering this occasionally…

Well, such worries are now meaningless.

So, let’s move on to the discussion about the side stories and extra episodes.

There are several narratives, and since the after-stories and extras are quite lengthy, I will address them separately.

1. After Story 1 ~ 2

It was a drinking broadcast with Izumi and the second-year students.

I truly enjoyed writing it.

Honestly, I wanted to write a drinking broadcast with Izumi all along.

However, since the main story featured a student and a minor, I couldn’t include it… so it ended up as an after-story.

I think it was an episode where we could relish Izumi’s adorable moments.

2. If Extra – YURI Visual Novel

To be honest, I wanted to write this from the very beginning and had a blast doing it initially.

But as I continued, it became a concern for me.

Even knowing it was an If Extra, it felt like the images of the characters I had in my mind were becoming distorted as I wrote.

Especially when writing the 19+ episode in Suzuha’s route; it was quite pronounced.

After that, when working on other episodes, writing them as I originally envisioned Suzuha felt strange.

So, for Nanase and Hikari’s routes, I tried to write them without any adult themes, and I ended up dropping the episodes I originally planned for the other characters.

I’m truly sorry for any readers who were expecting those.

Well, at least I was satisfied that I wrote the stories of those three characters I decided were essential…

To share a brief overview for the readers who waited until the end:

Ayaka’s Route – It featured a relationship so sticky that it was almost identical to Suzuha’s route.

To be honest, the main reason I decided not to write it was due to Ayaka’s route.

In my mind, Ayaka has always been a lively and cheerful older sister, and I felt like it would drastically shift her image…

Yukari’s Route – Her usual rival-like demeanor hardly changes.

But the difference lies in the fact that, like Nanase, Yukari adopts a more supportive role.

Nekoto’s Route – Izumi always describes Nekoto as a captivating woman.

Although Izumi thinks she’s enthralled, chaos ensues as it turns out Nekoto is actually more infatuated with Izumi.

Honestly, it was a yandere route.

You probably expected the two other second-year students I planned to write about.

Aoba’s Route – A sticky, eerie tale centered around a mentally unstable Aoba and communication-impaired Izumi, becoming codependent.

One thing I wanted to include was an episode where Izumi tends to Aoba’s self-harm injuries…

I’ll leave it at that.

Tsukasa’s Route – Izumi is on the run while Tsukasa stalks her.

It’s a much lighter content than Hikari’s route.

Hidden Route – Izumi gets entangled with all the members.

I’ll stop there.

3. After Story 3 ~ 5

Episodes involving the fourth and fifth-year students.

An episode featuring Hibana Iro, the representative of Phantasm and Aster.

Actually, Iro was supposed to appear earlier in the main story.

I contemplated adding a personalized VTuber episode, and she was the character I planned to introduce then.

However, I feared that if I added too many characters, I wouldn’t be able to handle it later, so I decisively omitted her and had her appear as a junior in the after-story.

Of course, even if she appeared in the main story, the character setup would remain the same.

4. If Extra – What If the Miracle Had Been Seized?

What if Mina’s dad, Yuzuru, was healed from his illness?

That’s the kind of scenario I thought about for this extra.

As I mentioned in the main story review, Mina’s tough times remain unchanged.

Even her admiration for Nanase and watching VTubers won’t change.

But she would quickly realize something important.

Her dad is a total softy for his daughter and would end up being a genuine unicorn…

Oh, just to mention, Izumi’s middle school teacher suffered quite a bit when Yuzuru was alive.

I didn’t intentionally write it in the main story, but he ultimately couldn’t continue being a teacher.

5. If Extra – Is It Not Okay to Seek to Return in Time?

This is Hayan’s story.

Honestly, I believe Hayan is quite a pitiful character.

Unable to forget Seo Jun until her death… what a tragic character.

What’s worse is that Mina remains oblivious to this until the very end of the main story.

I wanted to write a story where such a character receives at least a small redemption.

6. After Story 6 ~ 8

It’s Izumi’s 6-year anniversary episode.

If such an event occurred in reality, how would one determine the VTuber’s anniversary?

This after-story began with that question.

Personally, I think it should be the 3rd anniversary… but the second-year students are a singular entity.

Izumi couldn’t claim it as her own anniversary alone!

7. After Story 9

The third-year students. An episode depicting the fall of Atlas.

It was just an after-story written without much thought.

I simply wanted to see Izumi showering Chiyaho with affection.

8. If Extra – Is It Wrong to Seek Connections in the Summer?

I believe this is the most enjoyable extra I’ve written.

If I could, I would love to develop this into a new serial.

Well, I’ve considered it, and I think I could write it in a spin-off format.

Though it wouldn’t be a TS genre…

Of course, that doesn’t mean I actually plan to write it…

9. After Story 10 ~ 13

An episode where Izumi appears on terrestrial broadcast.

How could a nerd like Izumi manage to appear on terrestrial TV!

Even if she did, she’d definitely stutter and fumble her words!

I’m sure everyone thinks that way.

But a grown-up Izumi…!

Well, it was as expected.

10. After Story 14 ~ 16

Our Mina’s siscon sister, Anesumi. This story centers on Yuki.

I always felt that Yuki was a character that had a lot of potential that I hadn’t explored during the serialization.

I wanted to write more about her, truly.

The significant age gap of a siscon sister…

Isn’t it noble just to mention it?

So, I made sure to highlight her siscon nature in the after-story.

11. If Extra – A Loner Trying to Become an Idol

What if Nanase tried to become an idol?

And what if Izumi also sought to become one after seeing her?

That was the premise for this extra.

In reality, it ended up showcasing how hard it was for Izumi in her third year of middle school…

What a pity.

As I’m sure you all know, the title is a mashup of ‘Bocchi the Rock’ and ‘My Favorite Idol’.

12. If Extra – Have We Suddenly Swapped Bodies?!

This extra involves Izumi and Nanase swapping bodies.

I suddenly felt compelled to write it.

I thought it would be a good episode to demonstrate how much Izumi cares for Nanase.

13. After Story 17 ~ 19

Because no slice of Japanese life is complete without a festival!

That was my sole motivation for writing this episode.

We skipped past it in the main story due to the cultural festival!

And personally speaking, I really like Nekoto among the second-year students.

Of course, every character is precious, but I feel she slightly reflects my preferences…

Yes. So, I wanted to give Nekoto a major role in one of the after-stories.

14. Extra – HatsuYuki Yoru

Not an If but a historical story.

It’s Nanase’s tale.

From the start, I knew I had to write this story.

Nanase is one of the most influential characters in Izumi’s life in the main narrative.

Without her, Izumi would never have dreamt.

And to reveal a little setting that was secretly deleted…

Originally, Hikari was supposed to be the character who was envious of Izumi.

She was intended to be a character obsessed with Nanase… but it felt like I needed a mom-like character, leading her to become the Hikari we know.

I much prefer how she is now.

Hikari is indeed a mom-like + comedic character.

15. After Story 20 ~ 24

A Christmas episode.

Being filmed on a camcorder, getting angry and drinking… only to have the chicken cold by the end.

It’s a story anyone who likes VTubers will recognize instantly.

And as you all likely know… the undisputed strongest member of Star’s Flow is Nanase.

That should be a given.

However, in actuality, the strongest is Suzuha.

Yes.

Nanase can never surpass Suzuha, who once actively worked as an idol…

16. Extra – Komachi Yuyika

The second historical story.

This is about Suzuha.

If anyone were to name the most crucial characters in ‘Basement Dweller’ aside from Izumi, it would undoubtedly be Nanase and Suzuha.

As I mentioned earlier, without Nanase, Izumi wouldn’t have dreamt.

But even with Nanase’s presence, without Suzuha, she wouldn’t have had the chance to grow.

Likewise, the reverse stands true.

Both Nanase and Suzuha played significant roles in the main story, and thus I’d always intended to write an extra featuring both of them.

It depicts Suzuha’s journey to becoming an idol and how she gained her seemingly supernatural abilities in the main story…

To add, Suzuha profiled four individuals comparably to Izumi.

Her childhood friend Ren (Ayaka) and three characters from the extra: Momoko, Lisa, and Chloe.

But those four don’t think as simply as Izumi does, so they don’t read minds on the level of supernatural abilities, and even if they did, they won’t mention it.

17. Extra – First Meeting + Epilogue

This is the final extra.

Just… how did the second-year students meet for the first time.

I wrote such a story and thought I’d move into a planned epilogue.

Though it was only two chapters, it was exceptionally difficult to write.

It truly is the end, isn’t it?

…Yes. With this, ‘Basement Dweller VTuber’ is genuinely finished.

Really… thanks to all the readers, I could make it this far.

Thank you so much.

Finally, I’ll talk about my next project.

Originally, I intended to start serialization on July 7, but it seems it will be after July 10.

Since the after-stories and extras extended longer than I expected, I hardly have any downtime and want to take a little more break…

Moreover, I learned that there is an event taking place on Novelpia that I plan to align with my start.

I’ll likely initiate serialization on July 10 at the earliest, and by July 17 at the latest.

The genre will be TS/Fantasy/Dungeon, as I mentioned in the review of the main story.

No, it won’t be another Amta, perhaps it might be Yuri or No Romance…

That’s a secret.

The title will be “Is It Not Okay to Adventure in a Dungeon After Reverting to the Past?”

Shortened to “Reversion Dungeon…” perhaps?

As evident from the title, it is an homage to “Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?”

And one more thing, I’ve already withdrawn the Reversion Dungeon project.

However, according to Novelpia’s inquiry, I learned that to participate in the event, I need to create a new work after July 10.

Thus, I will delete the current Reversion Dungeon project and recreate it on July 10.

Yes.

Now, we are truly at the end.

As for my closing words… well.

I’ll go with what I previously said.

The masterpiece of the century…

A pinnacle TS VTuber work that is a once-in-a-thousand-year creation.

A brilliant work crafted by a genius.

Thank you very much for reading till the end of 『The Basement Dweller VTuber』.

I genuinely had a wonderful time writing this.

Thanks to all the readers.

Thank you.

With respect,
MarFcle

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