This interview was conducted over email on February 21, 2023, by Mebh Og MacTire.
Kirsche is a VTuber with over 2,000 subscribers.
Q1: How and when did you discover YouTube?
oh man, probably when YouTube was first set up honestly. Prior to youtube I had just used sites like AlbinoBlackSheep or RatherGood to check out flash video content I enjoyed. As for How...it's been so long I don't really remember, I must have either gone there myself or been linked something by someone.
Q2: When and why did you decide to become a VTuber yourself?
The thought came to me in 2018. I had to quit my job due to issues with anxiety and how it was majorly affecting me physically. In order to work through some of my struggles related to interacting with other people, I thought streaming would be an insulated bubble with which I could do that. I started as a PNG/GIFtuber, and eventually got my 3D body! It feels very natural, with my movements and eccentricity to pilot a character instead of using a webcam. I've also had a lot of noticable improvement with my anxiety (thanks community.)
Q3: Can you remember what exactly the first YouTube video you ever watched was?
oh there's no way dude hah When I was in high school I watched Smosh, Ray William Johnson, KassemG, and there was this one channel I can't remember the name of now but they sat on the beach facing the Venice boardwalk in Cali and would do voices for all the pedestrians.
Q4: What are your favourite anime?
Steins;Gate // Higurashi no Naku Koro ni // Gurren Lagann
Q5: What were your YouTube influences, (if you had any)? Who do you aspire to be?
I don't really aspire to become anyone else, but there's no way to be truly 100% unique at this point. I feel like you can see how I've been influenced by old comedy youtubers like Filthy Frank, KassemG, Mister Metokur, Sam Hyde. Channeling a type of unfettered no-holds-barred style of comedy that is rare to see in the current year.
Special influence by Pipkin Pippa, since back when I started I thought the appeal of streamers was that we didn't show any "negative" emotion on stream and made everything 100% fun all the time. As a new streamer, seeing her openness with her audience made me feel like I could be 100% authentic as well and it wouldn't turn people off, even more made me want to be there as a voice for others dealing with rough mental states--if I can get through it so can you.
Q6: Do you have a favorite or least favorite stream (and why)?
I haven't really done any big event style streams, and I typically don't do something if I don't think I'd enjoy it so I don't have a least favorite stream. Most Iconic to date, would probably be my contribution to Pipkin Pippa's FLaVR arc, when I wrote a joke twitlonger and we had a completely impromptu call on her stream that included gaslighting her boss about the "drama."
Q7: Prior to becoming a YouTuber, what did you think you'd be doing in the future?
I had no idea, honestly. My dream was to get married young, have kids, build a family kinda thing but that uhh hasn't worked out haha. I was working in insurance and it was well paying, I was good at it, and my company wanted to pay for licensing and training in other things but it wasn't what I *wanted* to be doing.
Q8: Who are some of your favorite YouTubers/VTubers currently?
Asmongold, Pipkin Pippa, It'sAGundam, Cold Ones, JonTron, PayMoneyWubby, Jim is gonna beat his cancer and come back and you can't stop me from believing that.
Q9: How do you prepare yourself for a stream?
Alright here's the game plan; I wake up at 2:30pm, squint at my phone in despair and snooze alarm for 5min, then when the alarm goes off again I shut if off and lay there some more. Eventually I roll out of bed and stretch, pee, brush my teeth. It's now anywhere between 2:40 and 2:50. I pour a cup of coffee, sometimes with protein powder, grab 4 water bottles, sit down at my PC. It's now 2:55~2:58. I frantically think of a title, because I make a unique title for every stream, and hit GO LIVE just in time for 3pm.
Q10: How long do you think you will be making videos?
As long as I can be, honestly. I have a lot of fun streaming, and it's definitely surreal sometimes.
Q11: Do you have, (or have ever had), a lifetime YouTube goal?
Not anything specific like "1mil subs" or something like that. I would really enjoy working closesly with more game publishers or companies like I did with GameForge.
Q12: What is your message to your fans?
I've been told before to "think of what your brand is" and it's hard for me to describe cuz it's just...me. Everyone who has been with me for this ride, thank you. I would never have had the opportunities with companies that I have without you guys, I might be the streamer, but those who support me with viewership, chatting, or monetarily are what make this community. Without you, I am nothing, and I hope if I ever get an ego you guys check me. Love you honorable chatters.
Q13: Which YouTubers/VTubers would you love to collaborate with?
As a fellow MMO origins content creator, I would love to be able to collab with Asmongold. I was really excited thinking about the possibility when playing Lost Ark, but never got the chutzpuh to ask.
I mainly base collabs off of who I think I would get along with and if our content has something in common, so this is a much harder question to answer in regards to Vtubers. Amano Pikamee is very cute and I think we could pull off an entertaining event. If I ever learned Japanese, I'd love to do something with Sakura Miko. Us both communicating in noises and words we have scuffed in both languages would be fun.
Q14: What's the meaning behind your name?
oh man haha. It's actually become somewhat of a meme in my community to ask this question. I'd have people come into stream and be like "did you know your name is a german word?" "did you know your name means cherry in german?" Kind of annoying but also hilarious at the same time. Kirsche is the german word for cherry, and I always thought it was very cute. Xenosaga is my favorite game series and I loved the Kirschwassers in that game, but that's kinda long so I decided Kirsche! Verstahl is my last name and that *is* entirely made up. Closed my eyes, thought one letter at a time what would sound good coupled with my first name.
Q15: How has your life changed since you started streaming?
My anxiety has definitely improved, not vomiting everytime I have to talk to people is pretty great. I've met so many great people, that I believe will stay friends for years to come and I am glad to have in my life. I've learned to stand up for myself more as well, when you're indie and don't have a manager to run around and wrangle people for you, you gotta learn to do that yourself. I've definitely let some people take advantage of my kindness and patience when I started and lost opportunities for it, but I've learned from this and will continue to do my best in putting me and my community first.
Q16: What is the easiest/hardest part of being a VTuber?
I would say Vtubing isn't all that much different from regular streaming, at least the way I make content. So this is probably applicable to all streamers who are trying to do this full time; hardest part is not blaming yourself entirely when content doesn't pan out the way you envisioned it. It's very easy to see a drop in engagement and think "I'm boring, I've dropped the ball, people hate this" Numbers ebb and flow, just gotta focus on the people who are there for you and have fun.
Easiest is just going live, most of the time I don't even have a set plan, just hit the button and let the brainworms take over. Stop tweeting, start making content; as they say.
Q17: What languages do you speak, and which ones would you like to learn?
Pretty much just English. I know basic conversational German, and used to know it very well as I took it for 7 years in school, however I didn't use it very much and my memory is atrocious. It would be a lot of fun to learn Japanese, and maybe spanish cuz I have a lot of little pendejos in my audience.
Q18: Do your real life friends and family know about your YouTube channel?
Yes, well my Twitch channel. My grandparents tune in every time I go live. My father knows about my channel as well.
Q19: Apart from YouTube, do you have any other projects you'd like to pursue?
I loved Adult Swim's late night segment DigiKiss, so having some sort of long running dating game show with twitch streamers/youtubers would be fun as heck. I know a lot of creators set up temporary one-off game shows like this, but having a continuous syndication going on would be neato kinda like what Ludwig did with Mogul Money jeopardy styled show.
Q20: If you could change one thing about YouTube, what would you change?
I think this goes for twitch as well, and that would be the censorship and demonetization. These platforms are horrendously out of touch with their userbase, and seem to treat most creators as worthless. I understand the need for advertising money, but you can't convince me that there are channels or videos on channels that need to be entirely demonetized because they say "fuck" one too many times or have more adult-targetted content. I grew up seeing commercials on TV for Extenze and 1-800-CALL-18NOW(not a real number) for phone sex hotlines, you're tellin me youtube can't/won't get ad deals from adult oriented places to put on these creator's videos instead?
The censorship is a huge problem since it typically seems to be driven by ideological lines instead of anything rooted in reality. Context matters in everything we say, but these giants never take that into consideraion.
Q21: Do you have a favorite video on YouTube?
I do! I even made a parody of it for my stream. It has some no-no words in it though; Drinkin outta cups is the name from Liam Lynch & Dan Deacon
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zdU635esPpQ
Q22: What do you think draws people to your content?
If I had to guess, probably because I try my best to be honest and authentic in everything I do. If I don't know something, I don't know it and am not afraid to admit that. Also the unhinged humor that happens as I stream of consciousness-speak I've been told makes people feel nostalgic, comfortable, and generally is just a good time to listen to.
Q23: Have you ever done an interview like this before?
I have not! You've popped my cherry har har