I humbly admit, previous to this I had no idea what was popular on Japanese YouTube. I was obviously much more familiar with Western YouTube and its niches, popular content, and presentation/editing styles, even if only subconsciously. To counteract my bias, I did what any genius researcher would do, I googled the top Japanese YouTube channels and took copious amounts of notes.

A few YouTube videos were more helpful than others in informing how I plan to make content. The following are, in no particular order, a few select videos from the top ten Japanese YouTubers listed on Freshtrack’s website.

https://blog.btrax.com/top-10-japanese-youtube-channels-2017/

President Hajime– 4.89 million subscribers

Style: Comedy, skits, challenges, interviews

YouTuber あるあるソング (Things that resonate with YouTubers Song/ YouTubers be like Song)

This video was particularly helpful because it satirized common stereotypes and relatable experiences that Japanese YouTubers have. It gave me a great jumping point for what makes for popular content, what other channels to check out, and what the stereotypes are for presenting styles. According to this video popular topics include:

1.Food– Specifically, eating however many kilos of something random.

2. Morning Routines-watching how YouTubers get ready for the day

3. Bedroom Tours-showing off your bedroom aesthetic

3. Collaborations– interviews and projects with other fellow YouTubers

4. Pranks-Scaring the living daylights out of your fellow YouTubers.

5.ASMR

It also describes common types of YouTubers:

Family YouTubers

Pet YouTubers:

Romantic Couple YouTubers:

Get’n Excited All On Your Own YouTubers:

From some some basic perusing on my own, I would also add that beauty YouTubers are pretty popular.

2. Hey! It’s Mosogourmet!! – 1.93 million subscribers

Style: Cooking, recipes

The videos on this channel surprised me because there were literally no background music or talking whatsoever. This particular video consists of a series of close up shots of coating balloons in chocolate, the faceless baker’s hands and some shuffling in the background being the only evidence of human involvement. It seems that providing clearly demonstrated baking How To’s that are easy to follow is the main goal of this channel. I don’t really know how I would incorporate this into my own video making… maybe as a video editing and filming refrence?

3. Fischer’s – 2.13 million subscribers

Style: Comedy

This channel is by far the closest in style to the chaotic vibe of the Japanese TV program イッテQ  (Itte Q). Here, comedy and shaky cam abound as four or 5 funny guys do random challenges, talk about random stuff, and check out random places. This particular video features their adventures in a top rated zoo in Japan. Their reactions to anything and everything are blown up and commented upon in giant kanji letters stamped onto the screen for comedic effect.

They are a particularly useful reference for conveying humour through reactions, expressions, and video editing. I’ll go through this video with a fine tooth comb later to see if I can find some language I can use. Though, I’ll have to be careful because there’s a big difference between male and female expression of Japanese and I may inadvertently end up sounding like a cocky Japanese guy if I borrow from their speech patterns too much. While that’s not exactly a problem, If I started using it I’d have to be consistent and dedicated to that style of speech from there on out, and I don’t know if I’m ready for that kind of a commitment. Though the ギャプ(gap) between the rough language and my outward appearance could prove good comedic fodder, especially if I intentionally use it for a punch line on occasion.

HikakinGames – 2.66 million subscribers

Style: Gaming

As anywhere in the world, gaming is incredibly popular. I’m not sure how useful this particular source will be since I do not really play video games. Some of his reactions and commentary might be helpful… maybe?

Yuka Kinoshita – 2.79 million subscribers

Style: Oogui (big eater), food, product reviews

While my stomach churns just watching someone as small as she is politely shovel THAT MUCH FOOD down, I have a feeling that the way she talks about the food will be a really useful reference for me, especially if I do any kind of trip to a restaurant or cafe for my YouTube channel. She’s very specific and uses a lot of descriptive vocabulary. Using her style of reactions will likely make my Japanese sound a bit more rich and natural than my usual stiff, translated from English reactions.

HikakinTV – 3.85 million subscribers

Style: Comedy, vlogs, challenges

Yup, it’s the same guy as last time. He has a few channels, but this one seems to full of daily life vlogs, interviews, and ridiculous facial expressions. He and President Hajime seem to do a lot of collaborations. I’ll have to dig through his channel and see which of his videos garnered the most views and what they were about specifically. This one seems to be about an accident he recently experienced and the dental procedure he consequently underwent. The video editing, reactions, and his personal opinions help make an otherwise random video, with very little actually happening, fairly watchable.  I have a billion stories about growing up on Vancouver Island, living in Chile and Japan, and traveling in general. If I can level up my editing game and sort out my joking style in Japanese, a coffee and story telling video series might not be a bad idea.

Final Observations

After excavating these channels, among a few others, I noticed a couple of patterns. First of all, a good number of top YouTubers had a made some form of a music video. I don’t think I’d do that unless I somehow managed to earn a stupid amount of money from my channel, but it’s still interesting. They’re professional looking, and feature good quality music, but you can tell that becoming singer isn’t really their ultimate goal. The lyrics and video tend to be really bizarre or riff on relatable experiences.

Second, I saw a lot of channels featuring driving, and talking with friends while driving. This is good news for me, because it means I can set up my camera in the car, drive around the island to interesting places, and chat without having to set up a studio.

Third, I really appreciate how most of Japan’s top YouTubers, with the exception of beauty YouTubers, have fairly random backgrounds, and less polished instagram-ready video and sound in comparison to western YouTubers . Their videos come across as raw, real-life, and accessible. All of which I can do!

In addition to looking for inspiration on YouTube, I want to interview a few Japanese Canadian residents to get their two cents worth. I want to ask them what kind of content they would watch, what stuff about Victoria would they want to know, and what kind of stuff they wish they knew before moving here. I feel like I still have a mountain of research to do, but I’ll get through it eventually.