Japanese talent agency OTAGROUP known for managing Metabaachan, a VTuber idol group consisting of grandmas age 75 and older, has recently started an online counseling service in which allows you to rent your own grandmother. As reported by ITMedia News, the service, titled “Rental granny” (Rental obaachan in Japanese), will allow users to chat with or vent to one of their many professional grandmothers.
While you won’t exactly get to pick your own grandma, the managing company will find one that perfectly matches your needs. The counseling sessions will take place on platforms such as Zoom and Google Meet, and a similar vein to OTAGROUP’s VTuber project, your assigned granny will appear as a 3D avatar. Of course, the grandmas will be available for other kind of requests as well depending on the circumstances – for example, you can commission one to be an extra for your movie.
OTAGROUP seems to be serious about the project – they have stated that their goal is to achieve profitability as a business and are currently looking for partnerships with nursing homes as well. The whole idea behind “hiring grandmothers” may sound a bit strange at first, but OTAGROUP says the goal behind their projects is to help promote the wellbeing of the elderly and aid them with integrating into society. “Managing our VTuber group Metabaachan, we have realized that the experience of having someone that can rely on you greatly contributes to the wellbeing of the elderly. By creating a service which every old lady can participate in, our goal is to boost the self-esteem of the elderly, while also helping resolve issues of young people in urban areas as well.”
While it is yet to be seen how their new business will perform, as they are currently in the process of recruiting new grannies, the talent agency’s VTuber project seems to have already garnered a decent following . One of their most popular members, 86-year-old Hiroko, has already gone viral on Twitter and YouTube, and has even guested in radio shows with Hololive VTubers. What’s most important, though, is that the members are enjoying their time as virtual idols.
