Kyomachi Seika at Virtual Reality Events
With many events worldwide switching to an online format in an age of social distancing, we at times see some organizers utilize particularly creative ways to hold their events in the virtual space. And given the nature of virtual singers and other similar characters, this phenomenon goes hand in hand with their fandom!
One of such events is the fifth Virtual Market (hereafter “Vket 5”) that will be taking place from December 19, 2020 through January 10, 2021. Another is the second installment of Air Comic Market (hereafter “Air Comiket 2”), which is also set to start this month from December 21 through December 31.
And we know of at least one voice synth character who will have her own booth at both events: Kyomachi Seika! As always, she’ll be representing and promoting Seika Town, and her booths will have special items up for sale that are otherwise only available as rewards for donating to her hometown tax settlement campaign. Read on to learn more about her participation in both virtual events!
Seika Town at Virtual Market 5
Virtual Market is billed as the world’s largest event held in the virtual reality space. Anyone from any part of the world can enter the Vket world for free, 24-hours a day!
The Seika Town booth at Vket 5 was first announced in November with the below tweet on Seika’s official Twitter account!
Then an article from PR Times revealed some of what we can expect!
- A virtual city experience, introducing visitors to Seika Town
- Posters and videos about Seika Town
- This includes an event-exclusive video showing Seika’s activities after work!
There will also be many of the reward products for donors to Seika Town’s hometown tax settlement campaign on virtual display. Visitors will even have the chance to donate to the campaign straight from Vket and earn the said rewards in real life!
You can take a look at what these rewards are here!
Finally, Ricoh will be collaborating with Seika to immerse visitors in 360° photos of three locations from Seika Town: Seika Town Hall, Keihanna Plaza, and Keihanna Commemorative Park! Thanks to the magic of technology, those with an itch to travel to Seika Town during times of travel restriction can soon do so virtually!
Commentary from Chief Fujimoto of the Seika Town Planning and Coordination Division:
“Up until now, we’ve been able to hold many PR activities with Kyomachi Seika in Seika Town, like Comic Market and the Seika Festival. However, they have all been cancelled due to COVID-19, and the opportunities for future activities have seen a sharp decrease, a truly sad turn of events.
“But amidst these hard times, we heard talk about holding events and exhibits in a virtual space. That was when we decided to take part in this new-age approach to online events, bringing Seika Town to those who have supported us all these years, and to those who have yet to learn about Seika Town, all outside of these boundaries of time and space.
“To host an event in virtual reality is a new endeavor for us, as well as a whole new experiment for Seika Town.
“Though there are many people who have been attending our events (such as fans of Kyomachi Seika, as well as strawberries and sweets), there are also many on social media who aren’t aware of Seika Town’s existence. So we would be very pleased if we can get more people to know about Seika Town through this virtual reality event, and to visit Seika Town for real in the future.”
You can also watch Seika introduce Vket and their planned booth in one of her recent Vtuber videos below!
Visit the official Vket website here to learn more about the virtual reality event, and how to participate!
Seika Town Booth at Air Comic Market 2
But that’s not the only exciting VR experiment for Seika. Also coming later this month is Air Comiket 2, the online version of Comic Market, and they’ll have a Seika Town booth as well!
Air Comiket 2 will recreate the biannual Comiket experience at the Tokyo Big Sight, completely online. We also get a glimpse at what the Seika Town booth will have for visitors!
Like the Vket booth, visitors to Seika’s booth at Air Comiket 2 can donate to her hometown tax settlement campaign and receive the following rewards in real-life!
Kyomachi Seika Acrylic Stand (Glasses Ver.)
Kyomachi Seika Acrylic Stand (Sweets Ver.)
(And don’t forget that you can also win one of these two stamps by joining in with Kyomachi Seika’s Christmas Art Campaign here!)
Visit the official Air Comiket website here! (Japanese only)
For a town mascot character like Seika whose purpose is to promote travel to her hometown, the COVID-19 age has been especially hard. But seeing her creators finding new ways for her fans to enjoy her events, one can’t help but admire their devotion to Seika and Seika Town! We hope to see some of you at her virtual booths later this month!
Links
Kyomachi Seika
Virtual Market
Air Comic Market 2
