KAF

A defining virtual singer built around the motif of observation, known for pushing between online presence and large-scale live performance.

KAF
Contents

Overview

KAF is one of the defining virtual singers of KAMITSUBAKI STUDIO and a central member of V.W.P. Since her 2018 debut at the age of 14, she has built a massive following as a 3D avatar artist who does not reveal her real face. She has become closely associated with the studio’s identity through a distinctive voice, a strong “observation” motif, and ambitious stage-driven presentations.

She is important not only as a solo artist but also as a bridge across multiple Kamitsubaki projects. In addition to her own albums and one-man lives, she is tied to V.W.P, to the musical isotope voicebank KAFU, and to the broader Kamitsubaki City multimedia line. As of June 2024, her YouTube channel has surpassed 1 million subscribers.

Role and Creative Position

KAF’s work often combines intimate emotion, adolescent perspective, and a carefully mediated virtual presence. Her early artistic arc is strongly linked with main composer Iori Kanzaki, whose collaborations with her helped define the tone of her first major releases and live narratives.

Over time, KAF expanded beyond that initial phase into a wider project-based role: a solo singer, a unit member, a voice source for synthetic singing software, and a recurring figure in Kamitsubaki’s cross-media worldbuilding. In 2021, she started a collaborative project titled “Suite” with real-world artists and composers. In 2024, she officially announced her new singer-songwriter project under the name “Kaika”.

Activity History

2018–2020: Debut and the “Fukakai” Era

  • 2018
    • October 18: Released her first video on YouTube and officially debuted.
    • December 6: Released her first original single “Ito”.
    • December 28: Released her second original single “Shinzo to Karakuri”.
    • December 31: Participated in the VTuber New Year’s Eve event “Count0”, performing “Ito”, “Shinzo to Karakuri”, and “Majo”.
  • 2019
    • March 20: Concluded her academic hiatus and announced her return with the release of the original single “Hinadori”.
    • May 15: Released her first limited digital EP Hana to Shinzo.
    • August 1: Held her 1st ONE-MAN LIVE Fukakai at LIQUIDROOM, funded by a successful 40 million yen crowdfunding campaign.
    • September 11: Released her 1st Album Kansoku; collaborated with the music game Cytus II on the same day.
  • 2020
    • March 23: Held the audience-less streaming live Fukakai (Re).
    • April 7: Provided the ending theme song “Answer” for the TV anime Black Clover.
    • June 10: Released her first mini-album Tomadoi Telepathy.
    • July 22: Released her second mini-album Hana to Kaito.
    • October 10: Held the audience-less streaming live Fukakai 2 Q1 and announced that her 2nd Album Maho would be released on November 25.
    • October 25: Officially announced “KAFU”, the CeVIO AI voicebank based on her voice.

2021–2023: V.W.P Formation and Nippon Budokan

  • 2021
    • March 13: Held her 2nd ONE-MAN LIVE Fukakai 2 Q2 and announced the formation of the virtual singer unit “V.W.P”.
    • June 11–12: Held the live series Fukakai 2 Rebuilding.
    • July 7: The CeVIO AI voicebank “KAFU” was officially released.
    • October: Launched the collaboration project “Suite” (Kumikyoku), featuring collaborations with real-world artists and creators.
    • November 15: Appeared on the NHK program Numa ni Hamatte Kiite Mita, performing “Kako wo Kurau” and “Umi ni Bakeru”.
  • 2022
    • March 26: Held a special live performance commemorating her high school graduation, titled Bokura Tameiki Hitotsu de Otona ni Nareru nda.
    • August 22: Selected for “Forbes JAPAN 30 UNDER 30 2022” in the entertainment category.
    • August 24: Held her 3rd ONE-MAN LIVE Fukakai 3 (Mad) at the Nippon Budokan, becoming the first virtual singer to perform solo at the venue.
  • 2023
    • March 4: Held the virtual live Fukakai 3 (So), concluding the “Fukakai” live series.
    • March: Released her 3rd Album Kyoso (her final album with Iori Kanzaki as the primary composer).

2024–Present: New Chapter “Kaika” and Further Expansion

  • 2024
    • January 14: Held her 4th ONE-MAN LIVE Kaika (written as “怪歌”) at Yoyogi National Gymnasium and announced her new project “Kaika” (written as “廻花”) as a virtual singer-songwriter.
    • June 21: Reached 1 million subscribers on her YouTube channel.
    • November 2: Held her 4th ONE-MAN LIVE Kaika (Re) (written as “怪歌(再)”) at Makuhari Messe as part of the “KAMITSUBAKI Makuhari Sensen”.
    • December 18: Released her 4th Album Guuwa.
  • 2025
    • April: Slated to provide the opening theme for the TV anime Chuzenji-sensei Mononoke Kougiroku.
    • September 12: Announced her first solo concert in China, Shukusei China 1st Solo Live, scheduled to be held in Shanghai on November 29–30 (later cancelled on November 28 due to force majeure).
  • 2026
    • May 27: Released her 5th Album Transcendent-love.
    • May 30: Successfully held the solo live Shukusei in Hong Kong at the AsiaWorld-Expo.

Key gateways into her work include:

  • Albums: 1st Kansoku (2019), 2nd Maho (2020), 3rd Kyoso (2023), 4th Guuwa (2024), 5th Transcendent-love
  • Early Representative Songs: “Ito”, “Hinadori”, “Yoru ga Furiyamu Mae ni”
  • Key Collaborative Projects: The Suite series, V.W.P group songs, and the KAFU voicebank

Useful related entries:

Basic Profile and Character Setting

KAF’s public identity is built around anonymity, observation, and the distance between a virtual body and a real stage. “Observer” is both the name used for her listeners and a description of the relationship established by her works. Early fan expressions belong to fan culture, not to an official civil name.

ItemDetail
Character designPALOW.
Core imageryObservation, the witch, flowers, and the Laplace motif
Main affiliationsKAMITSUBAKI STUDIO, V.W.P, KAFU
Early creative partnerIori Kanzaki
Voice extensionKAFU, a musical-isotope voicebank based on KAF’s voice

Discography and Collaborations

The early catalogue is best read through “Ito”, “Shinzo to Karakuri”, “Majo”, “Hinadori”, “Kako wo Kurau”, “Umi ni Bakeru”, and “Tomadoi Telepathy”. The albums Kansoku, Maho, Kyoso, Guuwa, and Shinai document the shift from uploads to a larger album and live-performance narrative. “Suite”, V.W.P songs, and collaborations with KAFU connect her solo work to Kamitsubaki’s wider creator ecosystem.

PhaseMain materialSignificance
Early uploads“Ito”, “Shinzo to Karakuri”, “Majo”, “Hinadori”Established the observation vocabulary
Album periodKansoku, Maho, KyosoDeveloped a continuous solo narrative
Live periodFukakai, Fukakai 2, Fukakai 3, KaikaMade virtual performance central to the work
Expansion“Suite”, V.W.P, Kaika, KAFUConnected singer, unit, songwriter, and synthesis culture

The Fukakai series should be treated as a sequence of artistic works rather than a list of concerts. The 2019 crowdfunding live established the shared language of KAF and her audience; later online and rebuilding performances made absence, reconstruction, and virtual staging part of the narrative. Fukakai 3 (Mad) reached Nippon Budokan in 2022, while Fukakai 3 (So) closed that chapter in 2023. Kaika marks a later singer-songwriter phase.

Iori Kanzaki shaped the early musical period, while PALOW. and the visual production team shaped the character’s visual continuity. KAF should be kept distinct from KAFU: KAFU is an independent synthetic voicebank and character based on KAF’s voice.

Forms, Setting, and Anecdotes

KAF’s visual forms change with the work and stage. Early “chick” and “swallow” imagery, special singing forms, and later live-specific designs embody different chapters rather than ordinary costume changes. Public information about her real-world identity is intentionally limited; this article prioritizes official songs, videos, live performances, published design material, and reliable interviews.

KAF sits at the intersection of several major Kamitsubaki lines. As a V.W.P member she participates in the group’s core song cycles; as the source voice of KAFU she extends into fan and creator production culture; and as a recurring figure in Kamitsubaki City projects she also functions as part of the studio’s broader narrative identity. In the upcoming 2025 TV anime Kamitsubaki City Under Construction, she will make her debut as a voice actor, playing a character based on herself.

References