Manga readers know that there is no shortage of colorful characters in shōnen, stories where the hero manages to accomplish his dreams after a long and painful quest. Characters of color are a little rarer. Thus, Ichigo Kurosaki, protagonist of Bleach, meets Yoruichi, a mysterious cat who becomes his trainer. Beneath this animal facade hides a beautiful woman with dark skin.
Kenza doesn’t hide behind a disguise. She barely does it behind her alias, Yoruichitv. Almost daily on Twitch, the streaming platform – understand, live video broadcast – of the giant Amazon, she broadcasts her games of Call of Duty: Warzone, followed by some 24,000 followers. A completely honorable number in an environment where there are not so many young women. “ I identified quite a bit with her – Yoruichi – and her skin color, because she is a woman of character, she has powers, etc. It’s very rare to be able to identify with women in anime » , she explains. Just as it is rare to find Tahitians other than the essential Mabzouel on Twitch.
Read also – Mabzouel, the successful Polynesian streamer
Born in Tahiti, Kenza quickly caught the gaming bug from her big brother, who introduced her to Japanese culture and the world of video games. A passion that serves as a guiding principle for him after his departure for the metropolis when his parents separated, the year he was 7 years old. The adaptation is not easy. “ Today, I lost my accent, but it’s really because it was imposed on me, she says. It was explained to me that in France, you shouldn’t roll your R’s. It was actually my relatives who told my mother that if we really wanted to adapt, we had to lose it.. It was difficult for me to readjust » , she confides. Nothing to discourage her though: she immersed herself in her studies and, a good student, obtained an ES baccalaureate before going to law school.
An adventure that will not last long. “ I was full of ambition, I was determined to become a family court judge. But it didn’t work, I didn’t identify with the judicial system in France. I felt within myself that I was not cut out for this. So, I stopped my studies completely. » , she continues. Three years followed in a department store, then a string of odd jobs to gain independence. When she’s not working, Kenza relaxes doing what she’s always loved: headshotting her opponents in Call of Duty.
Aventure post-Covid
The covid crisis is precisely the cause of young neophyte steamers who question their life choices, in a liberated tone devoid of filters. Twitch is no longer a simple space for geeks fed up with e-sport: the platform has opened up to the era of talks and collaborations, alongside the arrival of new consumers, becoming the El Dorado of streaming services video.
“They told me: ‘You’ve been doing this all your life’”
Three years ago, those around her suggested that Kenza open her account, which she took as a joke. But when we present her with a fait accompli, setup installed to launch her first live, she lends herself to the game. A judicious decision. “ I was a little apprehensive about people’s reactions, it’s not easy to go live, to show yourself on camera, to talk with strangers. However, at the end of my session, I was told ‘But you’ve been doing this all your life!’ » . On her favorite game, Kenza is at ease, interacting naturally with her few viewers, who feel it. She repeats the experience every evening, and within a week, is affiliated (3 regular viewers on average on each live). In just 7 months, she became a partner: she streams for more than 25 hours per week, more than 12 different days per month, and maintains an average of more than 75 viewers on average. Between subscribers and one-off donations, it generates sufficient income to live off of it.
Yoruichitv becomes an identified name in the Twitch ecosystem. “ I was working at the school with the kids and after about 3-4 months I started earning more than I was earning going to work, she confides. The thing is that I had so much fun performing live, I was so happy and I loved what I was doing so much that I said to myself, go ahead, let’s try the adventure and then at worst, that stops. I will find work again and it doesn’t matter » . Her decision made, she sometimes streams from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m., taking only one day off during the week. Not so unusual hours on Twitch, which has a good number of night owls.
-“fusional” link
Where certain YouTubers and a handful of influencers from “ We have very strong ties. It’s close-knit and family-oriented, some have become my friends in real life, she emphasizes. We’ve been celebrating the New Year for three years with friends I met through Twitch » .
To keep the flame alive, she and her team occasionally organize games, activities and other small events. Most importantly, she never streams without telling a story or chatting with them. “ We talk about everything and nothing constantly. I’m in the middle of a game, sometimes I lose because I responded to a viewer. Honestly, I don’t care. My priority is my community and I have always said that and since I started, I have always been like that. We are very open within the limits of Twitch, of course » , she assures.
Some find in his streams a saving breath of oxygen, and tell him so without shame. “ What touches me the most is the testimonies we have from people who say that they were sometimes on the verge of collapse and that in fact, they sat down live to take their minds off things. I’m behind a screen, I chat, I laugh with them, I ask them what they did today, etc. To me it seems trivial, but these little things can go a long way » .
Polynesian Pride
In her short bio, and on her networks, Kenza does not fail to display her Tahitian origins, which she says she embraces more than when she started. “ It’s not at all what I was putting forward, but I’ve been asked a lot about my origins, I’ve been asked questions about my tattoo. When I explain that I was born in Tahiti, people are curious, they ask me lots of questions about the language, about the place, we realized that many didn’t know it at all. Now I talk about it very often » , she continues. She also plays local music to enhance her live performances. “ Puachoux and DJ Armello, they love it, now they listen to them and send me videos of them listening to them. she smiled.
On vacation at Fenua in 2023, she has already planned to return there next October. “ We have not cut the link with Polynesia. My mom always made sure that we had the culture that remained anchored. There, we will come for 4 weeks, and we will be able to make vlogs, imagine some IRL videos on site, meet people » , she anticipates. Particularly local fans of e-sport, whose growth was reflected in a certain enthusiasm around the Rockstar e-sport Championship 2024, last September.
Integrated into Aito Spirit E-sport, a developing associative club, it hopes to shake up the main lines of the sector and inspire Polynesian youth. “ I see there are some streamers here. I wish them a lot of courage. And even if we tell them that video games are not made for them, if they are insulted, on the contrary, they have to persist because it is for everyone, she encourages. Men, women, no matter who you are, it’s for everyone. We have to support each other in the face of people who think we have nothing to do in this environment. » .
Finally, to those who doubt her level on her favorite game and plan to challenge her, she warns: “ I am a monster » , she concludes.
