What are danmaku comments?
Danmaku (from 弾幕 “bullet curtain”), are a style of video comments popularised by the Japanese video sharing site NicoNico, but also increasingly common in other East Asian video sharing sites.
The main difference to “traditional” comments displayed outside the video, danmaku-style comments are displayed in real-time on the video stream itself. Another difference is that the comments are usually plain text, without noticeable identification features.
Where are danmaku comments used
Danmaku comments are common on East asian video sharing sites, the most prominent examples are:
- ニコニコ, the Japanese source of danmaku comments
- 哔哩哔哩, a mainland Chinese site heavily influenced by NicoNico
How do danmaku comments influence the video experience?
At first, one would think that the torrent of seemingly unrelated short comments would ruin any video watching experience. Of course, as with any medium, there are a lot of low-quality comments to sift through, but for certain video genres, the presence of “live comments” can enhance a video or even transform it into a different genre.
In humorous videos, a well-placed comment can deliver an additional, alternative punchline to what is being said in the video, in a serious video a comment can deliver additional information or completely derail the athmosphere with a well-placed quip. In some videos, one can feel like watching the video in the same room with friends, despite being spatially and temporally separated.
Youtube Annotations: a Western approach
A modification of danmaku comments has been tried on YouTube, the “Annotations” feature retired a long time ago.
A showcase of how much these comments could shape the video experience is found in the appropriately titled “Worst Anime Chase Scene of ALL TIME”, where a car chase that is unintentionally comical due to bad animation is subject of ridicule by countless hawk-eyed commenters:
- original: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YZtvS_HGPMk
- annotated: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z4TP82NezXU
KCTV on NicoNico: Japanese netizens trying to understand North Korean TV
Danmaku comments also work in live-streams, a very interesting example of this can be seen by searching for “朝鮮中央テレビ” (Korean Central Television) in the live stream section of NicoNico video.
The live stream of the entire TV programme from Pyongyang usually has some viewers, peaking at regularly scheduled events such as news or the weather forecast. There is a whole subculture around these livestreams, trying to interpret the broadcasts, but also enjoying themselves at the same time.