Interesting comment on JP 3D studios
https://www.reddit.com/r/x/comments/1e4ek66/comment/ldeo892/Using/renting a studio. This is the option more go for but is costly as heck (several hundreds of thousands to 1M+ yen). Either the Vtuber saves up a lot of cash (or is rich to begin with) or they opt to go the crowdfunding route. There's been an increase in VTubers who do crowdfunders for a 3D model with the show as a stretch goal from what I've seen.
Pros; Higher quality production. There are staff to handle the camera work, audio adjustment, etc. "Accident" due to tracking (like the neck going all weird) are less likely to happen. More space, so you can have a larger number of performers onstage at once.
Cons: Considering the cost, you are likely to only do this once a year at most (unless you're in an agency or are lucky enough to be invited to join an event)
Samples of motion capture studios in Japan that frequently get used for VTuber live shows:
livecartoon(
https://www.livecartoon.net/studio) - often used for really high quality shows
Kimassi studio(
https://www.kimassi-studio.com/よくある質問) - relatively cheap compared to other studios but still decent quality. Owned by staff of Asano Sisters Project and appears to be the go-to studio used by Nanashi Inc these days.
Miniluv(
https://x.com/mocap_miniluv) - I don't think they have a website, so I don't know much about them
vortex(
https://vortex-live.com/) - owned by Project Blue. I believe the goal was to make it the largest motion capture studio in Japan.
Vtu!(
https://vtu.jp/#studio_service) - Another high quality motion capture studio that is specifically meant for VTuber use.
If you watch a lot of 3D live shows, you eventually reach the point where you can identify the studio based on the stage being used.
