Stuff Has Happened, Things Must Change - Suede Of The Union 27/01/22 (Patreon)

I've been sitting at a screen wondering how to start this thing for a while, but like everything else that's happening right now, this isn't something I can put off any more. Lots of stuff needs to be discussed, and changes need to be made. But as you are the people who gave me this chance and over 8 years of support, I would be a big jerk if I didn't involve you.

Obviously I retain the final decisions as my creative choices are the reason you became patrons in the first place, but a creator who doesn't at least hear their audience out is risking an awful lot. I've made it this far by interfacing with you all as best I could, and I'm darn sure I'm going to keep doing it.

Now down to brass tacks: 

1. Shopro Done Did It

For the folk who follow me on patreon but not twitter, I have figuratively had a brick thrown through my window. Shopro, the rights holders for the Pokémon anime, have finally stopped posturing and made a true legal step. They have hit me with their best copyright strikes in the past (old heads might even remember us having a similar conversation to this a while back when they briefly got my channel deleted) and they always fell through. But now they have actually sent me a court document demanding that a chunk of my videos be taken down (which Youtube already has) and most importantly, charged me for lost revenue totaling 80,200 yen or 1,050 New Zealand dollars.

This has, of course, shaken everything. That much money will strike a nasty blow to us financially and this was only for one chunk of the first season. Since the whole series is basically the same format they could ask for more chunks to be taken down at any time, with the same fine. Thousands of dollars.

Now the fact that they HAVEN'T done that is weird, as is the fact that they sent me a piece of paper saying "give us money" without any means or timeframe for paying them. It seems like a cheap scare tactic more than anything, daring me to come after them from the other side of the world. It's for these reasons I'm looking into legal representation, which has been an absolute nightmare these past few days.

It was hard to find an NZ lawyer who dealt in internet based IP disputes, then they said they couldn't help me as it was also an international dispute, which they weren't equipped for. Then I sought out international dispute lawyers, which could help but didn't specialize in IP disputes. Finally after one of the 20 different law firms had the decency to tell me that I needed representation in Japan, I now had to either pay megabucks for a huge firm to outsource rep in Japan or try and find a lawyer there myself, one who speaks English and specializes in IP law. I've found ONE so far. Fingers crossed he'll even answer my emails.

This lends credence to the scare tactic theory, as it seems Shopro want to demand a large but not ludicrous payout so that even if I lawyered up it wouldn't be worth the legal fees. It's shady and gross, but unfortunately it's also 99% likely to be within their rights. That's the hardest truth of it all: Japan doesn't really have fair use, my videos are on thin ice at the best of times and my videos are available in Japan. Youtube refuses to geoblock them. The sad thing is I'm mainly seeking rep in Japan so I can pay the fine without issue. 

Funny thing is I could feasibly just ignore this whole thing as I am under NZ jurisdiction even if my videos aren't, but it would mean I could never visit Japan for the rest of my life. I don't want that, I still have a lifelong dream to see Japan one day. So here we are.

2. The Journey Must End...

But even if I could dodge the fine I can't dodge the takedowns. Even demonetizing all my videos wouldn't do anything as they based their fine on views, not income (another weird thing). Most of season one is gone. The placeholders are there but I can't even download them anymore. I was still in the process of downloading them after a hard drive malfunction caused the original HD versions to be lost, but while I can try a couple of workarounds to get the original audio back, it really looks like they are mostly gone for good.  All I have left are the scripts.

As I said before, this could happen with ALL the other videos at any minute of any day. Youtube is no longer of any help. I can't utilize their counter-claim system anymore as Shopro have served a legal notice and as such there's nothing they can do. All that displays when I select the options tab on the notice is "Contact Claimant", and contacting Shopro will do nothing. As I said, Japan doesn't recognize fair use as we know it. They have no reason to restore them and I have no right to demand them. The absolute, lottery-winning best case scenario is that my lawyer can get my videos restored while geoblocking them in Japan, but they don't just own the IP in Japan. It would only buy time.

I know this seems weird when Japanese video games are generally accepted as fair game on Youtube (Shenanigans notwithstanding) but the fact is that let's plays/streaming became a cultural zeitgeist beyond the level that TV/Film reviews ever were or are, and individual game experiences are consumed actively while film media is consumed passively. Watching someone play isn't the same experience as playing it, but watching Pokemon Journey is basically just watching the series with glorified commentary, let's be honest. For the most part if you watch my videos, you don't need to watch the official release.

So why did I keep going? Well, love and money of course but also I guess I was hoping that eventually TV/Film reviews, transformative watch-alongs and retrospectives would reach the same clout as let's plays and streaming, and I was just holding the line until that happened. Hopefully it still will someday.

But I just can't hold the line anymore.

So unless a miracle happens or I'm convinced otherwise, I can't in good conscience make any more Journey videos as they are now.

3. ...So Another May Begin

But I can't give up. My family depends on me, Journey has helped others through bad times, and I have only been able to stand as an example of autism not hindering a career due to the amazing support of everyone who believes in me, patrons and viewers alike. I've survived by adapting before and I'm willing to do it again at least a few more times before finally rolling over and letting an ableist society defeat me.

My Pokémon Journey will not end yet, and all that it was won't fade into the aether either.

I still have all the scripts, I still have the funding and I still have a chance. All that's left is find what works.

If you aren't aware, there's a very popular video game channel on Youtube called The Completionist. In it, Jirard Khalil plays games to completion and gives his thoughts. He was over a hundred episodes in, over a million subs... and then one of his former employees began to raise some hell. The details are out there but the upshot was that if Jirard wanted to avoid a massive lawsuit, he had to do every single episode again, this time with actual contracts and minus the offending party. He called it New Game Plus and it was very successful while he continued to make new episodes as well.

So, ironically considering it still isn't an option in Pokémon games, if I want to save Journey from extinction, I need a New Game Plus. Same format, minus the offending content, in this case any footage of the anime.

This could mean one of many different solutions. I personally am drawn to the idea of puppet re-enactments, whether they be cut-outs or plushies or even socks. It would be a unique selling point I haven't seen very much online and could potentially even bring in a wider audience with an entirely new layer of humor that could be brought to the table. Or we could go the minimum viable product route and release episodes as commentaries you sync up with the official release, using the scripts as a template and still having thoughts and trivia at the end. This could be a great workaround for the same basic result as the original but it requires a big commitment from the viewer when the official release is still pretty hard to come by, with even Pokemon TV still being done on rotation. Heck I could even try going back to the talking head format and try doing what littlekuriboh does with Yu-Gi-Oh GX, though my horrible script memorization would make that difficult and editing my own face stresses me out mentally. I'm sure there are other possibilities that others can point out, but the fact remains that there are possibilities.

Regardless on what is settled on, if this is received well I would continue making new episodes from 194 onwards in the new format while slowly 'remastering' the back catalogue with the same scripts.

But I need your help. 

4. With A Single Step

So, with a heavy heart I must ask you to bear with me as we move forward in this new era forced upon us. But how do we move forward?

Ironically, before Shopro fired the shot heard around the world I was taking the next big step in terms of production and began the process of renting an office space. It's a wonderful little office which I will show you later, but most importantly it will allow me to experiment with the different formats, try different studio setups and compartmentalize my life a lot more, hopefully battling my executive dysfunction and anxiety by having a dedicated, quiet space to just work.

So as it currently stands, the next few months will be light on actual episodes produced (charged videos will most likely be first impression Let's Plays of Legends: Arceus) while I work to untangle this legal knot, move into the office and generally strive to prevent a total meltdown every step of the way. However it will also be VERY heavy on patron participation and feedback, much more so than it has ever been. You will be a part of this rebuild every step of the way, seeing the office take shape and providing feedback on a myriad of test formats as I feel through them all and find one we can all agree on. Who even knows? This horrible event may even be a blessing in disguise, providing me with a greater identity and a wider reach.

I wish the format could have lasted forever as it was, but the spirit always will. I'll continue to keep you all updated but for now I'll pause for a break in the conversation where you may interject. What are your thoughts? Do you think this is the best course of action? Are there elements I'm overlooking? I would appreciate your feedback now more than any other time in recent memory, and I hope I can continue to live up to whatever it is you see in me.

Thank you. This was never goodbye, this is just a new stage of history, and by golly I'm going to try to tackle it.