Year in Review 2023 (Patreon)

I had no idea what to write for my year in review, so I looked at last year's and realize the questions I had in 2022 don't really apply too much for 2023.  So perhaps less questions and more of what I feel I did good and bad.

[This is the part where I give you a link to my YT year in review, but honestly... idk if I'll make one at this point]

How do you feel about the watch-a-long?

Last year, I had it in three sync points, but this year I realized it's much easier if I just blur out the entire thing w/ no audio and keep it on screen still. Maybe it might bite me later on, but in my head I feel I could still argue against it. Not that the Japanese companies would listen hahaha.

Is the syncing a lot better with this format? Let me know.

I thought I kept on schedule and found a new way to not burn out on daily uploads.

I believe I was able to keep up with my schedule (for the most part) and I started getting more comfortable doing daily uploads, especially towards the end of the year. What I found worked for me, which was accidental because of the anime I selected for Fall, was that I DON'T have to upload same-day on YouTube. Maybe it might bump me down a bit in terms of interest, but I'd rather put my health before that.

It's something I'll continue with for next year. Though it does make me question, how do you feel about getting the full length out and then discussions later?

There were moments when I was falling short on the schedule, but they were moments that I couldn't control, so idk how much of a fault I can put on myself.

There were times where I didn't really like the reactions, the discussions, or both.

When I put the video into the editor, the first thing I look at is the audio wave. If there isn't a lot of peaks during the reaction, I feel like I'm not doing good on said reaction. Like, you didn't come here to watch me watch an EP... you're here to watch me react and commentate... probably. 😂 Whether it's because I was so invested that I just didn't talk or there were moments that didn't pop for me so I didn't make a note about it, I often feel inadequate when I see silent moments.

This leads to me later on feeling like I need to compensate and in the next reaction, I might talk a bit too much and not paying attention to the EP. IDK, I feel like that's what's going on sometimes.

I also stumble into a weird field of sensitivity, which I think has only happened during Fall because of the new people coming in. It's where people tell me I'm being too sensitive about anime, and maybe their words are just getting to me. But the reality is, I am a sensitive individual lol. I built up a big wall of edginess throughout my youth and even when I started YouTube in order to protect myself, and it's been a long journey deconstructing all of that. So maybe I am compensating by being too much, or maybe--as mentioned--it's just the new audience because nobody else has said this before. Whatever's the case, I'll continue to fall back on my policy of "if I mention it more than three times, I'll stop talking about it (for the most part)."

Then some discussions I find to be horrible because I stutter and I repeat so many times, and I can't get myself out of that ditch. I could salvage it through editing for the most part, but some discussions... I just can't lol.

Do you feel the same? Or am I serving myself up extra harsh with a side of scrutiny?

Remember Summer? That was weird.

Summer season was the lowest point on this channel. None of the series were hitting (that hard or at all), and I was suffering through writer's block and copious amounts of gaming. I also did this new test of having "full discussions" on Patreon where I tried to keep discussions on YT to at least 10 minutes because not a lot of folks watch the discussions.

Yeah, I got tired of that format real quick haha.

It also didn't help that I tested it on a slow season, so I didn't even see any results. It was BAD. 😬

Oh yeah, I made an attempt to add in another series (Dark Gathering) and immediately pulled out on that because I was going to take up too much. I've yet to go back to it.

YouTube Memberships has been a good investment.

I used Patreon and YT Memberships before I went over to my alt channel (which can be considered my main at this point), so this was something I've been wanting while waiting to get 1k subs. When I got it, I'll be honest, I didn't expect anyone to get it within the first two months. But I did!

It's not a lot. $2 for early access? I mean, that's a steal. I can't make it $1 because YT takes 30% and I'd rather get a dollar back at least. YouTube's community post isn't perfect, neither is Patreon's, but Patreon is better by a long mile.

The only issue I have is that I still keep discussions all on YouTube instead of putting them directly on Patreon (I gotta get that watch time somehow from you Patrons lol), and this forces me to have unlisted videos. People can easily grab the link and send it to someone who's not a member. Piracy will always be around, and my only hope is that the people who see the early access for free will like me enough to support for at least $2 or even $1. HOWEVER, as I mentioned last year, I don't want it to be THAT easy 😂

Unfortunately, with my current format, I can't. So it's a leak that won't be fixed. DON'T TELL ANYBODY. SHHH!!

I didn't get to finish my personal project and I'll never be done with Persona 4 edits.

Sad times, but I never got to finish Seitokai Yakuindomo. I imagine me pushing myself to go through S2 as well was what got me worried. If I went through it with only S1 in mind, I might've been able to finish it. Then I got busy with everything else :L

I also had no personal projects after Spring, I assume. Sadge.

Now that we're closing out this year, I fully believe that I'll never finish my Persona 4 edits. Mainly because I don't think they're all that good. In fact, I think they're horrible. So they might never see the day of light ever again.

(EDIT) I did finish She Loves to Cook, and She Loves to Eat, so there's that!

Am I pushing out enough content?

I have a problem of comparing myself to other people's Patreon because I reckon people will compare me to others. Like... this person only upload 4 - 6 times a week? BAH! I could go to somebody else's and get... 10 - 20 uploads a week!

I would never do 10+ series a week. I struggle with 5 for goodness sake lol.

Then there's the fact that I could pump out more non-seasonal shows if I did doubles a week or binge through it, but I like the weekly format. That and... well... if I stop doing seasonal shows all the time. I'm just not at the point of comfy-ness where I don't have to chase the views (even though I'm barely trying to with some shows I react that can barely hit 100 heh).

Sometimes I wish I wasn't a one woman show and I had someone who could help out.

My future plan is...

Doing the same thing I'm currently doing! 😃

Okay, I still have that plan I've been thinking of that's still VERY far in the future. I've mentioned it a few times, but if you don't know then don't worry about it.

With the current issue I'm running into with Crunchyroll, I'll have to continue watching via downloads, so heads up on that.

I also thought about utilizing the Community feature Patreon rolled out this year, consider not everyone uses Discord... but I'm not sure. Instagram DM style group chats aren't my thing. If you want it and you don't use Discord, I might consider.

THANK YOU for reading this.

I appreciate you going through this big length of a post. No TL;DRs or anything haha. Whether you've been around for a while or you're new, just know that I value your support and interest in my content. I hope you have a happy holiday and hope to see you around in 2024! 🙂🥂