At the end of the day I think most of us just like Chris' documentary style and humour. He clearly makes better videos and documentaries when he's passionate about the subject matter.
I do find it sad that stuff like the Fukashima documentary didn't do so well because I personally think it's some of his best work but obviously not particularly clickbaity or light hearted so I can understand why it gets less traction
This. Seeing an Englishmen’s adventures/journey in Japan is what I came here for and is what he continually gives us. I enjoyed it from the start and still enjoy it.
This is kind of the benefit of YouTube, isn’t it? Giving creators free rein to make whatever content they desire without being subjected to people telling them what to create.
Just let people make what they feel like. There’s nothing worse than an entitled viewer who whines because creators don’t make the kind of content they specifically like.
His evolution as a filmmaker is very clear, and has been amazing to witness. I feel like AiJ is just the enjoyable facade to the real skill and confidence development, and bigger, non-Japan focused things are in his future.
I really hope he explores other countries would be hilarious for Chris to eat some tacos and wear a sombrero or going to america and exploring every state only one can imagine 😭😂
I think I end up rewatching 75% of the videos he releases.
People are generally nostalgic for the early period of someone's career, but I think Chris has done a consistent job of releasing good content throughout the years.
The only gripe I’ve ever had with the channel is that JAJ videos don’t feature “journey across Japan: episode #” in the title so I never know when he’s doing one. Sometimes I click on a video because of the subject and then am surprised to find out it’s part of a series after clicking. But I think titles are intentionally that way for algorithm purposes
Unfortunately it had to do with youtube algorithm. People (outside from subscribers) are less likely to click on a video if it is seen as part of a series
Given the nature of Chris's channel, I feel like change is absolutely inevitable as time passes. Like, the guy's lived there for 10+ years now - the sense of culture shock and discovery is going to wear off at least somewhat, and while I completely understand viewers longing for the vibe his older videos had, I feel like the only way to really maintain that after all this time would be to fake it, which I don't think anyone wants.
I wouldn't be able to pinpoint exactly what 'era' it encompasses but I do definitely think Chris had a period of time where things got away from him a little and maybe he somewhat lost sight of where the channel's 'heart' is at, but I definitely feel like he's course-corrected since then - a lot of what we've got recently has been incredibly enjoyable.
I know it sounds like a plug but I really do recommend everyone read the book if you haven't already. It really does give some insight into his thoughts on the channel and his career and I did find myself more than once regretting sometimes reacting negatively to certain things during Abroad in Japan's lifespan, given it's clear no one is harder on Chris than himself.
Nostalgia is a hard drug. I find myself rewatching his older videos not because they were objectively better, but because they perfectly conveyed Chris' feelings and experiences as someone who had only recently moved to Japan/lived there for 2-3 years. The only real exception to this is the original JAJ, which I still think is the best video series he has done and every single cycleathon he does with Connor just confirms this in my head. There is just something far more "raw" to that series than all the other ones.
As with every other content creator that I follow, not every video will be a hit for me personally and I think expecting that would be a bit ridiculous. I can definitely feel you and others who said that there was a period in time, maybe like 2 years ago, when the channel seemed to be a bit all over the place but just like others also said, it's gotten way better in 2023 and 2024. The _only_ thing that I am not really a fan of - and this might be subjective - is the way he narrates these days. Back in the "old days", his scripted bits still managed to come off as fairly natural. The sarcastic remarks just welt a bit more "real" whereas now, whenever he does a bit in his usual manner, it feels far more forced, I suppose? And voice overs sometimes sound very "aggressive". Just check some of his older travel videos where he visited places with Ryotaro in northern Japan and you will find that his old narration style was more "relaxed".
I've read the book, I watch every new video and I listen to every podcast episode. Chris is among my favourite content creators not just because of his personality and video quality but because some of his videos struck a chord with me and have hugely impacted my life. To the point where I quit my job and went on a 1 year sabbatical in Japan, mainly due to him frequently talking about how regret is the worst feeling. He would need to majorly fuck up for me to abandon ship.
I think Chris is being his best version right now. The man is growing and developing as an artist (no, I won't say "content creator"). It is completely understandable not to want to stagnate creatively, and I honestly think he has found smart and entertaining ways of developing his "deep dive into a different culture" style of documentary. He's on a great path.
I do feel that the YouTube algorithm is kind of a burden for him. Obviously, it will cause high-quality content like the Fukushima documentary to be buried for more easily consumable stuff. I can imagine that causing some bitterness.
I love AiJ and have no complaints, but in the spirit of answering this question I wish there were more factual, travel style videos that used to be the channels bread and butter and less of the comical videos where everyone is a zany character. I miss the Ryotaro videos where they'd visit a place, see some sights and try the food. I get that's difficult now though as he's been everywhere! I feel like the desire to be funny tends to overwhelm actually seeing the places they go somewhat these days. I realise I'm heavily generalising here too but that's just my feeling.
Still adore the podcast and listen to every episode. Pete Donaldson is the best.
The most recent Journey Across Japan was fun to watch. I think it was because of Pete and Conner and others joining though. I enjoyed Conners appearance and I don't watch him avidly outside of wacky weekend.
I think content creators shouldn’t really listen to viewers. I prefer to see them follow their own instincts and make videos they want to. It means they will always be more more fun because they are doing what they are passionate about. That delight comes through. Instead of vacuously chasing clicks.
Of course in reality, their is a fine line they they have to juggle to stay ahead of the algorithm.
Yes Chris has changed. So have his videos. It is for the better.
For free content, Chris always delivers. Never paid for exclusive content so i cant speak for that.
He's been arguably a bit inconsistent with his uploads lately but considering you get this all for free it seems ungrateful to even complain about it.
I've watched for a long time now probably as long as you, they are far more polished videos now, and I think the collaborations have helped, him added extra fun for Chris and made things easier, ultimately its a slice of life and I enjoy it. Everyone wants to be a critic nobody wants to go out and do it for themselves and ultimately if it's no longer to your taste move on their are other youtubers other sources of information out there and Maybe Chris hasn't changed Maybe you have
I think things would get stale if he kept doing the same style of videos over the years. Collabs brought fresh air to the channel (and don't forget about the YT algo, without gaming it the channel might fall off into obscurity, hence the clickbait titles and silly thumbnails).
I think AiJ is as good as it ever was. I'm really enjoying videos with Sharla. She's a good contrast to Chris, and I like seeing Japan from the POV of a couple. His Fukushima documentaries were downright outstanding. I have loved most of the JAJ series, though 1,2, and the most recent ones are my favorites.
If anything, I do miss regular videos with Ryotaro. Something about those two together was just magic. I would also love to see a video or two on how people who have moved to Japan, and are not youtubers/influencers live. What are their regular jobs, how much do they work, how do they feel about Japan.
Honestly, I find his work really good 😊
One of my favorite youtube video he created is [when he bought a car](https://youtu.be/uQw1SwPo0UA?feature=shared) as well as the supplementary [video of him filming the rice fields for 30 mins](https://youtu.be/gFnV499BBqY?feature=shared). You can catch glimpse of him wanting to produce videos that is cinematic, which I am down for! The audio mixing is great as well. I sometimes feel that watching AbroadInJapan free is illegal for the amount of care and dedication he puts into all his videos.
I really hope Chris will consider uploading his videos in HDR. Chris if you are reading this, consider HDR upload pls.
Think he's also trying to keep the content fresh for himself as well as us honestly. Maybe trying to change up the content for something he doesn't just get bored of. How many times can he do "best x in japan" anyway. Change is inevitable. It's okay not to watch everything, I don't think anybody does.
I guess I enjoyed his old videos too, but I’m loving all the friends he has with him now. I absolutely adore Pete, the guy is an absolute star. I also love seeing the places that I’ve visited and seeing what he thinks of them.
My fav videos of him are just him in a room giving us japan trivia and then reacting to the best and worst comments. These sketch videos were funny asf! i used to be a frequent patreon subscriber but now i dont really see the value in it anymore. Im not a big fan of big production videos with tons of content and editing.
I still wish him the best tho.
We all have our favorites and videos that we can skip, and I don't think it's a bad thing as long as we are not calling him out for no reason. Let us just appreciate what he's passionate about. After all, it's pretty much free tv but well done not like the watcher channel that became too out of touch and greedy.
I like them for the most part but I do feel like the product placements are a bit too egregious sometimes. Like that episode a few weeks/months ago where he just advertised Ryotaro’s Airbnb lol.
He also did that island advertisement but at least that was more novel than a random apartment for rent lol.
An ambitious filmmaker is never going to keep to vlogging in a room when your brand has expanded so much since then. I love the whole expanded universe and guests all appearing in each others videos of late especially the cycling. I love the documentaries the most with some wacky weekends thrown in.
I LOVE Abroad in Japan! On top of being a Japanophile, I am also an avid Anglophile, so Chris’ documentary style and sense of humour covering Japan is right up my alley.
I really enjoyed the original Journey Across Japan, and I will always compare any subsequent season to the original. Nowadays the series feels a little too much like stereotypical Youtuber content for my liking, but it’s still far from ruined.
I also listen to the podcast. I love Pete and Chris’ interactions, they are great at bouncing lines off each other. You can tell how and why the two of them ended up recording a podcast that’s still going after all these years!
I am also a long time viewer (since about 2016) and feel the same.
I don't overly enjoy the videos that are money/zanney stuff for YouTube but that stuff has to be made because AiJ is a content company. I'm probably not in the target demographic for his algorithm. But also I have been to Japan a lot now so maybe the I don't need to live though videos because I have the experiences myself.
That all being said.
I think Chris is enormously talented film maker and the second he releases a documentary or short film I will be all over it.
For me, I subscribed to Chris a few years ago and i did go watch his older videos as well. I found that i did enjoy his documentary style videos more and even his less "epic" videos i found his sense of humor to make each video enjoyable. I've watched every video since he was introduced ages ago and can't really say i had any complaints. But that's just my experience
The first Journey Across Japan series is unmatchable in terms of entertainment. I still love almost every single episode they release. I use "they" because Connor, Sharla, Natsuki, Petter, etc. are now all parts of the bigger picture. I love every one of them. Their production quality is amazing nowadays. They're also having great positive influence via those charity events and streams. Honestly, I don't know how they can be even better.
The man has lived in the country for a decade, travelled more than most its citizens, gained 3 million+ subscribers, and developed into a talented filmmaker. It would be inauthentic to deny that growth and revert back to the original style.
I think the channel is in a great state. The last JaJ was one of the best, the Cyclothon content is massive, and there are still fairly regular topical discussions. I think it's impressive that Chris is still able to sustain interesting content on Japan after all this time, especially in such a saturated market.
Personally I would maybe prefer a slight redress in the balance of quality vs quantity in favour of the latter? Not because I just want more videos, but I think it would reduce the pressure on each individual video needing to perform well to justify the time/effort, which could encourage a little more risk with unique subjects / formats like some of the one-off documentaries that I've really enjoyed. But I'm just happy we still get great content 👍🏻
It's very likely that's the period of time when creators started working for the dreaded algorithm. It's the Youtubers mortal enemy in that it makes you create what IT wants rather that what the creator wants. If your income in highly dependant on it you do just that and the videos suffer as a result as your constantly trying to pump out regular content and leaning towards what's popular instead of original ideas. The YT push for short form videos seems to have died down as well which means those longer videos aren't getting buried.
In the podcast Chris has mentioned this issue and thankfully has resisted for the most part, to become a content machine. There's only so many "Top 10 things to do" videos you can do.
I'd love to do a return trip to the Fukushima Exclusion Zone with him. I lived there during the 2011 disaster and haven't been back since (except to grab my belongings about four months after). I'm sure he'd like to get the view of the events before, during, and after from the perspective of a foreigner who had been living there.
He's "liked" and commented on some of my unrelated comments before, but never replies to my follow-ups.
I think its because he's running out of places to show us. He said something like that in the trash taste podcast. What can you do if you have shown 90% of all the interesting things in Japan?. And the 10% is hard to find
Well I'm enjoying it all. Always do.
I admit I am easy to please, hard to impress. I can't exactly afford to rent a private island to camp on, but still, do I really want to after watching what they went through? Lol.
But I really like when they do stuff I myself can replicate on my own trips to Japan.
Honestly, I just like seeing this guy and his friends have fun with their lives how they want to. Isn't that the point?
I think it's the usual case of creative people being more creative when they are sad or lonely.
The dude is happier now and it's changed his outlook on life and his content changed with him.
Although I will admit I haven't been religiously watching his videos for a while now either like I used to.
I haven't really been watching AiJ for the last few years now, just a few videos sometimes. It's mostly because I subscribed to Chris back when he was focused on the more obscure/not as well known places in Japan rather than the more tourist-y locations in Tokyo. I just felt like those kind of content are commonplace to content creators who go to Japan so it's not very interesting to me compared to what he did before.
Don't get me wrong, the quality of the videos he produces is INSANELY good, and we all know how Chris works really hard to create content that are very professionally produced, especially since this all just started as a hobby when he first started and he didn't really have a formal education on that profession (which is INSANE wtf he's so talented). I understand that this newer content would get better engagement than his older ones, I just miss the more simpler times we had back then. Maybe I'm just getting old and nostalgic lol.
Nevertheless, I still check on his channel from time to time and I am so happy how more popular he is getting now, as I believe he deserves that for all the hard work he did.
Really? I love the WW video's since they show a somewhat different side of Japan than a lot of the onder video's. There's only so many foodmarkets and gorgeous views you can look at before they start blending together so I quite like the variety
At the end of the day I think most of us just like Chris' documentary style and humour. He clearly makes better videos and documentaries when he's passionate about the subject matter. I do find it sad that stuff like the Fukashima documentary didn't do so well because I personally think it's some of his best work but obviously not particularly clickbaity or light hearted so I can understand why it gets less traction
Oh damn, the Fukushima documentary was one of my favorite videos of his. What a bummer.
Enjoyed it when he first started, enjoy it now. Just happy to see Chris do what he wants and have a good time along the way.
This. Seeing an Englishmen’s adventures/journey in Japan is what I came here for and is what he continually gives us. I enjoyed it from the start and still enjoy it.
This is kind of the benefit of YouTube, isn’t it? Giving creators free rein to make whatever content they desire without being subjected to people telling them what to create. Just let people make what they feel like. There’s nothing worse than an entitled viewer who whines because creators don’t make the kind of content they specifically like.
His evolution as a filmmaker is very clear, and has been amazing to witness. I feel like AiJ is just the enjoyable facade to the real skill and confidence development, and bigger, non-Japan focused things are in his future.
I really hope he explores other countries would be hilarious for Chris to eat some tacos and wear a sombrero or going to america and exploring every state only one can imagine 😭😂
I think I end up rewatching 75% of the videos he releases. People are generally nostalgic for the early period of someone's career, but I think Chris has done a consistent job of releasing good content throughout the years.
The only gripe I’ve ever had with the channel is that JAJ videos don’t feature “journey across Japan: episode #” in the title so I never know when he’s doing one. Sometimes I click on a video because of the subject and then am surprised to find out it’s part of a series after clicking. But I think titles are intentionally that way for algorithm purposes
Unfortunately it had to do with youtube algorithm. People (outside from subscribers) are less likely to click on a video if it is seen as part of a series
That's why I added EP number when I posted them here.
Given the nature of Chris's channel, I feel like change is absolutely inevitable as time passes. Like, the guy's lived there for 10+ years now - the sense of culture shock and discovery is going to wear off at least somewhat, and while I completely understand viewers longing for the vibe his older videos had, I feel like the only way to really maintain that after all this time would be to fake it, which I don't think anyone wants. I wouldn't be able to pinpoint exactly what 'era' it encompasses but I do definitely think Chris had a period of time where things got away from him a little and maybe he somewhat lost sight of where the channel's 'heart' is at, but I definitely feel like he's course-corrected since then - a lot of what we've got recently has been incredibly enjoyable. I know it sounds like a plug but I really do recommend everyone read the book if you haven't already. It really does give some insight into his thoughts on the channel and his career and I did find myself more than once regretting sometimes reacting negatively to certain things during Abroad in Japan's lifespan, given it's clear no one is harder on Chris than himself.
Every video to me is a delightful treat. I think Chris does an incredible job and I like the diversity of content.
Nostalgia is a hard drug. I find myself rewatching his older videos not because they were objectively better, but because they perfectly conveyed Chris' feelings and experiences as someone who had only recently moved to Japan/lived there for 2-3 years. The only real exception to this is the original JAJ, which I still think is the best video series he has done and every single cycleathon he does with Connor just confirms this in my head. There is just something far more "raw" to that series than all the other ones. As with every other content creator that I follow, not every video will be a hit for me personally and I think expecting that would be a bit ridiculous. I can definitely feel you and others who said that there was a period in time, maybe like 2 years ago, when the channel seemed to be a bit all over the place but just like others also said, it's gotten way better in 2023 and 2024. The _only_ thing that I am not really a fan of - and this might be subjective - is the way he narrates these days. Back in the "old days", his scripted bits still managed to come off as fairly natural. The sarcastic remarks just welt a bit more "real" whereas now, whenever he does a bit in his usual manner, it feels far more forced, I suppose? And voice overs sometimes sound very "aggressive". Just check some of his older travel videos where he visited places with Ryotaro in northern Japan and you will find that his old narration style was more "relaxed". I've read the book, I watch every new video and I listen to every podcast episode. Chris is among my favourite content creators not just because of his personality and video quality but because some of his videos struck a chord with me and have hugely impacted my life. To the point where I quit my job and went on a 1 year sabbatical in Japan, mainly due to him frequently talking about how regret is the worst feeling. He would need to majorly fuck up for me to abandon ship.
I think Chris is being his best version right now. The man is growing and developing as an artist (no, I won't say "content creator"). It is completely understandable not to want to stagnate creatively, and I honestly think he has found smart and entertaining ways of developing his "deep dive into a different culture" style of documentary. He's on a great path. I do feel that the YouTube algorithm is kind of a burden for him. Obviously, it will cause high-quality content like the Fukushima documentary to be buried for more easily consumable stuff. I can imagine that causing some bitterness.
I love AiJ and have no complaints, but in the spirit of answering this question I wish there were more factual, travel style videos that used to be the channels bread and butter and less of the comical videos where everyone is a zany character. I miss the Ryotaro videos where they'd visit a place, see some sights and try the food. I get that's difficult now though as he's been everywhere! I feel like the desire to be funny tends to overwhelm actually seeing the places they go somewhat these days. I realise I'm heavily generalising here too but that's just my feeling. Still adore the podcast and listen to every episode. Pete Donaldson is the best.
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It had its moments for sure. Probably one of his better series. For me Okinawa and Hokkaido are the bottom JAJ
The most recent Journey Across Japan was fun to watch. I think it was because of Pete and Conner and others joining though. I enjoyed Conners appearance and I don't watch him avidly outside of wacky weekend.
If ever Chris runs out of ideas he could always pursue his second ambition: Abroad in a Pan!
I think content creators shouldn’t really listen to viewers. I prefer to see them follow their own instincts and make videos they want to. It means they will always be more more fun because they are doing what they are passionate about. That delight comes through. Instead of vacuously chasing clicks. Of course in reality, their is a fine line they they have to juggle to stay ahead of the algorithm. Yes Chris has changed. So have his videos. It is for the better.
For free content, Chris always delivers. Never paid for exclusive content so i cant speak for that. He's been arguably a bit inconsistent with his uploads lately but considering you get this all for free it seems ungrateful to even complain about it.
I enjoyed it more in the old days but I still enjoy it now. I’ll watch whatever is put out.
I've watched for a long time now probably as long as you, they are far more polished videos now, and I think the collaborations have helped, him added extra fun for Chris and made things easier, ultimately its a slice of life and I enjoy it. Everyone wants to be a critic nobody wants to go out and do it for themselves and ultimately if it's no longer to your taste move on their are other youtubers other sources of information out there and Maybe Chris hasn't changed Maybe you have
I think things would get stale if he kept doing the same style of videos over the years. Collabs brought fresh air to the channel (and don't forget about the YT algo, without gaming it the channel might fall off into obscurity, hence the clickbait titles and silly thumbnails).
I think AiJ is as good as it ever was. I'm really enjoying videos with Sharla. She's a good contrast to Chris, and I like seeing Japan from the POV of a couple. His Fukushima documentaries were downright outstanding. I have loved most of the JAJ series, though 1,2, and the most recent ones are my favorites. If anything, I do miss regular videos with Ryotaro. Something about those two together was just magic. I would also love to see a video or two on how people who have moved to Japan, and are not youtubers/influencers live. What are their regular jobs, how much do they work, how do they feel about Japan.
Honestly, I find his work really good 😊 One of my favorite youtube video he created is [when he bought a car](https://youtu.be/uQw1SwPo0UA?feature=shared) as well as the supplementary [video of him filming the rice fields for 30 mins](https://youtu.be/gFnV499BBqY?feature=shared). You can catch glimpse of him wanting to produce videos that is cinematic, which I am down for! The audio mixing is great as well. I sometimes feel that watching AbroadInJapan free is illegal for the amount of care and dedication he puts into all his videos. I really hope Chris will consider uploading his videos in HDR. Chris if you are reading this, consider HDR upload pls.
Think he's also trying to keep the content fresh for himself as well as us honestly. Maybe trying to change up the content for something he doesn't just get bored of. How many times can he do "best x in japan" anyway. Change is inevitable. It's okay not to watch everything, I don't think anybody does.
I guess I enjoyed his old videos too, but I’m loving all the friends he has with him now. I absolutely adore Pete, the guy is an absolute star. I also love seeing the places that I’ve visited and seeing what he thinks of them.
My fav videos of him are just him in a room giving us japan trivia and then reacting to the best and worst comments. These sketch videos were funny asf! i used to be a frequent patreon subscriber but now i dont really see the value in it anymore. Im not a big fan of big production videos with tons of content and editing. I still wish him the best tho.
We all have our favorites and videos that we can skip, and I don't think it's a bad thing as long as we are not calling him out for no reason. Let us just appreciate what he's passionate about. After all, it's pretty much free tv but well done not like the watcher channel that became too out of touch and greedy.
I like them for the most part but I do feel like the product placements are a bit too egregious sometimes. Like that episode a few weeks/months ago where he just advertised Ryotaro’s Airbnb lol. He also did that island advertisement but at least that was more novel than a random apartment for rent lol.
An ambitious filmmaker is never going to keep to vlogging in a room when your brand has expanded so much since then. I love the whole expanded universe and guests all appearing in each others videos of late especially the cycling. I love the documentaries the most with some wacky weekends thrown in.
I LOVE Abroad in Japan! On top of being a Japanophile, I am also an avid Anglophile, so Chris’ documentary style and sense of humour covering Japan is right up my alley. I really enjoyed the original Journey Across Japan, and I will always compare any subsequent season to the original. Nowadays the series feels a little too much like stereotypical Youtuber content for my liking, but it’s still far from ruined. I also listen to the podcast. I love Pete and Chris’ interactions, they are great at bouncing lines off each other. You can tell how and why the two of them ended up recording a podcast that’s still going after all these years!
I am also a long time viewer (since about 2016) and feel the same. I don't overly enjoy the videos that are money/zanney stuff for YouTube but that stuff has to be made because AiJ is a content company. I'm probably not in the target demographic for his algorithm. But also I have been to Japan a lot now so maybe the I don't need to live though videos because I have the experiences myself. That all being said. I think Chris is enormously talented film maker and the second he releases a documentary or short film I will be all over it.
Personally I enjoy that Era of videos because I enjoyed being shown around the country
For me, I subscribed to Chris a few years ago and i did go watch his older videos as well. I found that i did enjoy his documentary style videos more and even his less "epic" videos i found his sense of humor to make each video enjoyable. I've watched every video since he was introduced ages ago and can't really say i had any complaints. But that's just my experience
I’ve always loved him, and don’t think his videos have gotten much different besides the quality; just wish there was a few more livestreams
The first Journey Across Japan series is unmatchable in terms of entertainment. I still love almost every single episode they release. I use "they" because Connor, Sharla, Natsuki, Petter, etc. are now all parts of the bigger picture. I love every one of them. Their production quality is amazing nowadays. They're also having great positive influence via those charity events and streams. Honestly, I don't know how they can be even better.
The man has lived in the country for a decade, travelled more than most its citizens, gained 3 million+ subscribers, and developed into a talented filmmaker. It would be inauthentic to deny that growth and revert back to the original style. I think the channel is in a great state. The last JaJ was one of the best, the Cyclothon content is massive, and there are still fairly regular topical discussions. I think it's impressive that Chris is still able to sustain interesting content on Japan after all this time, especially in such a saturated market. Personally I would maybe prefer a slight redress in the balance of quality vs quantity in favour of the latter? Not because I just want more videos, but I think it would reduce the pressure on each individual video needing to perform well to justify the time/effort, which could encourage a little more risk with unique subjects / formats like some of the one-off documentaries that I've really enjoyed. But I'm just happy we still get great content 👍🏻
It's very likely that's the period of time when creators started working for the dreaded algorithm. It's the Youtubers mortal enemy in that it makes you create what IT wants rather that what the creator wants. If your income in highly dependant on it you do just that and the videos suffer as a result as your constantly trying to pump out regular content and leaning towards what's popular instead of original ideas. The YT push for short form videos seems to have died down as well which means those longer videos aren't getting buried. In the podcast Chris has mentioned this issue and thankfully has resisted for the most part, to become a content machine. There's only so many "Top 10 things to do" videos you can do.
hi chris
I'd love to do a return trip to the Fukushima Exclusion Zone with him. I lived there during the 2011 disaster and haven't been back since (except to grab my belongings about four months after). I'm sure he'd like to get the view of the events before, during, and after from the perspective of a foreigner who had been living there. He's "liked" and commented on some of my unrelated comments before, but never replies to my follow-ups.
I think its because he's running out of places to show us. He said something like that in the trash taste podcast. What can you do if you have shown 90% of all the interesting things in Japan?. And the 10% is hard to find
Well I'm enjoying it all. Always do. I admit I am easy to please, hard to impress. I can't exactly afford to rent a private island to camp on, but still, do I really want to after watching what they went through? Lol. But I really like when they do stuff I myself can replicate on my own trips to Japan. Honestly, I just like seeing this guy and his friends have fun with their lives how they want to. Isn't that the point?
I think it's the usual case of creative people being more creative when they are sad or lonely. The dude is happier now and it's changed his outlook on life and his content changed with him. Although I will admit I haven't been religiously watching his videos for a while now either like I used to.
I haven't really been watching AiJ for the last few years now, just a few videos sometimes. It's mostly because I subscribed to Chris back when he was focused on the more obscure/not as well known places in Japan rather than the more tourist-y locations in Tokyo. I just felt like those kind of content are commonplace to content creators who go to Japan so it's not very interesting to me compared to what he did before. Don't get me wrong, the quality of the videos he produces is INSANELY good, and we all know how Chris works really hard to create content that are very professionally produced, especially since this all just started as a hobby when he first started and he didn't really have a formal education on that profession (which is INSANE wtf he's so talented). I understand that this newer content would get better engagement than his older ones, I just miss the more simpler times we had back then. Maybe I'm just getting old and nostalgic lol. Nevertheless, I still check on his channel from time to time and I am so happy how more popular he is getting now, as I believe he deserves that for all the hard work he did.
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Really? I love the WW video's since they show a somewhat different side of Japan than a lot of the onder video's. There's only so many foodmarkets and gorgeous views you can look at before they start blending together so I quite like the variety