November Updates

Hi everyone! I hope you're all well. Another month has almost completely whizzed by, so it's also time for another updates post.

Life has been very quiet for me this past month, so I'm not sure where the time has gone. England is in national lockdown and I live alone, but luckily I've been able to keep busy. I can't deny there have been some very hard moments, as I'm sure there have been for all of us this year, but I take comfort in the fact that even throughout these strange times I can always take enjoyment from what I'm doing with my time. Autumnal walks have also been soothing my soul. I hope you're all managing to find small pleasures here and there right now.

On to the video--things are moving along smoothly, but I don't have much to report. I've just wrapped up the research process--literally right before I started writing this post. It's taken a little longer than I'd hoped, but as I hope you'll all agree when the video comes out, was well worth it. I've spent the past month browsing over fifty articles, webpages and books on Japanese culture and history, psychology and the horror genre and have amassed a small mountain of notes. I've had great fun with it and easily could've gone on for another month doing the same, but I had to draw the line somewhere, and I finally feel adequately equipped to tackle writing the essay itself--a task that is daunting and exciting in equal measure.

My approach to this essay has been decidedly academic as compared to past efforts. I've thoroughly enjoyed learning as much as I can about what I want to talk about and more besides, as well as how those things link back to Higurashi itself--in ways that are perhaps serendipitous or perhaps intentional, but always delightful to discover. One of the joys of this process is feeling like I've gained a bit deeper of an understanding of the work I'm talking about--it's definitely something that comes during the making of the videos, rather than preceding that process. At the same time, I'll be talking extensively about my area of study, and that also brings me a special kind of joy. I'm naturally drawn to series that explore psychological themes, but I've never utilised quite so much of my own education in a video before, and I'm really hoping everyone who watches it will come away having learned something new. One textbook I own in particular has been an indispensable resource--it doesn't hurt that this research has largely doubled up as actual studying.

I also have to thank you all for your supportive messages on my first post. Writing it took an unexpectedly huge weight off my shoulders, and as a result, I've felt able to give this part of the video-making process the time it needs without worrying about the release date (despite the channel somehow soaring to over 2500 surely expectant subscribers since my last post). It will be all the better for it. Speaking of release dates, I still can't give a better estimate than December, but I'll be doing my best to get it out in the first half of the month (without overexerting myself, your concerns are noted and appreciated!). I'm starting at my new university (virtually) tomorrow, so we'll soon see if that's too ambitious. I am optimistic things will be able to start moving a lot quicker now.

I'm even less clear on how long the video will actually end up being. Brevity in writing is its own skill, and one that has somewhat evaded me. I firmly believe the length of a video is in no way equal to the depth and quality of the content, so I'll be making one of my usual, frequently unsuccessful attempts to keep the runtime to an approachable number. I feel like this is a video that could benefit from that, however incongruent it seems with the amount of information I've amassed. Ultimately, we could be looking at a twenty-five minute overview or my longest project yet--place your bets, I honestly have no idea.

And that's all I really have to say this month, apologies for the rather uneventful update! Between the release of the video and likely a poll for the next as well as something else small I have planned to commemorate the end of the year, things should be more exciting around here in December. I'll see if I can't whip up a preview of the video closer to release to thank you all for your patience, too.

For now you'll have to excuse me, I have an essay to write!