Suede Of The Union 07/06/2019 (Test Footage)

I don't like it. The blobs don't convey much emotion. If you use blobs, jokes about characters expressions- and even jokes like them being (in?) the burning warehouse won't work because I can't see the joke. Your jokes about the writing still work- like Usain bolt trips and breaks the sound barrier! and Tracy is still bad with numbers! But anything about the visuals will be lost. I don't think I'd pay to watch this format as it is :( (not canceling now- just giving feedback for financial decisions) Are you constrained to hosting with youtube- or are youtube's competitors nonviable for other reasons? I really love the format you've been using up to now.

I don’t mind you filling in with your own dubbing but yeah I find myself just wondering what the actual episode looked like and how much....well....better the jokes would be with the real footage. Can’t you use a moving border like Linkara does with his HOPR videos?

I think that part of why this doesn't quite work is the timing of the gags. I think the gags are good, and I'd prefer they stay, but since we the audience are basically having to decode each new scene with the new images and your descriptions of what's happening, the snappy jokes get a little lost. We don't have the time to process the set-up before the punchline and then while we're still trying to catch up, you're two scenes ahead already.

I think the chibis are practically adorable! However, I agree with others who say that some of the jokes and commentary fall flat without the actual footage or at least a still. I think a hybrid of chibis and screenshots, as well as maybe a different writing style could help solve the issue. As for which writing style, I'm not sure, but perhaps it's time for summaries that boringly but accurately recounts the episode, and the jokes can come in the thoughts and trivia sections only? I love the funny summaries, but the new style doesn't quite jive with them, and from what you're saying, this change has to happen even just to post publically again.

Emily Pendergraft

I feel like the odd man out here: I laughed my *ass* off at this, because the chibi and description were *incredibly* funny to me. I could easily watch entire episodes done this way, I think, though I do admit that characters need a little more than color and vague shape differences. It's along the right track (in that I don't feel they would need to be completely detailed for it to work) but I had trouble telling who was who. Then again, I have face blindness, so that may contribute to not recognizing them in some way. With that said, it does feel less like you're summarizing an episode and more like you're telling a funny story summarizing a show you'd seen. Which works to me, but does end up coming off somewhat differently. I'll also miss the genius work you do with lip flaps, but that's an animation junkie doing the talking, there. All in all, I empathize with what people above are saying, even if I don't personally agree with it: if the show kept this style, I strongly think that I would enjoy it just as much.

Trey McGowan

I agree with all the complaints about your riffing style not working so well with the new animation. I actually think something like Littlekuriboh reacts to Yugioh GX would be helpful, where he reacts to screenshots with overlaid with the episode's audio. You say Shopro can still claim it, but I don't think youtube's copyright detection reacts simply to screenshots. I feel like it's at least worth testing out.

Lucas Neumeyer (NEW-my-er)

To be honest I gotta agree. It’s been years since I saw the show and a good chunk of the reason I watch is to see everything I missed. Plus i get the feeling it would make grading and trivia on the animation feel off, like we just have to take your word for it that it felt clunky or really smooth. Same with voice acting.

I’ll be honest, I think that this no longer makes it seem like you’re reviewing the show. I’ve never seen this episode, and it looks like you’re creating an original story. There’s just nothing that makes me think that this is the show. So I guess I would recommend still frames, or just go whole hog and retool to tell original stories.

Will Herrmann

Format works better than expected but DAAAAAMN Youtube why do you have to facilitate this nonsense in the first place?

Commander672

Think a screenshot with the show's audio (about 5 seconds a line) here and there might work?

Brin

Over all I don't mind this format, I think it could use a little improvement. for one I think you should either try explain more of whats happening, or try showing more with the images, for example at 0:49 the joke of them not aiming at the base would be funnier if we knew they weren't doing that before hand, which IMO didn't come across that well by the images. I also would appreciate more distinct pictures for are characters, at 1:06 it takes me a little time to relies that that Ash is actually talking to someone else. on a more positive note i think the plot still comes across well, and the jokes are still funny, so i think once we get past the initial growing pains of changing format so drastically this could really work well.

I liked it more than I thought I would. The animations are cute too. I dunno with what but I'd break it up by adding gifs like you did with Squirtle or other little things to add to the flow. But you deff got a good idea here.

Good to see people analytically explaining what they think doesn't work about the format while offering suggestions rather than just saying how lame it is like when Doug used to do clipless reviews (sorry if the comparison is crossing a line, but this solution really feels like that one). Well, others have already said what I think of it and more, so all I have left to add is that it's hard to comment on the animation in this format. Not as big a deal for some, especially since I watched the episode beforehand, but it is nice to be able to observe how good or bad it is.

edmg7

I enjoyed what you showed here, but I can definitely understand the complaints above me regarding the writing not quite matching the new presentation. The most blatant example is when Ash and co. are fighting the warehouse fire, and you joke about how they need to aim for the base instead of raining over the top, but all we see is the characters and their pokemon standing in front of the fire. At the very least you should draw the poorly aimed waterguns to illustrate your joke.

KefkaesqueXIII

I think the Pikachu joke in 1:55 sorta sums up the problem: The joke itself is a funny one, as I can picture what it'd be in a normal episode (namely a clip of the scene in question to indicate how serious it is, then a screenshot of pikachu giving that dialogue). But in this it's a bit disjointed, because we're not seeing Pikachu look differently to what we've seen before, nor is he really established well beforehand. A better joke would be to change it from 'narrating what is happening in the episode' to something more along the lines of 'recreating the episode with these Chibi characters that exaggerates things to a humourous effect.' I can't quite think of a good gag at the moment beyond a typical Western stare-off where you cut to Pikachu looking innocent, but something where the images by themselves help build on the comedy. If the chibi is going to replace the footage then I feel like the synposis should turn more towards recreation/parody than narrative exposition interspliced with jokes. Keep the standard 'dubbing over the characters with funny lines' thing, but have that been more of the focus, with the narrator being used to point out when actual dialogue from the show is used or something. Basically the old 'show, don't tell', but in this case more 'have the visuals complement the script', rather than 'have the visuals distractingly get in the way of what we're suppose to be seeing and you're reacting to'.

I agree with the first comment. Also, I think maybe you can give all the characters slightly different shapes so they're slightly more distinuishable other than round blobs with different colours and some small marked features... they all look like ditto. And what will we do if an actual ditto appears? This style isn't bad but I had a bit of a hard time telling who was who when there were more characters on screen. Maybe draw the characters ONE distinquising clothing or feature. For example, Ash's hat could be bigger and would be the first thing noticed. Misty's hair would be another, Jenny's hat etc. Maybe change the summary a little so that it doesn't sound like you're talking about something that we can't see. It feels like you're behind the drawing talking about the actual episode and we're getting a drawing projector of what you see but it obviously can't be the actual episode. I guess, I think your summary and the drawings feel disconnected. You're not summarises the drawings which is meant to be the summary of the episode which we the audience are only allowed to see. I hope that makes sense.

StoryLover

While I would miss your current style (I would prefer if it were possible to keep things as they are) I would be happy to keep supporting this version if you choose to go with it. I’d understand if it meant less episodes per month.

Jesse Saunders

Eh at the moment I don't think it's quite working, as it's not matching the style of your comedy. While the chibi idea can work in theory, it's clashing with the way you present your jokes. A lot of your humour comes from reacting what's on screen, but without being able to see it, the punchlines end up becoming a bit orphaned as we don't get proper set-up. It's basically the old 'show don't tell' idea, where you're telling us that X thing is happening and why you're reacting rather than showing us. That being said, the chibi style could work if you change how you do your synopsis outlines to better fit with what is going on. For example, rather than the usual 'talking about what is happening on screen overlaid with comedic dub', instead do a broader overview that requires less on the audience seeing what is happening and more about the description of the episode in general. It definitely feels like a change in how you write the episodes is needed in order to make this new style work. TL;DR: The Chibi style works in theory, but in practice it doesn't work with your current writing style, so you'd need to change that to make the concept work and land better.