Man we miss you and the JVlog community too! I started watching yours videos and those of the other JVloggers back in 2010-2011 when I was a high school student and it really sparked my love for Japan. It was such a cool time to follow you guys, there were videos from all of you virtually every day and the community felt so active and alive. Thinking back on it it definitely was a nostalgic and special time for me, and I imagine for you and the other JVloggers too. I remember coming home from high school every day and looking forward to your videos, what a time. It really is kind of sad to have seen the splintering and slowdown of the JVlog community over the years and knowing that it will likely never regain the energy and popularity it once did is sad to me, but I suppose it's natural. If anything, we can all always look back on the era when you guys dominating the Japan RU-vid scene fondly and nothing can ever take away the work you guys did bringing the community to life and sparking I'm sure countless people's love for Japan, so for all of that, thank you so much Scott! You were an integral part of that and you definitely played a huge part in why I ended up studying Japanese in college. I'm glad to see that you, Victor, and some others still post on RU-vid from time to time and that you guys are doing well.
I remember watching the j-vloggers pre 2017. Well, when that drama happened with that one particular j-vlogger (I won't mention their name). That pretty much damaged the j-vlogger community. There were a few others like this, but that one stood out the most. I remember that much. Those sort of types left Japan and pretty much disappeared with their tails between their legs. The people who came afterwards didn't want that sort of drama, so they changed it up. After that, there was a new type of foreigner videos about Japan. Which did start to pop up more in my feed. These were more polished videos of Japan, from a foreigner aspect. It had all the bells and whistles. The fancy edits and graphics. I'm taking about Chris from Aboard in Japan and that type of illk. Not saying they are bad. I do like a few, but it kind of put a distance between being personable to being flashy and presentable. All in the name of views, really. Some people just liked that more. Just want to be informed and with a little bit of humour.
I think for me late 2000s when Iwate Swan, Unrested, Gimmeabreak etc etc were the only gate way into seeing everyday life in Japan as a foreigner without having to risk the money and time doing it yourself. You guys were, to most, the only way to see Japan. You guys all hold a dear place in my childhood and I thank you so much. I've been watching since you posted your very first week in Japan.
As a viewer I think the down slope started with the kanadajin3 drama. The bigger guys saw that drama got views and jumped on that trend for a while. Then drama and infighting between the jvloggers themselves. I think that soured some of the longtime watchers. Then Maggie died and Victor had kids making him busier, and Hiko had to step back from 2.5 Oyajis which I think was sort of the hub for the community. Victor was really the guy putting in the legwork to make it feel like a community. Then like you said all the meta RU-vid stuff like video responses being taken away and algorithm changes for suggested videos.
I think the jvlog community was a big deal because Japan was mysterious to the West. But. Now with globalization and the fact that going to Japan isn’t that special or unique any more no one cares to watch videos about other peoples lives in Japan.
Oh wow it’s been so many years since I’ve seen your videos, I randomly searched up some jvlogs again since I haven’t seen any recently and everyone stopped posting. So glad to see you still out here 🥰
When it comes to these old jvloggers, I think the most interesting case definitely has to be ryanboundless'. That man has had some truly unfortunate things happen to him which turned him into a bitter shell of himself... Or perhaps just revealed the self-destructive toxic womanizer he was all along.
Ryan Boundless ended up just being a passport Bro. I used to watch the Jvloggers back in the day. I stopped really watching by the time Unrested had his first child. I watched Victor's loss of Maggie. I stopped watching RU-vid for a long while.
I really miss your J news videos where you would like chill at the park and just talk for awhile about whatever was going on in Japan recently and your thoughts on it. Those were my fave.
As otaku culture and comodines becamr more widespread in global marketing, peopme fascination with jvlogs and the idea of moving to japan decreased accordingly
Hey Unrested! Thanks for making the video! Your videos along with many others in the JVlog community is what brought me to Japan in the first place!(Circa. 2013) I met ou before and said this before, but I wanted to give you a sincere thank you for giving me the motivation to move to Japan. Seriously thank you for putting in the effort. My move to Japan has had a huge impact on my life. it is difficult to quantify. I am having trouble putting it into words, but really thank you for giving me the motivation to stretch beyond by cultural boundaries].
for what it's worth: this was my first channel that gave me a glimpse into japan in the early youtube days. i wasn't even looking for japan content, it was just interesting from his pov
i kindda missed that good old days. Back then there was a lot of different jvloggers from different part of Japan...sometimes there were also dramas, back stabbing etc😄nowdays i only still followed a few like gimmeabreakman Col. mully chris abroad paolointokyo hikosaemon busankevin rachel & jun etc.
The RU-vid algorithm really sucks now I searched for Gimmeabreak man, because I want to follow more J Vloggers and learn about Japanese culture. The search results started with three of his videos and then went to some nonsense drama channels that have nothing to do with JVloggers, Japan etc. The search results should be similar videos that are also tagged with JVlog. Rip old RU-vid … there used to be way more community feel 😢
Man yor videos helped me through a hard time in my life and I even moved to Japan! Been here 6 years now and you and some of the other j vloggers made it really easy for me to move here and what not to do job wise. That is what I'll always remember. Also your j news and Dark Side of Japan series were great.
Just hearing some of those channels, man what a blast from the past. Glad to see you're still around dude, been watching you now for got to be 9-10 years now.
I've been a subscriber for ages and I have to say that I have more of a connection with this channel than any other. I really appreciate that you do your own thing and still create videos, without chasing that RU-vid fame. I get the sense that I'm seeing a real genuine person and not some character.
the 3 I watch now is Rachel Jun, Kimisushi and Sundai Love, sometiems abrod in japan. There are a few others, but at this point of watching so much, I like just people living through japan vs trendy stuff like "we visit a sushi convayer belt resturant". The thing is, such surface level things you can find in the US or other countries. Its the day to day or deeper level stuff you can't export.
I think the successful ones like Chris Broad or Only in Japan GO. Is they found a formula like most vlogs and just repeated it adnauseam. The audience mostly wants happy positive stuff - visiting the same part of Tokyo for the millionth time -GO, educating or something entertaining like Broad. The other ones on the other hand treat them like blogs like yourself, men in particular use it to vent, tell the audience stuff there Japanese wives would never understand. Talking about personal stuff and real life. Of course many RU-vidrs do want do different things but the successful ones quickly return to the dictates of their audiences, if there is no interest which is most often the case. Broad in a live stream had a viewer comment that you should do what you want not the audience wants. He basically said I’m not sure about that.
I've watched your videos for so long and am still delighted whenever there's a new upload. I remember all of these community things and other jvloggers, they were interesting times, it was fun to follow along as a watcher. So while very understandable it was still sad to see it all slowly die out. Since you mentioned Trash Taste, I don't know if it's in your interest at all, but it would be so cool to see you as a guest there. You've lived in Japan so long, experienced a lot.. and have a lot of other niche knowledge such as Yokai, the dark side stuff, tattoos, starting your own business.. There could be a lot of topics to discuss.
I would say the subject of having a family in Japan could be interesting. None of the Trash Taste "bois" have kids, so except for Joey's childhood, none know what that experience would be like and it could give some insight into if Japan is where they would wish to raise a family (and this is assuming any of them would want children).
Scott! You're my OG jvlogger. I still watch TykoSam too. I had to unsubcribe from Gimmeabreakman cuz he got so political. lol. Keep doing your thing InkSmith!!
I grew up watching jvlogs. Back when there weren't many topics or videos covering SoL in Japan, you guys were my go-to. Iwate Swan, Gimmeabreakman, BusanKevin, MexicanSamurai, JasonIsLost, Mira(lol), and a bunch of smaller jvlog channels. I was fascinated watching what life was like on the other side of the world. Always enjoyed watching everyone's hanami parties every year. Something to note is that you guys were way ahead of your time. Nowadays, I see people on twitch blowing up just walking around livestreaming Tokyo.
Great video. I really miss the golden days of "j-vlogging" but yeah I agree the drama ruined it for me and I think this is why youtubers that avoided it are still successful such as Chris Aboard. Also, more people are discovering other cultures such as Korea because of K-pop.
I no longer live in japan but I'm glad I got to experience the jvlogging era when I lived there. The peak imo was when the RU-vid Hanami's were going on and got a huge amount of people there
Honestly, the last remaining 'jvloggers' are incredibly insufferable at this point. Yes, there's still some decent guys out there. But for example, TkyoSam who I didn't mind, feels the need to consistently ridicule people like me who have sold their possessions, studied Japanese for years and are clinging onto the hope (in some cases since covid began), that they would finally start a career and life in Japan. I watched you and Sam for many years now, back when I was in highschool, by then I was fixated on the idea I would live in Japan. But when guys like Sam call us babies or weebs for complaining that the Japanese government won't even provide a clue or roadmap to opening for workers and students, it's extremely condescending. I can probably think of a handful of Japanese RU-vidrs who are worth watching at this point. Many of them could care less about other foreigners moving or giving them any advice - heck even using their big channels to bring pressure on the border situation. They all seem like they enjoy having a bunch of people locked out whilst they continue their career and ambitions. A sort of weird narcissism as if to say "Meh, I'm an eikawa 10th year teacher, you can wait a few more years because of Covid :)". Again, not all jvloggers, but a fair few who have this snobbish vibe around them.
I feel your pain man. There are no roadmaps. To put it simply “we strangers in a strange land”. I do think though for people who managed to learn the language and stay for over 5 years would be able to build a permanent stable life in Japan. So either by getting married to a Japanese person or become heavily invested in some form of cultural activity. I think the narcissism analogy is quite true. There seem to be a need for the JP gov to make use of foreigners for the greater good of their ideals. There is nothing wrong with that its their country but I would still have appreciated some directions and guidance. But I get their point after living there for few years. Many Japanese people grow up learning by examples and not through the same direct ways like we teach kids in the west.
Mid to late 00s was a great time on RU-vid in general the platform got worse since that time, lot of vloggers from all parts of the globe from that time no longer upload, many stopped uploading never to be seen again, and sadly a few died. I'm sure these days there are probably good ones that haven't got much attention because of the way the modern algorithm is but lately instead of watching vloggers I've been seeing some of the world for myself. Back in mid to late 00s I was a teenager so I just watched people live in places I wanted to visit. Vloggers like you inspired me to go out and see a bit of the world.
Minute late to the catch-up video. Just glad to see that you're doing well. I'm about to cross the 9 year mark in Japan and I owe it to a couple guys like you. Should you see this, keep up the good fight!
That totally makes sense to me that you can’t make as much content anymore due to your life choices in Japan. Some things have to take more priority. But when I first got interested in Japan around mid 2015, you were one of the first people I found back then and I learned a lot before I made plans to fly over. For a long time I had a dream about trying to move over to Japan as I have never settled down, had kids or got married. So I always thought I had a chance to do it. But I’ve come to terms with the fact that my dream is crushed because my age is going against me for one thing at 32 now and I just don’t have the discipline to learn a second language. And I also wondered about what you are up to nowadays hence why I put in this comment right after thinking about that.
Good times! My channel (TokyoBrando at the time) never made it big, but it was still fun. I"m planning a full time come back when Covid finally takes a hike and Japan lets me in..
It's sad to see the community die on us, but I do agree that things got out of hand and even with RU-vid making a worse mess of things aside from that, it's rather unlikely that it will ever get back to what it was or something close to it. It however might be a positive thing as well in some weird way, lives do tend to go further and that's something a lot of people seem to forget. It might be sad to see things end, but at the same time it does show progress in the youtuber's personal life. To whatever extend that might be obviously. In your case, you have 2 wonderful boys to take care of, they are more important then youtube or people you never met before. It may sound harsh, but it is the truth. Every Jvlogger from back then has their own thing going on but that doesn't make it really an ending, things can pick up at some point and perhaps on another platform. Specially with RU-vid seemingly being very keen on self-destructing for some reason. I do keep saying, and please don't feel forced to do anything as I leave it all up to you. I do see you as a friend, at least as much as possible. Same with Victor for that matter. It may not be much from someone on the other side of the planet that you never met before, perhaps even impossible with everything goin on in your own life. But that doesn't mean there can't be some form of friendship, friends don't have to see each other for years and yet they can pick up where ever they left off as they say. It's more a friendly understanding I guess? Anyways, ty for your video.
It’s still really cool to see you make videos on this channel! Your videos and topics all have their own unique flair and down to earth vibe that I’ve always really enjoyed. Sometimes the higher production Japan-focused channels lose their “authenticity” in opinion due to worrying about monetization and partnerships. So although I’m sorry that you don’t make a lot off of RU-vid, it’s great that you can have your own voice, especially with talking about deeper/controversial topics.
I found your channel between 2011 and 2012 and you were still making content on a weekly basis. You are the only channel I've subbed to the longest, the rest has come and gone but I'm still here. Thank you so much for the memories and hope you are well.
Haha the glory days of J vlogging RU-vidrs. There were just a few of you guys back then. Most of the original group I watch every now and again. But only unrested and the Japan channel dcom are the only ones I stay current with and have seen every video. But the viewer has grown up too. Not as much time for content these days with all other things we do when we get old. And these new kids I don't identify with...they are kids. At least with you and the other original crew we have all grown old gotten married have kids and for the most part I can identify with that and the topics you have. Hannah minx though lol, blast from the past. But happy to see that everyone has moved forward and grown up! Love your content. Here and on inksmith. Keep up the great work. Been subscribed since your early early days with what was it Nova?? Lol. You have come a long way!
Yes, I always felt that 'life got in the way' - which is a bad way of putting it - people who made videos about life in Japan had families, kids & other stuff to do. I also feel that other mediums emerged and kind of eclipsed RU-vid. So much stuff I'm interested in these days are podcasts rather than video-based, which is cool, but it means that 'vlogging' is less of a thing.
I think competition accelerated the demise of the community. It started grass-roots then YT started trying different things, analytics and metrics, people started clicking up for advantage not kinship. All at the same time as the drama debacle. The scene, with parties, people trying to be interesting, attractive, wacky 'personalities' never felt compatible with living a normal life and adjusting in Japan.
Thanks for sharing your great thoughts & points, man. It shows you completed heaps of growing over the years. FYI this is the first video I’ve watched you in & it feels like you captain your own ship and take no bullshit from others. Keep doing what you doing, man.
Thanks so much. Yeah a lot has had to change about me to get here. My stuff from 10 years ago is kinda cringe but I’m glad I have a progression to look back on
Every now and then I think about the jvlogging community. It's definitely not what it used to be, but I'm glad that most of the jvloggers I used to watch still live in Japan and are doing well with work and family. You and Micaela were always my favourites to watch. She made videos while living in Fukuoka, but I'm not sure if she was who you were thinking of. Trash Taste is pretty much the only Japan channel/community that I consistently watch. With the occasional video from Abroad in Japan or Sharla in Japan getting recommended to me.
Tik-Tok is toxic trash, however, there is an explosion of Japanese related content. It has also exploded with Japanese making content in English for their foreign followers. You also didn’t mention how livestreams have also completely changed the game.
dude you underestimate yourself , you were my no 1 jvlogger, and one of the best, of course you can compete and bring that quality, but you find it hard because family now, but of course you can. you are amazing dude, my goal was to meet you in japan but I guess that won't ever happen again, since you are no longer meeting with fans }:
maybe it's the introvert in me, but i like that this channel is actually nothing like any of the other japan channels. i do like those stuff too, like the anime content and the stuff like what chris broad puts out, but somehow this channel really feels like the opposite of commercial production and that's actually really cool without trying to be cool.
I started watching jvloggers when i was 18 thru mid 20s. It was a big part of my life at the time. Despite the drama and similar videos, i learned that i was watching bcuz i liked the people and not just the content. But as videos became more scarce, i became older and busier. I've missed the community and have wondered what happened to it or if it was just me. So thanks for sharing this video. Much appreciated for this insight.
Can somebody send out a flare and a search party and find kansai PJ i feel since kevin moved to china and the just japan podcast went on hold theres no reason for PJ to come out of his hidey hole
I remember watching a lot of you guys around 2013 when the RU-vid algorithm started pushing everyone's videos quite a bit. It was cool seeing a lot of you guys make an effort to collaborate and try to work together to build something. Although, it was unfortunate to see a lot of the drama start to occur and drive that community apart. There's a lot of people who used to vlog in Japan from that time who are no longer really present on RU-vid for various reasons. That period from 2013-2015 was pretty awesome though, tons of content about places all over Japan, mostly tourist spots initially. Some have continued to branch out and make stuff in way more obscure places since, which has been cool to see now and then.
My brief stint on RU-vid came in 2015 and it was cool to be able to go to Osaka and Tokyo hanamis. I'm glad I went when I did, even though it was eventually kind of soured for me by some of the drama that came up at the time. It was fun while it lasted though!
I started my channel because of you and GIMMEABREAKMAN. I think life gets in the way. Like you said, a lot of the community members have grown up and have responsabilities now.
What happened? Life goes on and there was nobody following. There were several changes with the election of the former US president and the election.... There was the beginning of the pandemic. I had to unsubscribe some of those mentioned big jvloggers because I could follow their opinions.....
It was a fun time but people moved on in many different ways. I remember you, TokyoKooney, IwateSwan, Tokyo Sam and givemeabreakman. Like you said people got married, moved away from Japan, and some even died. I think the best memory I have of the j loggers was when they did the Christmas in Japan video.
I've only seen like 5% of ur stuff..Best Yank covering Japan. Hey what are your thoughts on Toyko Vice that had daniel radcliffe at one point?? Love ur work Scott
Now on my list there's only 3 other foreigners in Japan who still on RU-vid : Rachel and Jun(American lady married to Japanese), Life from where I'm from(Canadian man married to Japanese), Sharmeleon(Canadian lady working in Japan)
This is exactly what's happening to OfflineTV right now... at some point everyone has more/other responsibilities and they will move out of the content creator house. They said they will look for a neighborhood for them all to live in but for how long? Eventually there will be some reason to move out of there too... Viewers don't realize how hard it is for a) a group to stay together and b) to make consistent (and original) content for decades. You can't possibly expect someone to make content forever: even Downtown and Mythbusters are/were "friends" on the show but kept it strictly professional behind the scenes. Funny thing about THE ANIME MAN aka Joey is that he is actually drifting away from his anime-only content because he kinda boxed himself in there. His Trash Taste podcast loves to poke fun at how they themselves barely talk about anime on the show. Everything nowadays has a worse trade-off just like video games: the gameplay gets better at every sequel but usually at the cost of the story. It sucks you can't have both...
Gimmeabreakman grew up and had kids....😝 Yo Scott long time no see! 3OD and Tea time of the Living Dead with Unrested. I think was your second appearance on my old show😊 Good times. Yeah now the jvlog community has evaporated getting guests for my current show is like finding needles in haystacks...
Man. Thank you for everything you’ve done. All the videos. You and gimmeabrake man were some of first. What a walk down memory lane. My 20’s, a full decade were The early days of Jvlogging. It was so primitive. Basic. The main stars today Trash Taste. Chris Board. Sharmander. Etc. are all like Andrew Zimmerman and Anthony bourdain. Travel guides. With great production. Mostly cause of the technology available now.
Can someone explain what happened to Ryan boundless. I really find the guy so weird and I believe this is an act but I cant comprehend it. He is so bad of an actor that actually want to believe that he is fucked up
You guys should get together online and do a podcast like 1 night a week or something. You wouldn't have to leave your house & just take 1 hour out of your week to do it. I think people would still watch.
This is not directed at jvloggers, but I feel a lot of the energy I felt 10 years ago has shifted over to many korean vloggers. I guess what I'm trying to say is we can blame kpop lol jk jk
