Hello everyone! Today I’d like to go over a bunch of things pertaining to the Library of Ohara and its future. I mainly want to focus on three points:

– Changes and Updates: A brief look at what has been updated about the Library
– The Future of the Library: A look at the future of my content
– Thanks: A personal thanks from me to you, though it relates a lot to the future of my content, so please take the time to read it

1. Changes

First of all, changes! It might not make a massive difference, but I’ve decided to revamp the upper sidebar of the Library over the past few weeks:

– All my work on the Charlotte Family and the Sword Encyclopedia are now featured
– You can find a full list of all my Chapter Secrets over at the “Chapter Secrets” section, as well as all the Specials in the “Chapter Secrets Special” section. And as always you can check the featured “OP Birthday Calendar” and “The One Piece Timeline”
– “Miscellaneous” includes the various projects I work on from time to time, as well as all the parodies. Similarly, “News” leads to all the news updates and new information
– “Vivre Card Databook” includes links to every one of the Vivre Card summaries and “SBS Question Corner” includes all the SBS translations
– Finally, “About me” includes some basic contact links and “Donating” offers anything you need if you wish to support the Library of Ohara
– Alternatively you can just scroll down the “Home” page to find all of my content listed there, or use the trusty search bar(s)!

On top of my usual content, you can also expect a few big projects to appear in the coming months, some of which I’m very excited about, though I’d rather not fully disclose them quite yet. Among those however is a full update of the Timeline in a new format, so hopefully that comes in the near future!

2. The Future of the Library of Ohara

With that said, I now want to focus on something very important: the future of the Library of Ohara. Because very soon a very big event is going to be happening…

I’m going to Japan!! Yaaaaaaayyyy!!

2.  Japan

Yes, after literal years of planning, I’m finally able to go to Japan for the first time over this summer! I’ll be going to Tokyo from August 1st till sometime in October! This is a massive step for both me and my content, so it will have a big effect on the Library to an extent. However, don’t worry! I’ve had some people ask if I’ll stop making Chapter Secrets, the Vivre Cards and other content because of my stay there, but that’s certainly not the case! While I do plan to do many things there that might not relate to One Piece, there’s still plenty of downtime that I can use to keep making content for the Library, so don’t worry in that regard!

If anything, with all the OP events around this time, you’ll be having some extra content! Don’t get me wrong though, I don’t plan to turn this into a vlogging site or anything. Rather I’ll focus on sharing the One Piece-specific content from there, such as the One Piece Tokyo Tower, the Universal Live Show, etc. For more of my own personal experiences about Japan and what not I’ll likely share that via my personal twitter account rather than on the Library itself.

What you can expect on the Library however is, of course, Stampede!! I’ll be going to watch Stampede in theaters on release day, so expect a bunch of stuff on that, such as a full review, spoiler talk, personal impressions, etc.

2. YouTube

Another thing I’d like to touch on regarding the future of my content is YouTube. As you might be aware, I’ve been planning for a long time to properly start making content over at my channel, but I’ve never really had the chance to start yet.

To put it quite simply without overcomplicating it, it’s just that I haven’t had the time to invest into YouTube yet. While I have plenty of experience in creating content on this site, I have zero experience in regards to YouTube. I’ve never voiced a video before, never done any proper advanced editing or produced a series of videos, so everything has to be started from scratch there. And while it is something I am fully willing to do and excited to do at that, it’s just something I haven’t found the time and the mental energy to dedicate to doing that big first starting step, hence why it’s taken so long.

I already have to dedicate a content creator’s usual workload entirely on the Library, so YouTube is something else piled up on top of all that. Theoretically I’d be able to dedicate myself to it, but since the last year has been centered around making this trip to Japan work (while still keeping a steady stream of content for the Library), I just couldn’t find the time or mental energy for it. Between all the necessities for a proper setup, the mental preparation behind it, the hurdle of starting off as a beginner and trying to create a constant stream of content, it’s just been hard to dedicate much time to it with other responsibilities like my content and traveling to Japan, despite eagerly wishing to do so.

However, don’t worry, as this doesn’t mean it’s not happening! What I’m getting at is just that it’s been slower to get to that point, but I’m getting there nonetheless. I fully wish to dedicate myself to YouTube and create extra content that compliments the Library, as well as interact with some of the wonderful folks in the YouTube community. I’m simply not sure if I’ll be able to start soon or if I’ll need some more time, so I ask for some patience in that regard given my lack of experience in this type of content. Just keep in mind that I fully intend for it to be happening in the coming future, so please look forward to it when it unavoidably happens!

3. Thank you

And finally, to conclude, I just want to offer my personal thanks. But this is more than just some general thanks. I’d like to thank you all for two main things:

First of all, the Library of Ohara has been breaking all sorts of milestones recently! Unlike a YouTube channel, where there’s a specific metric for growth known as the subscriber count, a site like this one doesn’t quite have such a direct metric. Instead, you just have to calculate the ratio of views your content has and compare it to what the standards are for a channel of that level, so while it is possible to get a general idea, it’s not easy to get a hard number. In other words, while it’s not directly measurable and must be approximated, a while back my site came to the point where it was as big as a 100,000 subscriber channel! Wow!! That’s a lot!!! Yes, while I can’t calculate what my exact level of growth is to the exact number, it’s still unbelievable to have gotten to such a point and to be receiving this many views. The fact that my content is so widely enjoyed by so many people across the world is something that makes me so incredibly happy and I hope my content has helped enrich many of your experiences with One Piece. That was also a few months back, so by now the count has increased even further!! Thank you so much again!

However, the other way that I wish to thank you for is a more personal one. The reason I’m able to stand where I am today and I’m able to do the things I can today is all thanks to you. The sole reason I’m able to finally fulfill my wish to go to Japan is thanks to all your help over time. On one hand, in a quite literal way, this trip is possible from an economic standpoint thanks to all your views and more especially the continued support of my Patreons:

 

Through your incredible generosity, the ability of having financial stability has opened so many opportunities like this one, so I want to extend my personal thanks to all of you. It’s humbling to think that such opportunities in life are thanks to the generosity of people I don’t even know personally, I am overflowing with gratefulness to all of you.

But I’d also like to thank everyone on top of that regardless of the way you’ve supported me, to thank you for the moral support you’ve given me. This is something I’ve touched upon in the past, but I am someone who has suffered from a lot of issues relating to anxiety and stress in the past, to a medically critical level. The Library of Ohara and the support coming from it has been an essential part in helping me fight and overcome it. Every ounce of support, every kind comment and caring reply, has helped me gain faith in myself and push through life. I read every single thing that comes my way, and while I can’t reply to it all, it always puts a smile on my face to interact with all of you. While I still struggle against anxiety on a day to day basis and will ultimately never be able to completely get rid of it, I grow stronger against it each passing day and I continuously walk towards a happier life. That would simply not be possible without you all and I am eternally grateful for that and the opportunities you’ve given me. Once again, just one last time, thank you so much.

3. Conclusion

With all of that said, please look forward to the content on the Library in the coming future! I hope it can help enrich both my and your experience of One Piece as much as possible! Onwards to Tokyo!!