Why it's worth making content in English?

The English-language channel “The Baka!” has unexpectedly become a source of curious observations and surprising discoveries for me.

For example, a video about Chinese animation showed me how differently anime is perceived by Russian-speaking and international audiences. In the Russian-speaking community, people tend to insist that anime is strictly Japanese, and any “intrusion” from other countries is met with anger and resentment. Meanwhile, viewers in the US and Europe happily embrace those same Chinese titles.

It works the other way around too. Shaman King, an anime from my childhood that seemed to have become a cult classic in the CIS almost by accident, turned out to be just as nostalgic for people in many other countries, from Brazil to the Philippines.

But the most interesting part is realizing how many different people from all over the world watch content in English. Recently, a viewer from China emailed me asking if she could add Chinese subtitles to my video so her friend, who doesn’t speak English, could watch it too. Of course I said yes, and now my video about Sonny Boy has a Chinese translation.

Even if the channel never grows into anything big, I think it’s already been worth it.