Gathering of the Kings is cancelled

Back in 2014, I had begun work on what was initially going to be a stop-motion animation based on my ongoing series (as of this post), Godzilla and his Amazing Friends, entitled “Gathering of the Kings”. This special was originally made, both to commemorate the release of the first MonsterVerse film (the 2014 Godzilla movie), as well as to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Godzilla series as a whole, and was to have been released that same year.

Unfortunately, due to my underestimation of how long it would’ve taken to finish the special with how many photos I had at the time, not having access to the Adobe CC (nor could I have outsourced anything since the option wasn't available at the time), and having to deal with drama and personal information from outside sources that were partially connected to the special's initial production, the special did not make its deadline as I had hoped, and instead was placed in development hell.

Once episode 17 of the main series was completed, and I was beginning to experiment with MMD and a few of the adobe programs, interest in resuming production on the special was picking up, and a poll was setup in 2018 to see where the direction of the series would go. With “Gathering of the Kings” winning that poll, production had indeed resumed from that point on, and with new life breathed into the project.

Sadly as of last year however, it was just not meant to be...

I’ve been contemplating this for months now, and after much consideration, I’m sorry to announce that the Gathering of the Kings Special is being cancelled.

This isn’t an easy or popular decision to make, but I honestly feel it would be best to just let it go already. Ever since my long-time friend, Deadzilla, was cancelled online, progress on the special (along with many other video projects or ideas) have slowed to a crawl. Any opinions I feel about that situation are not for this post because of how touchy the situation with him is from what we were told, but needless to say, his departure has effected me in a very negative way, and is partially why I have decided to cancel this project after so many years.

That said, Deadzilla’s departure is not the sole reason for this decision. After looking back on it, and after noticing all the other obstacles that have kept popping up with this particular project’s production over the years, the likes of which include:

• The constantly shifting of focus on multiple projects at once, which was a foolish decision in hindsight on my part.
• Animators that are on board either being too busy with other projects or wishing to focus on their own animation (which I can understand and respect).
• Coping with losing two other friends that same year (one who helped me during a time when I needed support who passed away, and another due to events I won't be discussing).
• Growing detached from the YouTube side of the fandom because of how far its progressed (or regressed in some cases) since my haydays, and how obnoxious it and the rest of the kaiju fandom as a whole has become since 2014.
• Lastly, and above all else: The MCU’s "Spider-Man: No Way Home" turned out to be very close to nearly exactly like what this special was going to be (seeing as this had been a project that was conceptualized as far as 2014,) and knowing that everyone will point it out if/once it got released regardless, it would’ve been doomed to be compared to the film despite this fact…

I’ve lost any and all motivation to keep the animation going. There’s just been one big problem popping up after another (some of which were my own fault) and I’m too tired to keep up with it anymore…

If there’s a bright side to any of this, I have compiled as much footage and stills of what already exists of the special and have turned it into a presentable rough draft of what the special would’ve been like had it been completed. This rough draft is currently available to the people who are pledged to my $10 patreon subscription, and those who have helped me with its development first. After which, it will be publicly viewable on Godzilla Day (November 3rd). I should also mention that out of concern for the very likely possibility of Toho copyright-striking the draft if it were to be posted on YouTube, I'm having it uploaded primarily onto my DailyMotion account instead. Additionally, the special’s cancellation will allow me to resume focus on the main series, which despite everything, I am still (albeit a little) eager to resume working on, and the delays from juggling multiple projects and ideas has ultimately been causing it to not really get a lot of attention either.

I have also been considering the possibility of turning what I currently have of this special into an MMD-based comic series as well. Because I’ve been more focused on making renders lately (they’re easier and less-stressful to make rather than animations), I might be able to salvage what I have and try to make the best of it, and at least the project would have some additional form of release or closure. However, because optimism for this project seems to always ended in failure, I’m not making any promises I can't keep until or unless I already get the ball rolling on it, and if I know for sure that I can see its completion through to the end...

I’m very sorry that its come to this for anyone who has been looking forward to this special, but enough is enough. I’ve been feeling tired and miserable for months without any foreseeable end in sight, barely anyone supports me for what I make anymore (outside of twitter likes), and if I am to possibly move forward, it’s time to lose some dead weight.