Am I Happy with Natsuki: The Movie?

I see this a lot from my favorite YouTubers, they are always worried about how they didn't have some crazy camera for x scene so the quality isn't as good, etc etc. Honestly, I don't think I'm the only one who doesn't care (and my crappy eyes can't tell the difference anyway). It's all about the content. Your movie could be in 480p and it would have been just as great. I can tell the difference between someone who doesn't really care and is just doing it for money, or someone who puts their heart and soul into it (like you), and that attitude is what really matters, and that's what really shows. People who have tough limits to work in usually shine the most.

Mike Mason

I've watched it 4-5 times so far and even used some of the scenes in class with students to see the reaction of people who aren't fans. Everyone found it genuinely captivating and thought it was a full-production documentary for some TV channel. It really sparked a great conversation about dreams and bucket lists. Most of them went straight back home after class to watch the rest of the movie. You've made some excellent points about things to improve that I couldn't have thought of. But there's never a ceiling as to how much better you can get, and that's a good thing; it doesn't mean this movie was any less good, it just means you can become even more amazing at this. :)

I just watched it last night and thoroughly enjoyed it. I'm impressed how you guys were able to make so many unfortunate events turn into comedic gold. Best wishes to the cast and keep up the great work!

Dan K.

I just watched it last night and thoroughly enjoyed it. I'm impressed how you guys were able to make so many unfortunate events turn into comedic gold. Best wishes to the cast and keep up the great work!

Dan K.

Great movie, very well produced in my opinion. You definitely have talent as a director and producer which i think is unique and sets you apart from other YouTuber’s who don’t put as much time and care into their videos as you do. I really appreciate your effort!

I just adored it, for a variety of reasons. Apart from the most obvious, 'ichiban' reason (it's a terrific film and immensely enjoyable) it has also helped me in two unexpected ways. Firstly, interspersed with trips to Japan, I have been studying Japanese language/writing/speaking on my own for almost four years and I find that I often really struggle to interpret the language when spoken in anime or on Japanese TV. Unexpectedly I managed to understand a great deal of the spoken/written Japanese word in this film and honestly, that has really bolstered my confidence! Reason number two? I'm typically very depressed and sometimes I just don't know how to keep going. On a day when I was particularly down, this film - suggested to me by my husband who is a Patreon supporter of yours and thrilled to see his name featured in the credits - genuinely gave me a feeling of hope and positivity. For these reasons and more, I will be supporting you via Patreon from this point onwards, for as much as I can afford and for as long as I can. Ta Chris and Natsuki! :) -- Sarah Kirk, Merseyside UK. x

I really enjoyed the movie. I would even buy it if you added some extra features such as behind the scenes, bloopers, commentary and so on! Just an idea, it was a great watch, you for sure have a future as a full filmmaker.

I think that overall the film was really amazing! Yes i would wish to see a bit more of your trips in Europe, but the existing scenes were nicely done though! I think that it has passed the message that you wanted to express through the movie, through Natsuki’s journey; that we should not take the easy road and follow what we really want!! Overall really good movie, i have enjoyed watching it!

I'd love for my name to be surrounded by millions of otters 😍

I think you should be happy with the film Chris, you learned a lot and made an interesting film regardless of the constraints of circumstances outside of your control. Of course I would have liked to see more of Natsuki's trip but it is still a great film that keeps the overall message focused throughout.

I felt like the opening was strong, and it was entertaining throughout. You've already mentioned any criticisms I have of the documentary- things were rushed in Europe, and some of the transitions (going from Japan to the UK, the UK to France) were sudden and a little jarring. But overall it didn't detract from my immense enjoyment from finally being able to watch it. Your videos over the last two or so years have been stellar, and I'm looking forward to seeing where you go from here.

A little choppy in parts but you seem to know where. But it’s all a learning process and I still enjoyed it very much. I felt like I related Natsuki on some level with how he felt at the beginning and I’m only 30. I did some traveling to Japan and Europe in college but wasn’t able to do much more like I wanted. So, I was extremely happy to see that he got to take his trip, even if brief. Please do more content like this in the future! I’m happy to support you as you work continues to grow!

Sophia Thompson

Hello London hello Paris, I'm a Japanese man "who fled" Japan, Living my life like balloons.

Just one question, can you get Natsuki to sing it in Japanese? That would be the best thing ever. And I loved the film, I hope to meet you guys in person someday. 😆

TiffJade

It was great getting my friends together for drinks and watch Natsuki after a stressful uni semester together.

You can buy it anyway. I did. 😉

After taking a few days to process, I'd say your analysis of the movie is fair. That said, none of it takes away from how enjoyable the movie was, and I'm definitely pleased with the outcome after so much time and hard work put in. The thing that really hits home for me, though, is hearing about how many people didn't just watch it like your weekly videos - we organized viewing parties, sat in front of TVs together, made an event out of it. It brought people together, and I think that's something to be really proud of. That really crystalized the Abroad in Japan community for me.

Argus9 (Jonathan)

I adored the film, don't get me wrong, and i'm not expert of course.. but i did feel it kept changing tone from documentary to casual vlog, you said yourself after all that as you were editing it , it became more than what it started off as .. and i can't help feel that was a bitter sweet thing really, because it seems a bit confused, as you said in the live stream it needed a bit better planning goodness me though, i can't say how much I enjoyed it none the less! there was alot of good in that film and I really enjoyed it! hope this helped man :)

This was really well done. Looking forward to more documentary style videos.

The movie flew by, so for me it would have been fine for it to be longer, with a bit more room to breathe - but it makes sense that on this occasion you lacked the footage for it. Making a documentary with such short shooting time seem natural and at the same time get all the right shots is extremely hard. That said, it didn't bother me at all while watching, but I do get what you mean in your comments. I joined the Patreon as soon as I had watched it, so perhaps that's a testament to my enjoyment : ) Incidentally, I only watched the tsunami docu this morning and I was extremely impressed by the quality and style of that - knowing that you shot that using the lessons from NTM, it's amazing to see how quickly you improve even further and how you keep pushing for higher standards on this channel. Great, great job - and you should be very proud of both creations.

Chris, is Natsuki ok with you giving the song free to Patreon supporters? I'm kind of uncomfortable with that. I'm happy to play a small part in funding your work, but this song was Natsuki's work, not yours. I don't feel I've earned the right to deprive Natsuki of a sale.

Sheepless

That being said, I genuinely loved watching it, and I’m proud to support you as a creator.

Really enjoyed the movie Chris. Of course it was great to get a better look inside the mind of Natsuki, I also loved seeing Pete make an appearance (listening to all the podcasts). And my name at the end (surrounded by millions of otters) was a nice little addition. Probably the best feel good movie I've seen in a while. Great work man!

Just bought Natsuki’s single. fyi, your link sent me not to iTunes store, but to some whining plea from Apple to acquire their streaming service. May just be US thing, I dunno, thought you’d like to know!

The only criticism I had you addressed abouve - could have been fleshed out with more scenes eating/ talking about how he felt at that moment.

Haha yeah that DJI Osmo was a double edged sword - beautiful smooth footage. But the quality was meh!

Abroad in Japan

If there's one thing that I've found is the most difficult thing in post production, its definitely matching that DJI Osmo footage to any other camera with color and shutter angle. Amazon has a ND filter kit that usually can get you into the 1/50 range and for color, keeping the highlights a quarter stop under exposure usually keeps the reds from going nuclear. But you did an awesome job on everything dude, congrats!

John P Kowalchuk

Loved the movie. When watching I also thought that it is missing the scenes when you're traveling but now that I see that you couldn't have done it in any other way. Maybe it would be interesting if Natsuki shot something by himself and we saw it from his point of view, video-diary style, lol. I also hope for the sequel now when Natsuki goes to USA.

Andrii Sudyn

I loved the documentary! Personally I’d love to see a follow up visiting other places in Europe or maybe the US (for the proper Sid meet!). Critically I would say it felt a little rushed, it’s a shame we didn’t get to see more of the travelling and his first reaction to other - maybe slightly more mundane - things; a UK train for instance! As you said, it’s often down to timing and how much time Natsuki can have away from work but is he looking to spend more time with this new direction? Looking forward to seeing what comes next!

I loved the film and picked up on the amazing energy that went into all aspects of it. It was great seeing Tera playing bass in the music video, I looked for him and was pleased to see the reunion. I do agree with you, Chris, that there is part of the story and allure that is missing in the scenes in London. Overall I really enjoyed it and will watch it more than once to let it all sink in and get a Natsuki fix!

You, Natsuki, and your friends are all lovely people. It was so pleasant watching lovely people do nice things for themselves. I thought the cinematography was very attractive with some good framing (gotta love the Seven Dwarves at Tour Eiffel) and the sound was good. I watched the whole thing in one sitting and found it consistently engaging and pleasant. In every conceivable respect, to my mind, it was a good movie.

briandemodulated

I noticed Tera san on bass! I thought that was a cool tough, especially as they spoke about maybe doing something earlier in the film and at that time it wasn't a plan (as far as I remember) to really do something. One thing I noticed as well, was in the narration you mentioned "Sid Vicious was the lead singer of the Sex Pistols" which is actually not right, I think he maybe did some vocals but Johnny Rotten was the main vocalist (right?) and Sid mimed his bass playing as well for the most part as well. haha. He had the look and attitude but not the musical skill. :p

I've watched it 5 times already. Between Natsuki's free spirit and your David Attenborough level narration theres something comfortable and familiar with the film. I think too how you describe Natsuki's beat down demeanor and taking the easy path too many times in life made it very relatable. I actually took a screenshot of that moment as a reminder and I was like me too, Natsuki, me too.

The movie was fantastic. Watched it today and I instantly wanted to watch it again. Beautifully edited too. I've already reccomended it to several people!