“If you don’t like sad kittens, I hope you’ll step up.”

You know why we’re here. I’m going to ask for support for LiA, which by now is part of an annual cycle. I ask, some folks step up, a sizable percentage of them eventually drop off as subscribers, I ask again. Tale as old as time. I do it not because I want to, but because I have to if I want to keep the site going (which I do want). I don’t like being a downer, but I’m just being realistic. Unless LiA is able to generate substantially more income, I can’t justify continuing to devote so much of my life to it. So let’s talk about what that means, in practical terms.

Incidentally, for the first time I’ve produced a fundraising video – with free (public domain) kittens! I wanted to talk in more detail – and in a more personal way – about why this site means so much to me, and hopefully to some of you as well.

But if I may digress, a thought recently crept into my head, planted roots, and flourished. I started to wonder, has anyone – in history – written as many words about anime as I have? In English, at least?

Think about it. I’ve been running LiA for more than 13 years now. I think my blogging longevity is probably at the top of the anime pile by now, or close. But I’m darn sure that during that time nobody has been providing the amount of weekly content that I have. And while it has ranged occasionally, the overwhelming majority of it is anime-related. If it’s not me, who would it be? I’ve racked my brain on that question and can’t come up with anybody. The guys who were blogging anime when I started have all long since left the field (and none of them were doing the volume of pieces I was before they did).

In the final analysis this is almost certainly not verifiable. But I’m pretty confident it’s the case. And in a weird way it does make me proud. I mean, nobody else can say that, right? Nobody in the whole world. I think to be able to provide the volume of content I have and do so with basically no breaks and – if I may be so bold – consistent quality is quite an accomplishment. It makes LiA and Guardian Enzo notable in a tangible way.

So to tie all this together, all of you who contribute or have contributed to the site over the years (especially subscribers/patrons and participants in the Bespoke projects) are a part of that notable achievement. It’s one more reason to be grateful to you. And if you choose to sign on now, you become a part of it. The legacy gets the chance to grow because you’re stepping up to help that happen.

Of course the converse is also true – if people don’t step up, there’s only one inevitable outcome. And that would make me incredibly sad, in spite of the extensive, exhausting amount of work I put into LiA and its side projects. To be brutally frank, this all comes as a reminder to me that I work incredibly cheap. Considering how much of my life I give to this effort, it really should be my primary means of support – and it’s not even close. And it makes it harder for me to justify the status quo, as painful as that is to say.

So where does that leave us? Well – in the usual place. I’m asking for those of you who appreciate the service I provide with LiA, who enjoy the YouTube content and podcasts, to step up and join the cause (and if you already are, to keep doing so). I’ve learned that these campaigns need a goal, so here’s a nice easy one to wrap our heads around – 50 new subscribers or $25 or higher one-time contributors.  A nice round number, at the low end of what I really need for all this to make sense, and a drop in the bucket compared to the overall viewer base LiA and the LiA YouTube channel command. And since these goals need a target date, let’s set one – three weeks from now, August 20. I’ll post progress reports to this space periodically.

Part of the goal here, as ever, is to avoid paywalls and tiered content. I do however offer some incentives for those who help out. I’m continuing to offer the following supporters:

• Existing monthly patrons
• New monthly supporters (Patreon, Ko-fi, PayPal) who sign up in the next 21 days
• Supporters who give a one-time pledge of $25 or more who sign up in the next 21 days

The following:

• The right to vote for one series for me to pick up for the Fall season (and future seasons) – the “Patron Pick”.  This can be anything from the schedule that I don’t decide to cover on my own – whatever wins your vote, I’ll pick up.  So far that’s included Koukyuu no Karasu, Mononogatari, Jigokuraku, Helck, Dosanko Gal wa Namara Menkoi, and Bartender: Kami no Glass.
• Recognition at the end of future YouTube videos (and possibly posts too).

And, starting now, I’m offering a new perk (the suggestion comes from Princess Usagi): If we reach the 50 supporter target, I will start sending out “The Week in Anime Newsletter” to current and new subscribers and patrons. Exactly what form this will take will evolve some, but I’m imagining something like a digest version of the big animanga news on twitter, plus some reflection on the week’s anime.

I’m always very interested in new ways to reward supporters, so if you have suggestions by all means please share them in the comments.

How can you support LiA? As always, the links are in the sidebar. The most obvious methods are as follows:

• Patreon – Monthly Patron support (you set an amount per post, with whatever monthly cap you like).
• Ko-fi – Monthly subscription support at a level of your choosing. Ko-fi also offers the option of one-time pledges of support.
• PayPal – Monthly subscriptions or one-time pledges at a level of your choosing.
• Commissions – The LiA Bespoke program allows you to commission works ranging from haiku or top 5 lists to larger “best of” projects, editorials, and anime/manga reviews. General price levels are here, but you can reach out to me directly for case-by-case discussions.

I would also add that subscribing  to the LiA YouTube channel, as well as liking and commenting on videos, is very helpful towards the long-term goal of making the channel a means of additional financial support for LiA (and is of course free).

As always, I’m very grateful to everyone who reads, watches, listens and comments – and most of all, those of you who support LiA financially. Here’s hoping we can keep making history together.