2026-03-22
Managing YouTube. How to express a 'bright future' that feels slightly off
I am attempting to share the 'Road to 2112' content on YouTube with the world.
This is a log of the results and policy determination after trying 20 sprints for now.
Channel data (as of March 22)
22 videos (including Shorts), +9 subscribers
28-day views: 1,084 (approx. 3x from the previous 375)
28-day impressions: 17,000 (approx. 2.6x from the previous 6,486)
Total watch time: 65.0 hours
CTR: 2.7% (temporary decline due to rapid impression growth. Normal)
Average view duration: 5:05
Region: Japan 16.9%, USA 4.7%, Ukraine 4.1%
Subtitle usage: No subtitles 75.4%, English 24.1% (proof that they are listening to the audio)
The growth curve is clearly rising. Everything is organic
Determining positioning
Shift from pushing 'Cozy Sci-Fi' to the forefront → 'STORY BGM × Road to 2112'
Targeting the BGM layer. Proposing a new category called 'BGM with a story'
Cozy Sci-Fi will remain in tags and descriptions but will be removed from titles
The subtitle 'Cozy Sci-Fi Relax Stories' will also be removed from future videos (existing ones will remain as is)
How to convey cultural differentiation
This is the purpose of determining the policy this time.
In the first place, the genre of SF (science fiction) seems to be a decadent future overseas. To use a well-known Japanese example, 'AKIRA'.
It's an image like the world where the robot lived in Chrono Trigger.
When it comes to this,
grouping 'future stories = SF' feels very uncomfortable.
Personally,
I have the value system that 'future = Doraemon',
so it feels wrong.
It seems that a genre called 'bright future' is emerging overseas and is attracting attention.
Something like Cozy Sci-fi or Solarpunk.
Well, I uploaded 20 videos thinking I'd try this if it doesn't get across, but I feel a sense of discomfort while doing it.
Doraemon's values aren't exactly a 'bright future' either...
It's 'slightly mysterious' (sukoshi fushigi).
I believe that how to express this unique, overly subtle Japanese sensibility is a major arbitrage (distortion) point for exporting overseas.
The home of Cozy Sci-Fi is Japan (Doraemon 2112)
The Fujiko F-style sense of 'SF = Slightly Mysterious'
Not a bright utopia, but a quiet strangeness right next to everyday life
A flavor that English-speaking creators cannot produce. This is the core of Rt2112's differentiation
An essential redefinition of the main content
Instead of telling a story, immerse the listener in a soundscape where voice and music melt together.
The same structure as a lullaby. A lullaby for adults.
An experience wrapped in the timbre of a voice and melody, rather than the meaning of the lyrics.
The results of the first 20 videos were half right and half wrong.
The fundamental mistake was creating content tailored to 'Cozy Sci-fi'.
A bright future in 2112 equals space, greenery...
The assumption that it should be 'neo-punk' was incredibly shallow.
The thumbnails also started as typical sleep-aid style, so they were cliché loop videos like Lo-fi Girl.
The correct approach was to use them as BGM; the mistake was that in the process of changing them to 1-hour videos with auto-dubbing in mind, I shifted halfway through to a reading-channel style. It should have remained strictly BGM.
I just shifted from sleep-aid to work-aid.
Furthermore, the real correct approach is the angle of using the story as BGM.
BGM channels are likely to be banned or demonetized in the near future. As long-form videos that are easy to differentiate and monetize, readings that allow for easy insertion of mid-rolls are the optimal solution, and above all, they are easier to turn into IP.
With that in mind, I will proceed from the 21st video with the following policy based on my original philosophy.
New Format from Vol. 21
Thumbnail: No text. Only a single image generated from the story.
Title: Story BGM | [Scene SEO Keyword] | Road to 2112 Vol.##
Video: Loop animation linked to the content of the story.
Moving elements: Human eyes and hands, robot eyes, holograms.
Image generation using the same 'fixed prompt + story text' flow as the posters/manga.
Characters must be faithful to the story (not just boys, but also elderly people and craftsmen). Robots as a common icon.
New BGM Production Flow (P1–P5 Structure)
P1: Mostly fading out (First half, during reading)
P2: Heard from a distance (First half, during reading)
P3: Blending in (Second half, entrance to BGM time)
P4: Minimal sound (Second half)
P5: Faint dream style (Second half, for falling asleep)
Load images into Claude Sonnet's BGM-specialized chat to extract environmental sound keywords -> combine with fixed prompts -> send to Suno.
Generate 20 tracks (5 patterns x 2 attempts x 2 songs) -> select tracks -> finish to 58 minutes in Premiere.
Lo-fi 2112 sub-channel launch
Channel name: Lo-fi 2112 (@Lo-fi2112)
Pure BGM channel. No narration, no voice
Reuse story illustrations not used on the main channel
Loop animation of a person + robot (evolved version of Lo-fi Girl)
One illustration = one video. Do not mix atmospheres
BGM: Image -> Gemini ambient sound extraction -> fixed prompt + variable -> Suno -> 7 songs per video
Video length: Match the natural length of the BGM (do not force alignment)
Spotify distribution via the same account as Road to 2112
Separate only YouTube into a sub-channel (to prevent algorithm contamination)
The exquisitely shallow production style developed over 20 videos will be carried over to the sub-channel. Since the music and thumbnails are created based on BGM production methods (by theme), they fit perfectly when reused as-is.
It can acquire a broader and shallower audience than STORY BGM, so we will aim for synergy.
Benchmark channels
Lofi Zen: Launched in February, 30 videos, 38.7k subscribers, 5 million views. Pure Lo-fi BGM. Neon x rain x Japanese restaurant pattern
Dream Woven Tales: 57 videos, 6.62k subscribers. Single fantasy illustration + ambient BGM. Sci-Fi version of rt2112
Structural advantages of Rt2112: Auto-dubbing in 20 languages, 224 story variations, dual-channel deployment (main + sub)
Shorts strategy finalized
Do not post manga on YouTube Shorts (risk of algorithm contamination)
Use remixes (clips from long-form videos) for announcement purposes only
Direct manga Shorts to Pinterest (Video Pins are favored there)
Reading clip Shorts failed with a 92.4% swipe rate. Will not retry.
Pinterest Revival
It was left abandoned, but 'The Ocean's True Color' has 1,526 views, 38 saves, and 49 repins.
Changed the link destination from KDP (/books) to YouTube.
Post manga Shorts videos as Video Pins (utilizing materials banned from YouTube).
Switched to a business account.
Notes on Publishing (New Discovery)
If published before YouTube's review is complete, the algorithm's initial test distribution is skipped.
This is likely the cause of the 2-view videos on March 20th and 21st.
From now on, I will strictly 'wait while keeping it private until confirmation is finished'.
Thumbnail A/B Testing
Changed the titles and thumbnails of two videos with low view counts.
Title: STORY BGM | Scene | ...
Thumbnail: Single image without text.
Waiting for results.
Deliverables
rt2112_story_bgm_prompt_template.md: Image prompt for the main channel.
lofi2112_prompt_template.md: Image prompt for the sub-channel.
lofi2112_music_manual.md: Lo-fi 2112 music production manual.
lofi2112_suno_prompts.md: Reference material for the distant series.
rt2112_shorts_titles_v2.md: Shorts title rotation
Next steps
Mass production of long-form videos. Focus entirely on reaching 30 videos
New format from Vol. 21 (story-linked thumbnail + STORY BGM title)
Check results of thumbnail A/B testing
Produce the first Lo-fi 2112 video
Resume Pinterest updates (traffic source to YouTube)
Delete the 2 videos with 2 views -> re-upload with the new format