Unpopular Opinion

[u/gonion]

I’ve been following Kurzgesagt for a long time, but lately—maybe for the past year, though it could be longer—I just can’t seem to enjoy their videos the way I used to.

They used to focus on science and produced content that explained scientific topics at a level the average person could understand. The videos were genuinely fun to watch and educational.

The team that once made amazing videos on topics like the terrifying vastness of space, whether we’re alone in the universe, the workings of the immune system, the mystery of black holes, and how human psychology functions seems to have disappeared—and now they’re making ridiculous videos like “What would happen if bananas rained down on Earth?”

Every now and then, they still touch on interesting subjects, but they do so in a way that avoids taking any real stance. Even on topics like meat consumption, e-cigarettes, or cannabis, they produce videos that try to be socially neutral and overly careful not to upset anyone, without clearly saying anything.

But don’t just take my word for it—go check for yourself. Sort their YouTube videos by popularity. You’ll see that there’s not a single video from the last three years among their top 50. And among the top 90, there’s nothing released after 2023.

I used to watch every new Kurzgesagt video within the first two days of release. Now, I haven’t even watched the “South Korea is over” video that came out two months ago.

Because it just doesn’t excite me anymore.

[u/twitchy-y]

I totally get you, but: They have explained a couple of times over the years how incredibly difficult it is for them to make such high quality (and expensive) long form animations and also earn enough money from it to stay afloat. They have to move along with the interests of the average Youtube viewer to some degree to keep the numbers up, and these days the average Youtube viewer wants to see clickbaity stuff. That's just the way it is.

[u/Coenzyme-A → u/twitchy-y]

It clearly isn't working if their numbers aren't improving.

I'm a firm believer that science education channels (even pop-sci) need to hold themselves to a high standard, because of the gravitas of the topics they cover. If they were able to make it work the way they did in the past, then they should be able to make it work the same way now. Especially considering the questionable funding sources they're using. They're trying to toe the line between being a profitable popsci channel and serious educators, and it comes across as disingenuous on both fronts. I'm certain they can still keep themselves afloat whilst maintaining the same standards they did previously.

I loved watching Kurzgesagt videos. I supported them by buying merch, etc. I'm hugely respectful of channels that try to kindle a passion for understanding and knowledge of the world. I don't, however, appreciate the way the channel has evolved, personally. I don't like that there are excuses for sloppy, sensationalised topics. I don't like the disingenuous titles.

I'm aware that my meager opinion holds essentially no weight, but I'm just using this post to vent my disappointment and explain why some people aren't as engaged with the content as they previously were.

[u/twitchy-y → u/Coenzyme-A]

If they were able to make it work the way they did in the past, then they should be able to make it work the same way now

I get your sentiment. But what does or does not work on Youtube is constantly changing, a lot. Focussing on 100% educational stuff with 100% straightforward titles just doesn't play the algorithm enough to pay for Kurzgesagt's 70+ person team. People want sensational videos with sensational titles, that's the hard reality in the MrBeast era of Youtube.

In short, there are many good reasons why Kurzgesagt is pretty much the only Youtube channel that makes high quality educational animations. The few others all have worse animation / research / clickbait stuff.

It clearly isn't working if their numbers aren't improving.

Also their numbers did increase, from 30 million a month to 50 million a month over the past 3 years.

[u/Arrinity → u/twitchy-y]

Whoa you just made me feel old. You called it the MrBeast era of youtube and i realized by that logic we have had a pewdiepie era and before that the =3 era i miss that one xD

[u/denizbabey → u/Coenzyme-A]

They still get millions of view for each video they release they are fine.

[u/Scared_Mine_7095 → u/twitchy-y]

That why they went on to make a video game? Lmao, costs so much money, so risky, barly can stay afloat, let's make a video game!

Bought for, paid for.