Happy new year! I decided instead of putting out my newsletter just for December, I would use this opportunity to discuss what my plans are for this upcoming year, which includes information about how each of my projects have been progressing. Thank you to those who gave me their well wishes in regards to my seasonal depression. I have made an effort since then to get in a better state of mind more consistently, and I cannot tell you how excited and optimistic I am about this upcoming year of my content. I have so many exciting things on the go and I can't tell you about all of them just yet, but I will share information about the stuff you know about, as well as some new stuff you may have seen in my recent community tab post!
GUMBALL VS BALDI
This is going to be the first battle of 2026, and I am currently aiming to release it on the 16th of January. I would estimate it is about 75% animated and the team is making a push to finish it as we speak before winter break is over. I am absolutely in love with how it looks and am very hopeful that you all will enjoy it. Here's an exclusive snippet of the animation (composition not necessarily final) in the meantime.
MR. KRABS VS TOM NOOK
Sadly, this is the one project I'll be discussing today that I have some disappointing news about. The audio has been released publicly to a very warm reception and I am very happy so many people have been enjoying and listening to it. The video is scheduled for mid-February and is currently being edited. Unfortunately, it's no longer fully animated - it's still being edited by Shimario (who worked on SpongeBob vs Captain Underpants) and has art by Luke Reardon (animator for SpongeBob and voice of Mr. Krabs) but it has pivoted to be a "PNG edit" style video like Puss in Boots vs The Cat in the Hat. We are doing our best to get as close to the original vision of the video as possible given the restrictions of the format, and I can assure you the video will be very good for what it is, but without indulging too much info about the personal lives of the people working on the project, Luke is not at a stage in his life right now where a full animation is on the table. We had a meeting last month about the project and ultimately decided the two options were to either indefinitely delay the project and hope eventually we'll be able to get around to getting it animated, switch to a different animator, or do the PNG edit instead. The first option seemed bad because it was promised in 2025, and it could easily be delayed another year or longer if it was kept in limbo. The second option would also further delay the project but, more importantly, it would no longer be as much of a collaboration between me and Luke, and that was always the vision from the beginning. In the interest of getting the project out and being able to move on to other stuff, we decided this was the best compromise. I will announce this publicly after Gumball vs Baldi comes out and there will not be as much fanfare and hype about the project as there usually would as a result. Sometimes, being a director requires making hard, disappointing decisions like this. We are still putting our all into making the video the best it can be given the circumstances and we appreciate your patience and understanding.
POMNI VS JEVIL
Since the release of The Amazing Digital Circus Episode 7, I took this one back in the workshop and tuned it up with the inclusion of the new material. The concept and structure of the battle has remained the same, but the events of the series thus far have provided a lot more to work with. The new final draft is written and the project is in the early stages of being recorded and animated. Ideally, this one will be out around March 20th, to coincide with the release of Episode 8. It's one of the most conceptual and experimental projects I've worked on to date and it is also one of my favourites. I hope to have the audio available to share on Patreon in February, some time shortly after Krabs vs Nook comes out. I will keep you guys posted!
CAINE VS TENNA
Here's a new one! You may be confused why I'm announcing and already working on a second TADC vs Deltarune battle for 2026 when I've already added Pomni vs Jevil to the lineup. Well, it's because this isn't going to be an on-season battle! If you recall, when I launched the Patreon in 2024, I included a "bounty" where if I were to reach 100 concurrent Patrons at any point, I would make Smiling Friends vs Don't Hug Me I'm Scared. That project is now out, as promised, and Caine vs Tenna is going to be my second "bounty" matchup for 200 concurrent patrons! If greenlit, it will be an off-season battle (like Tobias vs Berdly) and the release date depends on when we hit the bounty and how long it takes to animate after that. I am already working on it because I expect to be able to reach the bounty, but it will probably be a little bit more difficult than the 100 bounty, so it might take a little bit longer! I will be announcing the bounty via a public YouTube Short following the release of Gumball vs Baldi, so keep a lookout for that, and consider encouraging a friend to support the Patreon to help reach the goal!
THE ALBUM
In my Summer channel update, I announced for the first time that I was working on a concept rap battle album with an entirely original tracklist for release in 2026. Progress has been slow and steady since it was announced, as my main focus has been on finishing the already announced projects, but now that Pomni vs Jevil is in post-production, I am happy to say I am working full-time on finishing the album and am optimistic about a full release later this year. It will include Snow White vs Ramona Flowers, Invader Zim vs Alien Hominid vs Among Us, and a whole bunch of other battles that have been in development since as early as January 2024 but are completely unannounced. I don't intend to announce most of these matchups publicly before the album drops, as I want the first listen to be an exciting surprise, but I will let the Patrons in on a couple matchup reveals, and the first of which (that I also included in my public community post as a teaser) is...
BLOSSOM VS NESS
The Powerpuff Girls have been on my list since I started ANIMATION VS ANYTHING, and I'm so excited to finally announce that they're officially coming to the series as an album track. I played Earthbound early last year and have absolutely fallen in love with both series during my research. I can tell you that bbpanzu did some incredible custom production for this battle and it is built off of a classic Allrounda beat I was able to secure the stems and license for that old-school rap battle fans will recognize. Also; yes, Bubbles, Buttercup, Paula, Jeff and Poo will all show up in the battle as rappers too. In fact, here they are now!
I won't share every album track as an early audio-only on Patreon, but this is one of the few that I will. I hope you look forward to it!
THE BACKWOODS (ORIGINAL SERIES)
Also announced for the first time in my Summer update was my original series, currently titled THE BACKWOODS, that I was developing with a friend (who I have since announced is extremely talented voice actor, artist and very close friend Bloof / BlooberryFly / some may remember as Tibbie), and we have continued to chip away at it, developing the world and writing scripts. The planned format for the series is what I like to call "anthologies". Each "episode" will be a ~1 minute short and each "anthology" will be a long-form compilation of 5 to 10 episodes released on my channel. Following the anthology release, the individual episodes will be uploaded on YouTube Shorts and other short-form platforms like TikTok and Instagram Reels. Each episode will be animated by a different guest animator, so each episode will be in a different artstyle. My vision for the series is to provide a platform where up-and-coming animators can get a chance to show off their work without intense corporate influence in front of a larger audience and get paid for it. The first one will probably be pretty rough around the edges, because my budget is only so high and this is my first time trying something like this. But behind the scenes, the slice-of-life adventures of Effarby the Beaver and Ava the Otter have been extremely well received by friends and collaborators thus far, and while the ANIMATION VS ANYTHING album is my current main focus, I plan to release "THE BACKWOODS: ANTHOLOGY α" by the end of 2026. I will publicly announce the second main character Ava as part of the rollout for ANTHOLOGY α and I also have a collaboration with Makeship to produce the first Effarby plush lined up for sometime shortly following said release. I will go into much, much more detail about the world, the characters, the format and everything you need to know in a seperate, dedicated newsletter closer to the release of ANTHOLOGY α. I hope you all fall in love with these goofy critters as much as we have.
CLOSING THOUGHTS
Here are my goals for the year:
At least 12 uploads
Release the album and THE BACKWOODS: ANTHOLOGY α
Give Patrons at least one new early audio every month, starting in February
Reach 300 concurrent patrons
500k Subscribers by January 1st, 2027
One of my most consistent problems as a creator is that I spend too much time daydreaming about how awesome it will be when I do finally make and release whatever grand ideas are rattling in my head, and not enough time actually putting in the elbow grease to finish them. My work ethic does not match how lucky I am to be given this opportunity, and I intend to change that in 2026. I will still announce things and update you guys with monthly newsletters like I have been doing, but my mantra for the year is "keep your head down, put in the work, and earn it". I hope you see this as a positive and inspiring change. But, these promises don't mean anything unless you all see the results. So, if you don't mind, I've got some work to do.
Take care,
Eddie