Kristian “KaptainKristian” Williams, one of YouTube’s most beloved video essayists, is back after a year away, and the community is rejoicing over his return.
Williams announced earlier this week that he was planning to upload a video, leading to a flurry of activity on Twitter and in his subreddit, where anxious fans waiting for a new video began to theorize over what it could be. All they had to work on was a tweet Williams sent promising his return. His last YouTube video was published in October 2017, and Williams also disappeared from YouTube until now. He commented on Reddit four months ago that he was “just dealing with a personal matter,” promising to make his return shortly.
“Thanks everyone for the well wishes and for sticking around, I really appreciate it,” Williams tweeted. “The good news is I’m not dead..and the bad news is that there’s only one other piece of good news and it’s that there’s a new video coming tomorrow.”
The video didn’t go up for another six days, leading to questions about Williams’ well-being. People began making memes and passive aggressive comments about Williams’ commitment, but others quickly stepped in to defend the creator they lovingly call “the Kaptain.”
“It’s clear that the dude’s been at battle with the universe as of late, and having been in that position I know it’s incredibly tough to be producing content,” one Reddit user wrote. “Making passive aggressive memes, hanging on every tweet, or god forbid badgering the dude over twitter does nothing to make videos come faster, and it certainly wouldn’t do anything to help me personally if I was struggling. Let’s all just be a little more cognizant of that, and not harass someone who’s potentially already dealing with a lot in their life.
“Whether it’s a creative struggle, or a personal one, I think we all need to let him know we support him. Regardless of whether the content is rolling or not.”
Williams still didn’t address his departure on Twitter or in the video beyond that initial tweet, but the response to his return has been overwhelmingly positive on YouTube. Williams’ new video examines 12 specific techniques used by Disney animators to create that specific Disney style. It’s incredibly in-depth, and uses Disney concept art as a way of piecing together all the art styles that Disney encompasses. The commenters are welcoming their “Kaptain” back with open arms.
It’s unclear if Williams will publish more videos throughout the year, although he tweeted in December 2017 that his goal was to hit 29 videos in total for 2018.
“2016 — 19 videos; 2017 — 9 videos; 2018 — 29 videos,” Williams said. “Y’all think I’m fuckin around, I’m coming back bigger than ever.”
