We’ve all heard the maxim “follow your passion,” but it’s easier said than done. Some people need to make more practical choices to pay the bills, while others feel they don’t have enough time to discover or revisit their passion.

Fortunately for Jacob Enero, “One Piece,” one of the longest-running and most beloved anime and manga series of all time, presented itself as the opportunity to help him pursue his childhood passion for writing came at the right time.

“I have been a frustrated writer since I was a kid,” Enero says. “I read a lot of children’s books, and I wanted to be able to create one someday. So I started making mini-comics. Then in my teenage years, I wrote simple stories on Wattpad, which I never published because I was so shy about my work. But when I became a content creator producing ‘One Piece’ reviews, I could write my own scripts, which somehow fulfills my childhood dream.”

As a content creator on Bilibili—the go-to streaming platform for anime and gaming fans—Enero produces Tagalog anime analyses and reviews of “One Piece.” Fans adore the series for its storyline and the fact that each character—whether villain, hero or side character—has a story to tell.

Over 20 years and 1,000 episodes later, a lot of people worldwide are still addicted to the story, eagerly anticipating new episodes, rewatching past episodes, and going to see the recent theatrical movie “One Piece Film: Red,” one of the highest-grossing Japanese films in the world.

Enero has amassed over two million subscribers across his social media pages, including Bilibili. It is the only SEA streaming platform that has all episodes of “One Piece,” including all “One Piece” films that have been released until 2021. But beyond the numbers, video content creation has become a means for Enero to pursue his love of writing and freely share his work with others.

Treasures from childhood memories

Enero started producing videos in late 2019. At that time, he was working as a production supervisor at a manufacturing company—a job that hardly lets one exercise any creative flair. But one day, while he was watching the popular anime series “Demon Slayer,” an idea came to mind: “What if I review this type of video?” he thought. And that’s when he started creating anime content.

Although it was “Demon Slayer” that helped spark the idea for Enero to become a content creator, focusing his content on “One Piece” is a no-brainer. “I chose to focus my content on ‘One Piece’ because it’s part of my childhood memories. It’s the anime that I’ve always watched on television since I was 10 years old,” he recalls.

“Being an anime review creator gives me the opportunity to express my frustrations, expectations and share the fun watching an episode with my audience,” he adds.

Enero takes productivity and growth seriously. He creates three to four videos a week, and to ensure he has a steady pipeline of content ideas, he tries to tie his next videos to a trending character or find an interesting topic within the latest chapter.

He also constantly interacts with his audience to find new ideas, learn from their feedback and keep them engaged. If there are any negative comments, he takes them as constructive criticism and uses them to improve his content.

“My audience helps me grow as a creator, especially when I was starting out. Their trust in me and in what I do serves as my fuel to keep creating high-quality content.”

Balancing act

But while being a content creator allows Enero to follow his passion for writing and creating, the journey has had its share of rough seas.

He admits that balancing his time between his day job, personal life, and content creation is challenging. To ensure he gives ample time for his passion and career, Enero tries to keep things organized by making a to-do list.

Aside from time management, Enero also struggled with increasing his views and growing his audience as a new content creator. Thankfully, as part of the Bilibili creator community, he received the support he needed to jump-start his space. As a creator-centric platform, Bilibili backs creators in various ways, including through workshops and mentorships, events and programs and exclusive access to tools and features to boost traffic and reach.

In Enero’s case, Bilibili enabled him to expand his overall influence as a content creator, reach more anime fans and gain new followers.

Being a content creator for Enero is more than just fulfilling a childhood passion. He also wants to make the most of this opportunity by contributing to the local anime community. “My goal is to use my content to help nurture the vibrant Pinoy anime culture and eventually expand the influence of anime in the Philippines. I know it’s also Bilibili’s goal, and that’s why I enjoy the community and can see myself thriving here,” he says.

“My advice for aspiring creators is, don’t do it for the money. Do it because you love what you are doing. Put your passion and effort into your work, and I assure you that the views will follow,” he adds. —CONTRIBUTED