I have a little announcement to make regarding the status of one of the oldest “Jinji the Gengar” stories.

Some of you will likely be very familiar with The Revenge of Witch Espurr, or at least one of the many animations it has spawned. This multi-animation project, which originated from an animated signature designed for me by Charlotte for use in the PWO Forum, has been an ongoing project on the Jinji the Gengar website for a good half-decade now; and comprises three separate storylines with three sets of unique animations from two different artists, which together tell a story of trickery, revenge, and eventual friendship between Jinji and a hapless but powerful Espurr.

For the last few years, I’ve been working with an artist called “NShims” on Part 3 of the story, which was going to comprise four 3D-animated signatures in the style of comic strips and was intended to be a conclusion to the story, involving Espurr taking revenge by creating a giant, magical explosive with many puzzles for Jinji to tackle, which would eventually reveal itself to be one massive trick. However, this story actually wasn’t originally intended to be part of the Revenge storyline at all. In fact, this whole part was an adaptation of an earlier story I’d written, which was originally going to see Jinji tackle a similar device set by a Spiritomb. At the time of discussing the project, however, a decent-quality 3D render of Spiritomb could not be found online; and so using the character was considered to be difficult. This caused a rethink of the plot, which led to Espurr becoming the main star instead; and the story was later folded in to the Revenge plot as it seemed to provide a satisfying continuation to the previous two animations, both of which had been designed by Charlotte.

In the years that have followed, however, many things have changed. Charlotte has mostly disappeared from the internet and has also quit making art on an active basis; while NShims has become a major developer at a Fortune 100 company, leaving them with little time free to continue the project. At the same time, Jinji and his universe have continued to evolve; and with it, the Jinji family has expanded to four named characters, a much clearer design for the mansion, and a renewed focus on the different elements of the Jinji canon, including splitting Jinji’s content into three distinct story arcs. As part of this, I’ve been reconsidering the role of “The Revenge” in the overall picture of Jinji the Gengar. To add to this, it was never actually my intention to introduce an Espurr as a major recurring character in the Jinji universe – at least, not at this time. Instead, going back to the original concept would open up the possibility of introducing another named character to the Jinji franchise, one whom I’ve actually been considering for a good while now.

As a result, I have taken the decision to re-classify The Revenge of Witch Espurr as an “alternative universe” story. This means it is no longer considered part of the main Jinji canon or the more-humorous Jokes and Japes canon; but now exists in its own separate universe, and will no longer influence any future stories. Additionally, given the unlikelihood that Part 3 is to be completed in the near future, I have taken the decision to suspend further work on the story as a whole. However, I will attempt to open a dialogue with NShims as to the potential future of the story and am open to continuing the project in the future. I will not, however, be removing the story; and instead, it will now be found in the Alternate Universe section of my site, archived for posterity.

As for what’s next? Well, wait and see…