Otaku no Video

Otaku no Video(おたく の ビデオ,Otaku no Bideo,lit. "Otakus' Video" )is a1991Japaneseoriginal video animation(OVA) produced byGainax.The anime spoofs the life and culture ofotaku,individuals with obsessive interests in media, particularly anime andmanga,as well as the history of Gainax and its creators.It is noted for its mix of conventionaldocumentary filmstyles with a more traditional anime storytelling fashion. It is licensed in the United States byAnimEigo.TheDAICON III and IV Opening Animationsfrom the early 1980s are also featured in this OVA.

Otaku no Video
DVD cover of North American release ofOtaku no Video
おたく の ビデオ (Otaku no Bideo)
Created by	Gainax
Original video animation
Directed by	Takeshi Mori Shōichi Masuo (unit director)
Written by	Toshio Okada
Music by	Kohei Tanaka
Studio	Gainax
Licensed by	AnimEigo
Released	September 27, 1991–December 20, 1991
Episodes	2

Plot

The story begins inOtaku no Video 1982,where the main character is aneverymancharacter,Ken Kubo, living with his girlfriend Yoshiko and as a member of his college'stennis team,until introduced by his former friend Tanaka to a club of enthusiasts: a female illustrator, an informationgeek,a martial artist, and a weapons collector. Kubo soon joins them; and when Yoshiko, who hates otaku, abandons him, makes the wish to become the supreme enthusiast, under the name ofOtaking.

Kubo's quest continues inMore Otaku no Video 1985,set three years later, in which he creates his model kits, opens shops, and builds a factory in China. Later, he loses his fortune when one of his rivals (now married to Yoshiko) takes control of his enterprise; but Kubo and Tanaka, with hard-working artist Misuzu, gradually take over the anime industry with a 'magical girl' show, "Misty May". At the peak of their ambitions, Ken and Tanaka create Otakuland in 1999: the equivalent ofDisneylandfor otaku (the story suggests Otakuland to be located in the same city ofUrayasu,Chiba Prefecture,as the originalTokyo Disneyland.)

Many years later, Ken and Tanaka return to Otakuland in a post-apocalyptic submerged Japan and find its central structure, a giant robot, converted into a functional spaceship piloted by their old friends. Miraculously rejuvenated, they fly into space in search of "The Planet of Otaku".

Part ofOtaku no Videowas the inclusion of live-action documentary excerpts, titled "A Portrait of an Otaku". In these segments, the documentary crew would interview an anonymous otaku, typically ashamed at being a fan and whose face are censored with amosaicand have their voices digitally masked. The mock documentary segments serve as a counterpoint to the anime: while the anime emphasizes the camaraderie, creativity, and dreams of mainstream acceptance of otaku, the mock interviews exaggerate its negative qualities. The subjects run the gamut of the otaku subculture: the interviews cover acosplayerwho now works as a computer programmer and outright denies his cosplay days, even when presented with photographic evidence, but keeps hisChar Aznablehelmet in his desk drawer, anairsoftotaku, agarage kitotaku, and a shut-in who video-records television programs for trade, but has not actually watched anything he's recorded. The interviews also contain fans who engage in a range of illicit or unsavory activities, such ascelthieves, apornographyfan attempting to manufacture glasses to defeat the mosaic censorship common in Japanese porn videos and who is shownmasturbatingduring the interview, and a computer gamer obsessed with a character in ahentaicomputer game (Kimiko fromGunbusterwho makes a cameo in Gainax's own hentai game,Cybernetic High School).

Production

Otaku no Videois based on the experiences of Gainax employees which started as a sci-fi and animefanclub.Staff involved in the OVA includeShinji Higuchi,Takeshi Mori,Kohei Tanaka,Yu Honda,Hidenori Matsubara,andToshio Okada.

SinceOtaku no Videowas partially based in the personal life of the original creators of Gainax, who started their careers as otaku during the late seventies and the beginning of the eighties, many anime titles from that period are shown as footage or referenced in the OVA (in costumes, cosplay or other related material). Among them areGatchaman,Uchuu Senkan Yamato,Urusei Yatsura,Captain Harlock,Mobile Suit Gundam,Dirty Pair,Space Adventure Cobra,Lupin the Third,Phoenix 2772,Silent Möbius,Magical Princess Minky Momo,The Super Dimension Fortress Macross,Macross: Do You Remember Love?,Genesis Climber Mospeada,Royal Space Force: The Wings of Honneamise,Gunbuster,and theDaicon III and IV Opening Animations.

It is believed that all the subjects in the Portrait of an Otaku segments were Gainax employees or connected to Gainax at the time of filming.The first otaku interviewed bore a remarkable resemblance toToshio Okada,a principal founder in Gainax, in both background and physical appearance. Thegaijinotaku, Shon Hernandez, has been confirmed to have been Craig York, who with Shon Howell andLea Hernandez,whose names were borrowed for the character,were the main staff of General Products USA, an early western branch of Gainax's merchandising enterprise in the early 1990s. The interview with "Shon Hernandez" has been a point of contention with Lea Hernandez, who, in an interview withPULPmagazine, noted that the interview was unscripted and that Craig York had been fairly sincere in his thoughts and had felt that Gainax insulted their American members.In the interview, the words spoken by Shon Hernandez in the background are noticeably different from what is shown on screen via subtitle (which is based on the Japanese voice-over "translation" ).

AtFanimeCon2003, Hiroshi Sato, an animator and another Gainax member, mentioned that he had been in one of the interviews inOtaku no Video.InOtaku no Video,the garage kit otaku was given thepseudonym"Sato Hiroshi" for the interview.

Characters

Animated version

Ken Kubo(Lâu bảo kiện,Kubo Ken)

The main character.Voiced by:Kōji Tsujitani

Tanaka(Điền trung)

Voiced by:Toshiharu Sakurai

Hino(Ngày dã)

Voiced by:Shigeru Nakahara

Misuzu Fukuhara(Phúc nguyên mỹ linh,Fukuhara Misuzu)

Voiced by:Yūko Kobayashi

Yoshiko Ueno(Thượng dã mỹ tử,Ueno Yoshiko)

Voiced by:Kikuko Inoue

Yuri Satō(Tá đằng từ lê,Satō Yuri)

Voiced by:Yuri Amano

Miyoshi(Tam thiện)

Voiced by:Masami Kikuchi

Iiyama(Cơm sơn)

Voiced by:Toshiyuki Morikawa

Yamaguchi(Sơn khẩu)

Voiced by:Nobuo Tobita

Kitajima(Bắc đảo)

Voiced by:Wataru Takagi

Yoshida(Cát điền)

Voiced by:Hideyuki Umezu

Inoue(Giếng thượng)

Voiced by:Jun'ichi Kanemaru

Murata(Thôn điền)

Voiced by:Kiyoyuki Yanada

Yōko Nakamaru(Trung hoàn dương tử)

Voiced by: Rena Kurihara

Ryū Kohaku(Tiểu bạch long)

Voiced by:Hideyuki Umezu

Bankman Kanda(バンクマン thần điền,Bankuman Kanda)

Voiced by:Akio Ōtsuka

Narrator(ナレーション,Narēshon)

Voiced by:Akio Ōtsuka

Live-action version ( "A Portrait of an Otaku" )

Junichi Tamaya(Ngọc cốc thuần nhất,Tamaya Junichi)

Portrayed by: Jun Tamaya

Yūta Ikuta(Sinh điền mạnh mẽ,Ikuta Yūta)

Portrayed by: Himself

Harold Shiota(ハロルド triều điền,Harorudo Shiota)

Portrayed by: Kazuya Shioiri

Kenji Mamiya(Gian cung kiện nhi,Mamiya Kenji)

Portrayed by: Shūichi Miyagawa

A

Portrayed by: Takayuki Masuda

Hiroshi Satō(Tá đằng hoành,Satō Hiroshi)

Portrayed by: Hiroki Sato

Shon Fernandez(ショーン・フェルナンデス,Shōn Ferunandesu)

Portrayed by: Craig York

Osamu Akahori(Xích quật tu,Akahori Osamu)

Portrayed by: Osamu Akahagi

Shō Murayama(Thôn sơn chương,Murayama Shō)

Portrayed by: Shōji Murahama

Hidehiko Kamisaka(Thượng bản anh ngạn,Kamisaka Hidehiko)

Portrayed by: Hidehiko Kuroda

Release

The OVA consists of two episodes: "1982 Otaku no video" and "1985 More Otaku no Video".The first episode ofOtaku no Videohad its world premiere atAnimeCon‘91 on September 1, 1991, where it was shown on16mmwith an audience of 9 people.The OVA was acommercial failure,which has in part been attributed to thebubble economyat the time as well as the content of the anime.

In Japan the OVA was released on Blu-ray Disc in 2014 by TC Entertainment with a newaudio commentarytrack by staff, as well as the creation of a new master.

It was later released with English subtitles on VHS in North America on March 17, 1993,on DVD on April 2, 2002,and on Blu-ray Disc on June 24, 2016, and a future release on October 8, 2024, all byAnimEigo.

Reception

The OVA was largely praised by critics. Carl Gustav Horn ofJ-poppraised the anime saying "ONV's been known to offend fans in America as much as those in Japan. And you know that may be a mark of quality. "David Smith atIGNrecommended it for fans of the animeGenshikenand said "If you look closely, you can also see some of the secret history of Gainax in there, but you may be laughing too hard to pick up on those subtle details."

See also

• Comic Party
• Cosplay Complex
• DAICON IIIandIV Opening Animations

External links

• Otaku no VideoatGainax(in Japanese)
• Otaku no Videoat TC Entertainment
• Otaku no VideoLiner NotesbyAnimEigo
• "Otaku no Video".AnimEigo Wiki.
• Otaku no Video(anime) atAnime News Network's encyclopedia
• Otaku no VideoatIMDb
• Discussion of the real people in the interviews inOtaku no Videoby Lawrence Eng of the Cornell Japanese Animation Society