OTAKU NO VIDEO - DVD review

"Otaku no Video" is a combination documentary and reflection upon anime fan culture. Without going into great detail, an otaku is a fanatic for some particular topic, in this case anime. The parallels between this feature and "Trekkies" would be hard to avoid, but "Otaku no Video" is so much more. Although mostly a two part humorous look at a group of animation fans ("Otaku no Video 1982" and "Otaku no Video 1985"), the animation is intercut with live action interviews with real otaku, as well as polls on various topics. If you've ever wondered how your anime-watching friends live and think, or if you yourself are part of anime-fandom, you need to see this.

AnimEigo put a great feature into this DVD—you can choose to watch it as it was originally released, or you can watch all of the animated portions and interview portions separately. I chose to watch it the first time in its original presentation.

The story opens with the main character, Kubo, enjoying the basic college freshman life. He's a member of the school's tennis club, he has a pretty girlfriend, and he seems to be adjusting well. Kubo's perfect world starts to end when he gets stuck in an elevator with a bunch of anime/science fiction/you name it otaku. Surprised, Kubo recognizes their leader, a guy he knew in high school named Tanaka. Some time later, at the college's May Festival (a festival thrown by all the student groups on campus), Kubo sees Tanaka and his friends again. This time, the otaku are selling their fanzine in their own booth while dressed as some of their favorite characters.

After another live action interview, the focus goes back to Kubo. By now, he's spent some time with Tanaka and his friends, one of whom prophetically tells Kubo that "If you stay once, you can never get out." At this point, we see the start of Kubo's nightmarish decent into ink and cels. He quits the school tennis team, as it's cutting into his valuable otaku time. He loses his girlfriend. He has trouble finding a job. And all because Kubo loves anime and science fiction more than anything else in life. By the end of the first half, Kubo vows to never stop, not until the world bows to him as the Otaking!

The second half of the DVD mirrors the rise of a real anime studio, Gainax (who made "Otaku no Video", as well as "Neon Genesis Evangelion" and "His and Her Circumstances", among others). Kubo and Tanaka make their own company, which we follow all the way up to the year 2035. I suppose as a testament to the power this story had over me, or perhaps to the high quality Gainax tends to put into everything they do, I found that the ending was surprisingly poignant. I won't give it away, except to say that I think that it in so many ways captures the hopes and dreams of every anime otaku perfectly.

As an added bonus, there was some footage in the "1982" half from the opening animation of Daicon IV, a convention that was held in Japan. The animation was created by the group of friends who would go on to found studio Gainax. It's an essential piece of anime history, although nearly impossible to find today as it was only released once on laserdisc many years ago. The central character of the animation, a bunny girl, is specifically who Misty May in "Otaku no Video" is supposed to look like.

Video:
The video aspect ratio is 1.33:1 (full-screen on 4:3 monitors). There are a few artifacts in the video, but nothing you'll see unless you're looking for them. The animation quality is pretty decent. The many different anime series referenced in the DVD are so well done that you can recognize them even if you aren't completely familiar with the series. The colors in the DVD transfer came through bright and clear.

Audio:
You can watch the show in Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo Japanese. There is an option for English subtitles and/or captions. I watched it in Japanese with English subtitles and captions. I didn't hear any problems with the audio. The voice acting was good to me too.

Extras:
There are two extras. The first is "Images", which consists of random shots from the feature as well as some character design sheets. The slide show is rather novel because, as rather than a monotone background, AnimEigo put in a theatre with an audience.

The second extra, "Movie Trailer", is a trailer for "Otaku no Video 1985".

Overall, the extras seem a little sparse, but according to the liner notes it was difficult to track people down who were involved in the original production.

--Miscellaneous--
While there isn't a chapter list sheet, AnimEigo has included their exhaustive liner notes. This is one of the reasons why AnimEigo is just about my favorite anime distribution company—they really do their homework on the cultural and in references.

There are so many references to different anime series and films in "Otaku no Video" that even AnimEigo's exhaustive liner notes cannot list them all, but they sure tried. I've been an anime fan for quite a while now, and I haven't seen more than about half of the shows they listed.

The liner notes also contain lyrics for all the songs in Otaku no Video, along with an explanation as to what they parody.

Film Value:
While this disc entertained me, it also frightened me a little. Kubo's induction into anime practically mirrored my own. When I was a freshman in college, I started hanging out in Robert Lee's dorm room, a guy that I had not known well in high school. I started out with "Macross Plus", saw some of "Neon Genesis Evangelion", and before I knew it, I was staying up all night watching "Fushigi Yuugi" while everyone else I knew was out on the party scene. And as for the anime fans they portrayed in both the animated sections and the scripted interviews, I've met them all in real life. That's the beauty of "Otaku no Video": it manages to faithfully yet humorously portray otaku culture.