Otaku no Video

"It's not like I'm ashamed of my past or anything!"- Former Otaku

Preface:

Otaku no Video is a very insightful and introspective (with a touch of mockery) movie that contains both a slightly parodical animated version of the origins of studio Gainax, and live recorded interviews conducted by Gainax of former (and current) Otaku of the time- 1991.

Very nontraditional in many ways, it's not completely anime, and not completely live action, but a blend that presents relevant cultural information regarding the Otaku. It's broken up into two parts; one, an animated movie about a guy named Ken Kubo and his stereotypical fat, geeky otaku friend ... Tanaka, and the second part is a series of the aforementioned interviews in segments called "Portrait of an Otaku".

The animation first:

Kubo and Tanaka were college friends; Kubo the typical Gary Stu kind of guy- tennis team, has a beautiful girlfriend, scholar, and everything seems right in his life, except he's rather bored. He meets up with Tanaka by chance in an elevator, and from that fateful reunion on is slowly drawn into the Otaku lifestyle of making fanfiction magazines, garage kits (modified figurines), and eventually full on anime and video games in an attempt to become the OTAKING- King of the Otakus!

After rising to the top, Kubo and Tanaka get screwed, and then have to decide what it was that was really important to them- the grubbing, hand to mouth lifestyle of being an artist and original creator, or selling out and making all the money. There's only one true path for the Otaking, and that's to take it beyond the stars.

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The pacing is broken up by the interviews, but the narrative is both engaging and humorous, along with providing a very loose version of how Gainax was started, and their goals of shooting for the stars, both in animation and in business practices. It's very interesting to see how Otaku no Video inspired later works, and drew from the doujinshi (amateur produced works) that put Gainax on the map. Real life science fiction conventions Daicon 3 and 4 (1981, 1983) are explored, which Gainax also produced shorts for. Other character stylings and symbols seen in later works also make appearances, like Kamina's glasses on a building, robots from Gunbuster, and more.

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Portrait of an Otaku:

Through a series of live interviews, the movie also explores the lives and disparate interests of those who call themselves Otaku. Garage Kit Otaku, Military Otaku, Anime and Manga, Fanzines, Cosplay enthusiasts, and Fan Video Otaku, and even an art thief are all shown, and asked series of questions that either mock their interests and lifestyle, or that give some insight into what it is that drives them to their obsession.

While it's believed that the people interviewed were either Gainax employees themselves (who created their studio to put a name behind their amateur original works, and thereby personifying some of these stereotypes), some of it is plainly staged. Hideaki Anno himself is shown as a Hentai-game addict, even. Typically, the faces and voices are censored, so it's still unknown who some of them are. It's interesting in that they're making fun of Otaku, and at the same time themselves, because that's how Gainax started out: geeks making their own originals to hawk at conventions.

The portrait section also provides some hilarious statistics on what Otaku are interested in, and how different groups see different themes. A foreigner was also intereviewed, and it was stated that some 50% of those surveyed come to Japan solely out of anime and manga fandom, and the other half either "like" or "are not opposed" to it. A fanzine convention survey of 100 Otaku revealed that only 15% of them had cosplayed, and an overwhelming 60% had not. Of those 15 that responded yes, the "Otaku who did cosplay tended to be repeat offenders".
Another survey included those who "talk to themselves", of which the overwhelming majority with 70% did.

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There's also a deep sociological background to Otaku culture; stemming from how a more collectivist culture like Japan operates vs an intensely individualistic one like the US. "The nail that sticks out gets hammered" they say, and to a point, it's true. In a collectivist culture, the ideal person fits in with their group, their family, their society, and don't express their individualism much when around others. In private, they can be a night and day different person.

The Otaku have long been branded as "no life losers", and in a sense shunned from their culture as they're perceived "deviant", no different from the US, really. People with anime and manga obsession, people obsessed with doomsday preparation, zombie fanatics, etc.-all these groups share a common thread in that they're on the fringe of 'normative' society. In that, they find a bond together, and create their own subculture outside of the norms.

For anyone who's interested in the Otaku culture, this half mockumentary is a great video for insight into what it was like back in the day, even if it's somewhat parodical. In all honesty, what they portray satirically here is not far from the truth, neither in 1991 nor in 2015. There are tons of people out there like the ones shown in this movie, that are obsessive enthusiasts of different fandoms, and though their interests may be broad, they're all bound by a label that sets them apart- that of the Otaku.

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The Otaku Video is a 1991 Gainax OVA that provides a parodical glance into its titular culture as well as giving a very loose and fictionalized retelling of the founding of Gainax studios. Main character Kubo is an everyday college student dissatisfied with his life and hobbies, but a chance reunion with his old high school friend Tanaka drags him into his world of the Otaku. Kubo leaves his “normal” life behind and vows to become the “Otaking”. The anime skips forward in time as it follows the two friends from fanboys, to model distributors, to independent anime creators. As well as their various odd ... struggles in between, delivered in a comedic tone complete with underdog heroes and typical villains.

Dividing these chronological updates are odd live action mockumentary interviews. These are primarily staged interviews about otaku culture between Gainax employees and associates whose faces are typically obscured by mosaic with their voices digitally altered. Being made in a time when “otaku” still referred to general geek culture rather than that of anime, you even see some focus on things such as airsoft gun fanatics. Fake recording dates are given along with timely major national news, seemingly to punctuate these surprisingly self-loathing segments and their mockery of oblivious escapism and empty social lives. These interviews border on mean-spirited, and although it stems from Gainax making fun of themselves, by hiding their identities as they mean to depict broader otaku culture they end up dragging the identities of otaku fans in general through the mud as they’re portrayed as antisocial, perverted losers. For every question that genuinely probes into the minds of various subcultures and their appeals, there’s three that target the interviewee personally such as “Do you ever go outside?” or “Have you ever had sex?”. Clearly the public perspective hasn’t changed much since 1991, but for an OVA ostensibly celebrating the passion behind otaku culture it comes dangerously close to making its condemnation of the scene far more obvious than its appreciation.

It can be seen as honesty to present the optimism, solidarity, and excitement of otaku culture in an anime format complete with a comedic, melodramatic storyline and then to acknowledge the negative parts of it at the same time in reality. But not even the anime segments are free from this negativity and industry remorse, and a binary display of showing only the negativity and shame in the most realistic segments makes the bitterness much more impactful than the optimism. It’s a shame that I can’t picture The Otaku Video as being particularly made “for” anyone. Probably not otaku, for the frequent contempt it shows towards its own members’ ways of living, and the fact that the anime segments don’t focus as much on the otaku lifestyle as they do on a very brief story of rising in the industry of otaku – something almost no one watching will find relatable. The eccentric presentation and title will keep non-otaku miles away, and the depiction of the “real” otaku will make any one of them desperate to avoid that path.

Even not taking it seriously, The Otaku Video is just too sour for its own comedic purposes. Often too self-loathing, in a way that’s now particularly tired and reductionist, to set a consistent mood for laughter or joy. It’s also too heavily fictionalized to work as a reliable historic take on Gainax’s creation. There are some high-spirited moments scattered throughout as the characters stubbornly defend their interests despite being scorned by society and hope to end the prejudice, but these ideologies end up being buried by the creators’ negativity and own lack of confidence. And yet, the OVA is likable enough. In addition to crisp, colorful Blu-ray animation, this OVA’s very existence and even the contradictions about it are a testament to Gainax’s peak eccentricity and the concept and result is something that could only come from the incredible creative forces behind the studio and beyond it. It’s delightful, not for any possible attempt to capture otaku culture or Gainax’s founding, but its inherent display of the personality that made the studio so unique. In other words, this isn’t a video for otaku – it’s a video for Gainax dorks. Are you one?

I cannot express my displeasure with this anime enough. This went between an incredibly cringey and unrealistic story, to a low quality interview between the interviewers and otaku from the 1980s. I am amazed at the high reviews for this. I will separate this between the anime part and the interview part, in what is hopefully better executed than the movie itself.

ANIME:

Story: The story is quite nonsensical, and feels like a random conglomerate of events that loosely match up with the interviews. The ending makes very little sense, and almost feels like it is going against what the entire theme of the movie is supposed ... to be (basically, don't fall into the trap of becoming an otaku).

Art: It's from 1985, what is there to expect?

Sound: Once again, it's from 1985. It's fine.

Character: The main character, Kubo, somewhat feels like a puppet of the creators rather than a full-fledged character. He falls into the trap of becoming an otaku, but that is where the realism ends. He jumps from one idea to another, and none of the other characters have any depth. Very little is noted about Kubo himself, other than that he has/had a girlfriend, and has incredibly odd dreams after being pushed around like a cue ball.

Overall: Nothing stands out very much other than a terrible story.

INTERVIEWS:

Story: There isn't much of a story, but most of the interviews are somehow related to the anime portions. The interviewer asks multiple questions about the lives of the interviewees, ranging from past experiences to sexual habits. Some of the interviewees are just plain weird, others seem like normal people who are down in the dumps. At one point, the interviewers practically assault somebody who appears to be trying to just go about his normal day.

Sound: I think the sound was fairly normal quality for such an old show, but the first interview stands out to me as being particularly horrid. You can hear every time he breathes in, as though the microphone is sensitive in the wrong place, along with a fan running in the background. One of the people interviewed was from the U.S., and although this may be due to where I seen the movie, the subtitles did not match what he was saying at all.

Polls: After every interview, the narrator shows the watcher several charts depicting responses to various questions, from whether someone has hear of garage kits, to whether they had sex before marriage. These polls are practically taken as fact by the movie, and are used to create assumptions based upon an incredibly small portion of people (usually 100). The process of choosing people is also not explained, so it furthers how unreliable the results may be.

Overall: This is what killed it for me. The idea was certainly interesting, but between weird audio, and unreliable statistics, it didn't feel like it made sense to be included within the movie.

CONCLUSION: This is my first review, because I could not believe how high the ratings for this were. Otaku no Video is overall pretty terrible, from a low-quality story to faulty information. I would definitely skip this, and look for something better to occupy your time with. 2/10