Otaku no Video was released in 1982 by the studio Gainax. It was followed in 1985 by a sequel, More Otaku no Video. Both videos contain a combination of animation and live action. The animated segments form a fictional history of the studio Gainax containing many in-references to members of Gainax, Tokyo media personalities, and so on. The live action segments are divided into Otaku portraits. Each portrait centres on a certain type of Otaku, meaning a certain type of dedicated fan of something, not all of which are solely dedicated to Anime. All the portraits do share one thing in common, they are all outrageous send ups of different stereotypes of Anime fans.
Before we proceed any further it is important to explain the meaning of the title of the Anime and the word Otaku itself, this alone will tell you a lot about Otaku no Video. Otaku is a formal and somewhat unusual way of saying you or your house in Japanese, it hasn't been used in common place for some time and has taken on another meaning entirely. Coined first by the Japanese media to refer to dedicated fans of videos and electronics, Otaku has come to mean dedicated fan, someone who goes beyond the normal bounds of devotion to a hobby until it becomes a passion. It is sad however that the term Otaku took on a gruesome connotation after it was used to describe Miyazaki Tsutomu, a serial killer of children who also collected pornographic videos. This incident led to an erroneous assumption that Otaku were in some way unsavoury and so far outside the norm that they forsake civilized behaviour. This is not true as Otaku is just a term used to describe a dedicated fan and the actions of one Otaku do not represent all Otaku. In recent years the term Otaku has begun to shed some of its negative connotations and has become more accepted as a term describing someone who is dedicated to a certain field of interest. Therefore there can be pop music Otakus, military Otakus, video Otakus, sports Otakus, and Otakus of many other devotions. However, here in the United States the meaning of the word Otaku has become much more narrow and tends to only refer to fans of Japanese animation. So knowing this we can give an approximate translation of "Otaku no Video" as a video of fans, a video for fans, or a fan's video. Otaku no Video is not just the fictional history of Gainax, it is a video about all of Japanese animation fandom.
Gainax has created some of the best works of Anime to date and the quality of Otaku no Video is what you would expect from such a prestigious company. The planning of Otaku no Video was done by Maruyama Yoshio and Okada Toshio. Okada went on to complete the screenplay. The director for Otaku no Video is Mori Takeshi. Character designs were done by veteran artist Sonoda Kenichi who has created a group of characters that have both style and personality. In fact the entire visual look of Otaku no Video is sharp by anyone's standards. The animation is fluid, the colours crisp, and the quality of the work in general is exceptional.
In direct contrast to the visual style of the animated segments are the Otaku portraits. Often using video distortion to hide the true identity of the individual in the video they have a well cultivated look of amateurism. Make no mistake though, these interviews are deliberately misleading as they are not interviews with "true" Otaku but staged interviews designed to parody or exaggerate some aspect of being an Otaku. Often words in the original Japanese dialogue reflect a subtle subtext that can be missed in the translation. For example, during one of the interviews a man who has gone on to get a respectable job and leave the fandom of his youth behind refers to himself in terms that are often used to describe Yakuza who have gotten out of the business. In this manner there is a comparison between the level of involvement he shared with fellow Anime fans to being part of a criminal organization that creates fictitious blood ties between its members. This is playing on the general public's ignorance of Anime fandom to poke fun at those people who compare Anime fans to thugs or other disagreeable social types.
The animated story itself revolves around Kubo a freshman in college who meets a friend of his from high school who is an Otaku. His friend Tanaka soon introduces Kubo into the strange and mysterious world of the Otaku. Kubo soon becomes an Otaku himself, loosing many of his friends including girlfriend Ueno Yoshiko. He soon falls in with a new circle of friends made up of Otaku. Kubo seems very happy with his new life as an Otaku but is rather disturbed by the loss of his old friends and social standing. In an empassioned speech made to Tanaka he vow to give up all semblance of a normal life to become the ultimate Otaku, the Ota-king. This ends the first Otaku no Video. At the beginning of More Otaku no Video Kubo and Tanaka have mastered a process that will allow them to become plastic model kit manufacturers. This initial foray into professional Otakudom however ends in failure as Kubo looses his company to a greedy banker. He soon forms a new alliance with his old friend Tanaka and a female illustrator named Fukuhara Misuzu, voice by Kobayashi Yuuko, to create a series of videos that catapult his next company Giant X to undreamed of heights. By the end of the tape Kubo is able to realize his life long dream of building Otakuland, an amusement park for all types of Otaku.
Kubo: Voice actor Tsujiya Kooji plays the part of Kubo, a young man going to college in Japan. Kubo is a typical youth, interested in sports, girls, his studies, his friends, and just having a good time. It is after a round of carousing with some of his buddies that Kubo runs into an old friend from high school named Tanaka. Tanaka, as opposed to Kubo, is an Otaku of Animation and a dedicated one at that. Tanaka soon persuades Kubo to join him and his friends as a fan of anime and other subjects. Kubo becomes involved in anime in a short period of time, perhaps even more so than his friend Tanaka who was responsible for introducing him to anime in the first place. Unfortunately for him Kubo's involvement in anime is so total that he is unable to reconcile his other relationships with his new passion and looses both his friends and girlfriend Ueno. This blow to Kubo's self-esteem drives him to greater depths of fandom which soon consumes his very existence. He emerges triumphant over his passion and goes on to found a series of companies dedicated to creating Anime and allowing him to fulfil his dream of bringing the joys of Otakuness to every man, woman, and child across the globe.
Tanaka: Voice actor Sakurai Toshiharu plays the part of Kubo's best friend and fellow Otaku Tanaka. Tanaka has been interested in anime and manga for several years when he meets Kubo again. He soon entices his friend into joining the world of animation and science fiction fandom. Tanaka is the unofficial head of a small circle of fans. The world 'circle' is often used to describe a group of fans who are all friends or who share similar interests. Tanaka follows Kubo through his corporate adventures and is instrumental in the creation of Kubo's companies. Tanaka is devoted even for an Otaku seeming to have no life outside his fandom.
Miyoshi: Voice actor Kikuchi Masami plays the part of one of the members of Tanaka's circle who later becomes one of Kubo's close friends. Miyoshi is an expert in the many live action super hero shows which were popular in Japan at the time Otaku no Video was made. His ability to demonstrate the many complex transformation sequences the super heroes have to perform is proof of his Otakuness.
Iiyama: Voice actor Morikawa Tomoyuki plays the roll of military Otaku and fellow circle member Iiyama. An expert in both military matters and model making Iiyama is another member of Tanakas circle who also becomes a close friend of Kubo's.
Hino: Voice actor Nakahara Shigeru plays the part of Hino, a science fiction Otaku who is also a member of Tanaka's circle. He later becomes a friend of Kubo and a member of the board of directors for Kubo's first company.
Satoo Yuri: Voice actress Amano Yuri plays the part of the only female member of Tanaka's circle. Satoo is a "genius illustrator", at least by Tanaka's standards. Satoo is an unabashed young woman who seems not at all embarrassed to appear dressed as Lum or Dominique from Space Adventure Cobra. In fact Satoo seems to take an interest in Kubo as the story progresses, much to the frustration of Miyoshi.
Ueno Yoshiko: Voice actress Inoue Kikuko plays the part of Kubo's strait laced girlfriend Ueno. The typical trendy girl, Ueno is interested in Kubo and likes him a lot but as his pursuit of anime fandom consumes more of Kubo's time Ueno becomes alienated. She leaves him after enduring his rather bizarre behaviour and indifferent attitude toward her for several months. Later she returns as the wife of a powerful banker who opposes Kubo in his quest to Otakudize all mankind.
Fukuhara Misuzu: Voice actress Kobayashi Yuuko plays the part of the quiet and reserved Fukuhara. Not a member of the original circle, Fukuhara none the less plays an import roll in the life of Kubo. She is an employee of Kubo's first company who produces a revolutionary character design that is introduced as a model line. Later she joins Kubo and Tanaka to help form Giant X, the movie studio that allows Kubo to attain the success as an Otaku that he had always dreamed of.
There are a great number of other minor and supporting characters that round out the cast of Otaku no Video. Their voice actors and actresses are listed here along with the part they played.
Yamaguchi: Tobita Norio; Kitajima: Takagi Wataru; Yoshida/Shao Bai Lung: Umezu Hideyuki; Inoue: Kanemaru Junichi; Murata: Someda Kiyoyuki; Nakumaru Yooko: Kurihara Rena; Girl: Kikuchi Takako; Banker Kanda/Narrator: Ootsuka Akio
Otaku no Video is funny, intriguing, and satirical. A self-reflective work by Gainax that is one of the most unique titles available in the United States. Both Otaku no Video and More Otaku no Video are available from AnimEigo on one tape that runs approximately 100 minutes. The video is subtitled and comes with extensive liner notes that describe some of the more obscure in-jokes that permeate Otaku no Video. Any dedicated fan of Japanese Animation is sure to find some element of Otaku no Video that may seem familiar, perhaps even more so than they are willing to admit.
Otaku no Video is licensed to AnimEigo by Gainax. All rights under copyright reserved.