Otaku No Video Movie Review 1991

The title of this satirized bio of Gainax animation studio and its founders can be read as "Fan's Video." The tape contains two installments, one made in 1982 and one in 1985. In 1982, college freshman Kubo is reunited with his old friend Tanaka and slowly gets sucked into the world of hopelessly obsessed anime and science fiction fans or "otaku." Both the fun and social costs of his new hobby are examined (in Japan, like the U.S., the coolest guys aren't sitting inside watching TV all day). The second installment finds Kubo and Tanaka starting two different businesses that are directly related to their beloved hobby. As if the animated stories weren't hilarious enough (and, perhaps, all-too familiar to some anime fans), there are live-action, fake documentary segments. These examine different aspects of "otakudom." People less familiar with the world of anime should be able to understand the basic story which is very funny (keeping in mind that practically nothing about this video is to be taken seriously). More experienced anime fans will have the added fun of trying to spot all the anime references and in-jokes liberally woven into the script.

Distribution

AnimEigo Inc., PO Box 989, Wilmington, NC 28402-0989, Phone: (910)251-1850, Toll-free: 800-242-6463, Fax: (910)763-2376, Email: questions@animeigo.com, URL: http://www.animeigo.com

Available on VHS
Running time 100 minutes.
Originally from Japanese.

Cast and Crew

Genres

Tokyo, Japan