That included ELO's (Electric Light Orchestra) phenomenal 1981 concept album "Time", which I consider one of the finest of the decade. Luckily, there was a complete playlist on Youtube. Out of curiosity, I decided to check out the comments and noticed a number mentioning "Daicon IV". "The fuck is that?", I wondered.
Turns out that it was a series of specially made intro videos to several anime conventions during the 1980s (who knew they even existed back then?!), also notable for being the first output by Studio Gainax.
Essentially, it's a specially-made 80's AMV featuring a girl, small and innocent during Daicon III, and then an adult in a Playboy bunny costume in Daicon IV (who didn't see that coming?) having a number of fantastic adventures, including flying on a sword, throwing around giant mechas, and fighting an array of monsters and villains.
Watching it as a jaded 28 year-old in the year 2015, I still found it relatively fun and energetic. Of course, a lot of the credit for that goes to a song by ELO that I absolutely adore.
The animation is hit and miss. Some of it is interesting and unique, especially the more science fiction-inspired creatures. Other parts remind me of generic, cheap, and bland 80's fare, both in terms of detail and subject.
Overall, I liked the Daicon Opening Animations, and feel they served their purpose. However, neither are they anything special.
With such an amazing song, I can easily imagine Gainax creating something more interesting, particularly if they had pushed a stronger science fiction theme, and taken out some of the random, silly aspects of the video. (The Western superhero cameos, random anime characters making goofy faces, etc.)
Certainly, I have seen promotional anime music videos that were much better despite far inferior songs.
Nevertheless, this deserves credit for being one of the first.
