Gainax and Otaku:
Before we get into Otaku No Video, let’s go over some context.
Now what is an Otaku? For most people in the western world, it just means ‘anime fan’ however in Japan is has more negative connotations. It’s supposed to refer to someone who’s not only a fan but has seemingly devoted their entire lifestyle to a certain obsession or hobby, usually pop culture.
Gainax was founded by Otaku. These guys in university with their sketchy grades and little to no experience in animation decided to lock themselves in a small Osaka apartment and attempt to make anime (among other things). With makeshift tools and animation cels they, got their start making animated shorts for the convention Daikon III.
It was one the first times a Studio came about from a sort of indie grassroots origins and it’s something Gainax seemed to have kept with them through their life. Shows like Evangelion, Gurren Lagann and even their spiritual successor Studio Trigger’s shows like Kill la Kill and SSSS.Gridman show the classic joys of otaku fandom like giant tokusatsu mechs, over the top explosions and lots of fanservice.
They’ve even tackled more cynical aspects of the lifestyle. Particularly with Gainax co-founder Hideki Anno and his later works like End of Evangelion and MEMEME which featured direct criticisms of the otaku lifestyle inspired by Anno’s disillusionment with Otaku and how he had fell into depression during the making of Evangelion as a result.
I bring this up because Otaku No Video directed by Takeshi Mori is one of their earliest projects and is explicitly about the studio’s otaku roots. It’s a spoof all about being an otaku and the culture that created Gainax.
The Otaku’s Journey:
Otaku No Video is split into two sections more or less. The animated section revolves around Kubo, your average university student, on the tennis club, has a cute girlfriend but also kind of board, until one day he discovers the otaku circle of the University. Cosplaying in the fairs, selling doujinshi, recording all and all shows on VHS, he is slowly enveloped into their ranks.
Keep in mind this was made in the late 80s to early 90s where there was no internet, big franchises like Naruto, One Piece and Pokémon didn’t exist and shows about specifically catering to and staring the otaku demographic weren’t common. The otaku fandom was even smaller and more underground than it is today when nerd culture (especially in the west) is far more accepted in the mainstream. This creates a feel of these guys being a niche group that really only have each other.
The otaku Group at least at first does almost feel like a goofy cult with how they induct Kubo into their ranks but at the same time, they’re shown to be very warm and welcoming, and their comradery feels real. That’s what nice about this OVA, it truly feels like it presents both the best and the worst of otaku. We see Kubo’s life take quite a downturn since becoming an otaku. He gains weight, he’s not grooming himself very well and eventually his girlfriend dumps him, but he finds more excitement in the world of anime and tokusatsu than he did before and it’s hard not to feel a but happy with just how passionate these nerds are about their hobbies. As someone who has led an anime society at Uni and found some life-long friends through it, it’s hard not to feel a little warm and nostalgic watching these weebs.
I also like the plot point where Kubo is even able to find success making model figures only for a larger corporation to swoop in and take over his company and demote him from power, basically gutting his business from the inside, a sadly common practice in a lot of media industries. Thankfully he’s able to start again but it makes a solid point. On one hand otaku are weirdos stuck in their own little world that in can be easy to take advantage of but they’re also mostly good people looking for likeminded individuals to share their hobby with and having success and despair along the way.
The Otaku’s Portrait:
The other section is called ‘Portrait of an Otaku’ which has live action interviews with real Otaku and some facts about them. What interesting about this section is a westerner it can be surprising to learn just how much nuance there is to otaku lifestyles.
The video does show a few of a more typical idea of an otaku; NEETs with no friends who spend all day watching anime but also less typical like a tape collector that spends his time recording anything he finds cool on TV and trading them with others. There’s also a military Otaku who likes to collect air-soft guns and role play in the forest but upon being asked if he would ever want to shoot someone with a real gun looked dumbfounded, saying he never considered it and just thinks they look cool. There’s even a weaboo. A westerner that speaks little Japanese yet decided to sell all his things, move to Japan and devote his life to collecting Japanese pop culture memorabilia (oh how some things haven’t changed).
The one I found the strangest though was an otaku who made a living infiltrating anime studio and stealing animation cels to sell on a kind of otaku black market. Apparently, the security at these studios was so low, the turnover rate so high that you could just walk in, pretend to be an employee and go off with them. Hopefully, security has improved in the 30 years since this was made.
Final Thesis about Otaku No Video:
Otaku no Video is an odd little thesis. I never realised just how many ways there were to being an otaku. It’s easy to see geek culture as just sad men in their mother’s basements both what I think both the animated and live action sections show otaku in a darkly humorous but respectful manner. It shows otaku for who they are; weird and some of them have pretty obvious mental health problems, but others are happy with their lives and just enjoying their hobbies, regardless of what the mainstream think of them. It’s a fascinating insight into the old school Otaku lifestyle from the eyes of people that were part of it.
I’d say it’s worth a watch for all anime weebs at least once. Think of it as learning more about your origins, the good and the bad of it.
