Audience reviews
20 · Sample from the first available page, separate from the total number of ratings.
AtsushiPilchzuki
I heard about this film at a panel at my first convention and waited to see it. I honestly expected something completely different.
I didn't know this movie had interview clips from IRL. The interviews were sometimes interesting, certainly unusual, and the statistics were very interesting, as if they immersed the viewer in the burgeoning otaku subculture of the early 1990s. Some of the interviews seemed random and staged, others were very cringe-worthy, but I have no problem with that.
The anime part was laconic because the interview part was 1/2 of the movie. This makes it difficult to get attached to the characters. The plot, however, is very "sweet" and absurd, but I completely liked it. It is incredibly interesting that the film shows that the otaku subculture was influenced by grou…
Read at the sourceTheSlipperySlope
Otaku no Video is a polarizing piece. Part retelling of Toshio Okada's journey in the formation of General Products and Gainax, part [and rather starkly contrasting] look into some of vulnerable otaku and a minute look into multiple niches. While there's some rather interesting subject matter, the issue at the end of the day is with only an hour and 40 minutes worth of time-skipping animation and pseudo-anonymized interviews, we neither see a lot of the extremely interesting details of Toshio Okada's journey and this part of his life. We don't see Anno, Kazutaka, Nihon SF Taikai, Daicon, the actual importance of things like Wings of Honnaeamise, Comiket, WonderFes, or really delve deeper into these subcultures and facets of different Japanese pop-culture at the time.
While I won't say do…
Read at the sourceSgtSalamander
Otaku no Video is an interesting anime to attempt a review of, simply because it is so unusual. Put simply, it is an insightful love letter to otaku culture in general, especially as it was in the 80s and 90s, complete with lengthy live action segments amounting to scripted interviews meant to convey the essence of what it means to be an otaku. There really is nothing else like it, and it is something that could have only been made by Gainax. Beginning with the story, which is the strongest aspect of this anime for its unique story structure alone, presents us with two simultaneous tracks. First, the story of how a regular guy, unfulfilled by his tennis hobby, gets into otaku culture, despite being intimidated by its seemingly impenetrable oddities. Second, a series of documentary-style li…
Read at the sourcefh1478
In good fun, making fun of ourself.
It's so interesting looking at this time capsule of otaku world, that no longer existing.
And the scenes of them taking the piss out of them, so with portrait of utako episodes. it get me the feeling of catching a Predator it's kind of weird and cool.
the OVA has an insane pace because of the bubble economy, it's just going full speed over to nerd them otakudam all the different ways making a company losing a company friendship merchandise ,fictional women, real women who draw like a machine.
it's interesting that four years later they release evangelion and become one of most important anime of all time
And I would recommended as a school assignment to understand old school anime fans and where we come from.
Read at the sourceFirechick12012
For many people, anime was this super secret niche thing that nobody knew about, and you had to jump through hoops in order to find it, or go out of your way to some really obscure places to find it. I grew up during the 2000s, so this wasn't the experience I had with anime, but anime only started coming to the US in the 80s, and not in one piece if you know what I mean. Nowadays, we take anime and what it can offer us for granted, but back when you couldn't access it as easily as we could now, anime used to be this mysterious, awesome, amazing thing that anyone who didn't actively seek it out couldn't access. Liking anime and manga was a hobby most people didn't understand or appreciate back in those days, and even now, there's still a big of a stigma against anime fans. But if you love s…
Read at the sourceAlephDaud
You may have heard of Studio Gainax. They’re the guys that made Neon Genesis Evangelion, Gurren Lagann, FLCL, Panty and Stocking among many others. What is most interesting about them however is their connection to Otaku and one particular project of their’s: the original video animation (OVA) Otaku No Video.
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…
Read at the sourcelolthe0
Otaku no video
Quite literally a video for Otakus, by Otakus.
This "anime" isn't exactly an anime, and probably weren't meant to be viewed as an anime. As was intended by Gainax founders, Anno and many others. Otaku no Video is a documentary. The story is non-existent, unless you were to ignore the real-life interview segments and only focus on the animated parts, then you'd have a simple story of young man loses focus in life and goes on to become the OTAKING! However, that's not the point of Otaku no Video. The focus is on the negative connotations of being an Otaku. Only showing, the bad and the worst. From one degenerate behavior to another. It should be known that Otaku by definition just means being an enthusiast for a particular thing/interest. Hence you have anime otaku, game ot…
Read at the sourceacutedream
So I just watched the two episodes yesterday at Anime NYC online. I usually do not like older anime as much, but this one changed my mind. I really liked how it made fun of otaku stereotypes, and it explained parts of otaku culture that I did not even know existed (soldier otakus). The audio was all right, but I was watching it for a free con, so you kinda get what you expect. I enjoyed the story, even though it sometimes went a little too quickly. The art gave me a huge nostalgic feeling which I just adored. I actually really got into the character's lives pretty quickly, even though they were not in the anime too much. Overall, if you want to watch an anime that makes fun of anime and otaku culture, this is the one for you. I think many shows try to pull off what Otaku no Video did, but…
Read at the sourceApocalypticFrog
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.
Characte…
Read at the sourceKrav40
- If you're into playing tennis, that's just fine and dandy. But if you watch anime, you're weird? Why?!
Otaku no Video was a brilliant and educational little two-part OVA that follows this guy who wants to be the ultimate otaku or the "otaking". Its mainly inspired by the real story of how Gainax was founded, which we're obsessed with anime fans who wanted to make their own stuff. What I loved about this is how passionate and in your face it is. This show is not only very good in terms of its message of embracing YOUR inner otaku, but it also includes parts of real-life interviews with otakus who are awkward and clumsy and who don't even want to admit to their otaku habits in general. Most of them also lacked social contact and many were still virgins. Part 1 of Otaku no Video was very r…
Read at the sourcebrandotendie
Part introduction to the world of otaku and part self-fulfilment otaku wet dream power fantasy, Otaku no Video is charming on both fronts.
Having documentary-style video clips interspered amongst the entirety of the film really added to that charm, as did the relatively-lightning fast pacing of the second half for the main plot.
But of course, as charming as many of the aspects are, all infused with the signature passion and self-aware voice of Gainax (lots and lots of Trigger tropes that took the weeb world by storm in the 10s are very present here), it does feel middling at times due to the fact that it's trying to appeal to two extremely different audiences, necessarily, two opposite ends of a spectrum: anime noobies and anime vets.
But despite that stretched out feeling of duality,…
Read at the sourcechevybow
Otaku no video is a rather.. boring OVA.
It transitions between animation and live action segments. The animation tells a rather uninteresting story of 2 otaku who build up this giant otaku empire.. or something. I honestly didn't care much for the animation bit. It was constantly interrupted by the live action segment (which was much more interesting)- consequently messing up the pacing and making it hard to connect to either the plot or characters. The fictitious story emits strong themes regarding otaku and their personalities but ultimately seems to serve little purpose. I would have rated the OVA higher if it did not include the animation bits.
The interesting part of this OVA are the live action interview segments. Otaku come in many forms: some obsessed with guns, some obsessed…
Read at the sourceFAKEANIMEGIRL
(Check my profile for a link to my personal site containing more up-to-date reviews and bonus media!)
1991 OVA Geeks’ Video provides a parodical glance into otaku culture and a loose, fictionalized retelling of studio Gainax’s founding. Main character Kubo is an everyday college student experiencing dissatisfaction with his life and hobbies. A chance reunion with his old high school friend Tanaka drags him into the world of otakus.
Kubo leaves his “normal” life behind and vows to become the “Otaking.” The anime skips forward in time, following the two friends from fanboys, to plastic model distributors, to independent anime creators. Their struggles’ highs and lows arrive in comedic, hyperbolic fashion, complete with underdog heroes and dastardly villains.
Dividing these chronological u…
Read at the sourceFear_the_Reefer
Ken Kubo was just your ordinary Japanese college student. He had a beautiful girlfriend, a passion for a sport he was genuinely talented at, and a satisfying life with little to no problems to worry about. Everything was going just fine for young Ken, when he ran into an old friend from high school who’s dedicated his life to a surprising hobby. Tanaka, having put on a generous portion of weight since their last meeting, has fallen into otaku culture, a certified never never land where adults turn their backs on conventional society to pursue every possible facet of an underground counter-pop-culture revolving around obscure, esoteric subjects such as animation, idol singers, special effects movies and even military paraphernalia. He initially raises his eyebrow at such juvenile fare, but…
Read at the sourceRuriTenshi
This anime was actually rather educational. It explores the realm of otakus and opens the eyes of why do otakus exist. Since there is only 2 episodes I can't really find that much to talk about but there are a few factors. The fact that it gives a side documentary on real life otakus as of 1991 is rather impressive especially for its time. If you ever plan to become a genius about anime or want to see a story of a man who converts himself into the otaku life this is a must watch. It also explores the realms of not just anime otakus but military,cosplay, pop culture, movie and gun otakus as well. This show was rather educational and pretty funny. There were jokes That I really laughed at a lot. The story is rather interesting and it gives me some inspiration about spreading and making money…
Read at the sourcelawlmartz
"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…
Read at the sourceRobdeFR
This Gainax video was missing in my library. And I’m very glad that I finally got to watch it.
The Gainax animation in ’91 was excellent and this OVA was probably the first in it’s kind to thread some experimental paths in animation, a style that it was copied later on on titles like Tylor and became Gainax trademark in Eva and Kare Kano and on.
As Gainax universe is concerned you see obvious links and the same style used in Gainax productions, if you put Otaku No Video>Evangelion>Kare Kano one after the other you can clearly see the evolution of the studio in that particular style. Obviously they are different approaches but each of them ended being a timeless classic with their similarities in animation.
The OVA starts off in ’82 telling the story of a average Japanese person slowly g…
Read at the sourceotousan
Otaku No Video glorifies and celebrates (even as it lovingly skewers) the lives of people into anime, manga, model kits, replica guns, and science fiction. Supposedly an over-the-top, exaggerated biography of Gainax (the ultimate otaku's studio) themselves, this OVA is loaded with references to Macross, Gundam, Lupin, Yamato, Gainax's own works, and more.
To compare to other movies and shows, it's a little bit Project A-Ko, a little bit NHK No Youkoso (though not so dark at all), and dare I say its modern counterpart might be Lucky Star? It caters shamelessly to fans and asks nothing from outsiders, and it's a ton of fun for anyone who wants to witness the roots of Gainax, or see just how obsessive some people can be.
Read at the sourceWashi
I had heard that this was a must-see for people interested in the culture surrounding otakudom, and after finally watching it, I would have to second that proposition. It is simultaneously a humorous, introspective, and thought-provoking look at otaku, and more so than any other similarly themed production, it really covers all bases in its analytical approach to the lifestyle they lead, about the nature of shame, obsession, habitual collecting, and the way in which otaku approach other people, and the world around them. I’ll have to be brief in my comments regarding this aspect of the OVA, because there’s really enough content to write a particularly lengthy essay about. It is comforting, and quite obvious, that everything is approached through the perspective of an otaku, so…
Read at the sourceTraversy
I thought it might be proper to define "Otaku" before the actual review.
In the following case, an Otaku (if you don\'t already know), is a Japanese term for a fan/person who is obsessed with any theme/topic/hobby. (The "portraits" are about anime/manga/military/hentai Otakus).
Otaku no Video is a fairly fun video/OVA to watch. Not necessarily for the actual animation, but the Otaku interview bits(called portrait of an Otaku) in between the actual story, where they have interviews with all sorts of Otakus(Manga,Anime,Military,True,Foreign, "Garage Kit"). Of course, this OVA is fairly outdated (~24 years before time of this review). Opinion: Otaku\'s have changed over time, so the same (Portrait of an Otaku) can\'t necessarily be applied to modern ones.
As for the Story, it only becomes…
Read at the source