Running time: 50 minutes
Number of episodes: 2
Vintage: 1991
Age rating: Teenagers (May contain bloody violence, bad language, nudity)
Genres: Comedy, Drama, Historical, Magical girl, Mecha, Science Fiction, Shounen
Production: GAINAX
Source: Anime News Network
Although this isn’t quite relevant to this review, I feel its necessary to mention that I don’t consider myself a true otaku. In a less than humble expression I feel that I lack the strong qualities of devotion and dedication a true otaku possesses and therefore I deem it necessary to not label myself as a true member of the exclusive social group. I don’t alienate myself from true otaku because I fear the label or the implications associated with it, in fact I look up to the most hardcore, but I genuinely don’t have the inner drive that it takes to follow through with core aspects of the lifestyle. I’m pretty apathetic towards most popular “moe” elements such as magical girls, loli, and the like. I’m not even into cosplay in general, although I’ve seen a few in pictures that have impressed me. This puts me at a disadvantage to position myself as an authority on any given subject where a true otaku would show true dominance, making my judgment seem obtuse by comparison. As such, I write this particular review with the careful observation that I am sailing into unknown waters so I’ll try my best to be less partial and biased.
Otaku no video is most likely a well-known OAV and I wouldn’t doubt many people consider it an essential introduction to anime in general. Putting aside my ignorance of the significance of this particular OAV, I ventured on and watched this show and I can honestly say it’s worth watching if you want insight into the world of a true otaku. The OAV is quite old but still encompasses many of the cultural aspects of being an otaku that still exist today. It’s by no means an accurate depiction of the social activities of otaku since it really does feel scripted and sensational, but its totally worth your time if you’re into the subculture of anime.
The show itself starts off with a regular guy named Kubo who’s a freshman in college and enjoying life with his girlfriend who’s been with him since high school. His life is very social and active, so you could say he’s a very good example of a “normal” guy. By chance he finds himself meeting his old high school friend, Tanaka, who’s the leader of an otaku club. They end up spending lots of time together and little by little Kubo’s life drifts away from a regular guy social guy to that of a real gritty and dirty otaku. This begins the roller coaster ride where you will learn of the hopes and dreams of a bunch of otaku. You will find stereotypes for every kind of otaku, including science fiction, military, and other specializations, plus the legendary female otaku that looks good in cosplay. Along with this, the show has a habit of breaking the core animation’s story with live-action scripted scenes where random Japanese men are interviewed and they explain how they grew up as hardcore otaku. The second episode of the OAV continues the tale but in a much more fantastical way and finally concludes the main story of the anime.
The story of the anime isn’t breathtaking in any way and I certainly wouldn’t consider it brilliant in any particular aspect, but it’s still educational and entertaining. The way the lifestyle of otaku is explored is timeless in itself since it freezes in time the way otaku lived in the 80’s and 90’s. Today’s otaku hasn’t changed much, but thanks to the internet many more people are being influenced in massive quantities. The anime industry is much more mainstream and there’s a plentiful amount of mature content (not necessarily adult content) that has made the notion of otaku as a whole less demeaning.
If you’re obsessed about anime you owe it to yourself to check it out, and even if you don’t really care about the subculture you should still check it out if you can. It’s a good experience to have under your belt that will provide a vast amount of historical value of the Japanese otaku culture that is now less “Japanese,” and more global than ever.
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