Otaku no Video - DVD

Ken Kubo is a perfectly average college student — handsome, athletic, with a beautiful girlfriend and a secure place on the tennis team — until his childhood friend Tanaka reappears and introduces him to the world of otaku. The club members are a female illustrator, an information specialist, a martial artist, and a weapons collector. Ken is embarrassed by them. Then he is fascinated by them. Then he is one of them, and his girlfriend has left him, and he has abandoned his normal life entirely for the dream of becoming the Otaking — the supreme king of otaku. Set across two episodes spanning the years 1982 and 1985, the animated story follows Ken and Tanaka's escalating obsession as they build a model and merchandise empire from nothing, repeatedly losing it all and rebuilding, while dreaming of a world united under the banner of otaku culture. Intercut throughout both episodes are mockumentary "Portrait of an Otaku" segments — real live-action interviews with actual Gainax staff and associates, masked or blurred, confessing their obsessions with weapons, cosplay, military hardware, and various aspects of fandom. The effect is both deeply funny and uncomfortably accurate.

Otaku no Video is a two-episode OVA produced by Gainax, directed by Takeshi Mori with unit direction by Shoichi Masuo, written by Toshio Okada — one of Gainax's co-founders — and scored by Kohei Tanaka, whose credits in this catalog include Sakura Wars, Angelic Layer, One Piece, Desert Punk, and the Dirty Pair OVA. The OVA spoofs the life and culture of otaku as well as the history of Gainax and its creators. The DAICON III and IV Opening Animations from the early 1980s are also featured in this OVA. The series is one of the most important documents of early anime fandom culture ever produced — a thinly fictionalized Gainax origin story that predicts Genshiken, Comic Party, and everything that followed in the otaku-as-protagonist genre.

Originally released on LaserDisc in Japan on September 27 and December 20, 1991. Licensed in North America by AnimEigo, who released it on VHS with extensive liner notes; the DVD edition includes the full liner notes as DVD-ROM content alongside the animated episodes and live-action Portrait of an Otaku segments. 

Notable Staff & Voice Talent

Director: Takeshi Mori 
Screenplay: Toshio Okada (Gainax co-founder )
Studio: Gainax (Neon Genesis Evangelion, FLCL, Mahoromatic, Gunbuster)
Music: Kohei Tanaka (One Piece, Desert Punk, Dirty Pair OVA)
Key Staff Involved: Shinji Higuchi (effects director, later Shin Godzilla and Attack on Titan films)

Japanese Cast:
- Nobutoshi Kanna as Ken Kubo (Armitage III OVA)
- Ichiro Nagai as Narrator (Dragon Half, Battle Athletes, Slayers)
- Toshio Okada as himself (live-action Portrait segments — Gainax co-founder)

DVD Features (AnimEigo)

- Both Episodes — Complete OVA (~100 min total)
- Live-Action "Portrait of an Otaku" Mockumentary Segments (intercut with each episode)
- DVD-ROM: Full Liner Notes (cultural references, historical context, Gainax history)
- AnimEigo Previews
- Note: DAICON III and DAICON IV Opening Animations appear within the OVA

Spoken Languages: Japanese Audio Only, English Subtitles

Edition Details

Japanese Title: おたくのビデオ (Otaku no Bideo / Otaku's Video)
Runtime: ~100 Minutes (Complete OVA, 2 Episodes, ~50 min each)
Director: Takeshi Mori
DVD Release Year: 2000 (U.S. DVD Release — AnimEigo); originally released on LaserDisc in Japan September 27 – December 20, 1991; VHS by AnimEigo ca. 1994
Original Release Date (Japan): September 27 – December 20, 1991
Publisher: AnimEigo
Rating: 13+
Region: Region 1 (U.S. / Canada)
Genre: Comedy, Parody
Themes: Otaku Culture, Gainax Founding Myth, Mockumentary Format, Anime Fandom History, DAICON Animations

Media assumed VG+ unless otherwise noted.