Customer Reviews

Otaku Unite!

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I've seen this movie a few times now, in the Philly Film Festival and at Otakon 2004, and both times it was a packed house with a great reception.

The movie is in two parts, the first is about the growth and status of the Kaiju Big Battel group, which is basically a bunch of relativly amateurish wrestlers who dress up like Rampage style monsters and oddball characters. Its interesting to see how this got started and is especially interesting for any "indie" or "DIY" ("do-it-yourself", if you didn't know) fan, but since you are probably watching this movie for the anime, this part can certainly be boring if you don't like wrestling. But the costumes are still cool.

The actual documentary is great and informative, but it depends on your prior experience with anime to determine if this is anything new to you. First things first, know that this is a documentary about anime IN AMERICA. There is nothing wrong with that, but don't be confused or misled to think that this is about the complete history of anime. It reaches back to the days of Speed Racer and Robotech, and features interviews with some of the original voice actors, localizers and "translators" (quoted due to the interview about Robotech, where one of the heads of the project relates how they made up dialogue, much to the eventual chagrin of fans).

There are some random people interviewed, from anime convention bouncers to a very eccentric anime music themed radio personality, all of whom give interesting perspectives on different anime fandom. There are also several bigger name industry people such as the famous (or infamous, depending on how you look at it) Trish Ledoux. The industry people probably have the most interesting things to say, reliving their history importing anime. However, all of the people interviewed end up leaving you wanting to know more. As anime fans probably already know, despite being a niche market in America, the world of anime and its related hobbies is vast. It touches on some of these hobbies, such as cosplay (a subject that could have its own documentary altogether), but doesn't delve too deeply - don't expect it to just be an anime-themed "Trekkies". You will also realize that this movie is a bit short, but it certainly accomplishes its goal, to document the history of anime coming to America.

On that note, while a cosplayed Naruto is right in the middle of the cover, the film doesn't really reach that far into the present. How can it? After all, new trends and new franchises are constantly introduced to America and something cutting-edge can become passe within a year. It leaves you on a good note, and is certainly a great documentary for American anime fans looking to relive their beginnings in fandom, or for younger fans interested in how the American anime market grew and became the flooded mess it is today.

You'll definately learn something new and get a good laugh from this movie. As an anime fan and a movie fan, I reccomend this to add to your collection and broaden you outlook on either anime or just people in general. As an interesting factoid, Studio Gainax almost liscensed this movie for Japanese distribution.

The directorial debut of Eric Bresler (TLA Entertainment Group employee, Drexel University graduate and purveyor of Japanese pop culture through his website) is this affectionate tribute to international fans of Japanese animation. Rated "O" for Otaku, it gives us an encyclopedic nutshell of the history of anime and the growth of its viewers. We learn about aspects of anime conventions from fans and personnel with names like Thag and Ogre. We see fans dressed in their favorite anime characters wrestling it out in the ring to the enthusiastic cheering of the teeming throngs of fans. Starting with such revered names as Astro Boy, Robotech and Speed Racer, Bresler takes us on an intimate journey: a journey which began with a small number of fans struggling to get decent VHS 10th generation copies of their favorite anime. It progresses from talks with Carl Macek, credited with bringing anime to U.S. network television, to the first conventions in the mid-eighties, to the explosion of conventions and festivals in the 21st century. The documentary is an excellent mix of talking-head interviews and exciting montages of men, women and children dressed in imaginative and professional costumes, performing dance numbers on stage and intimate skits in conference halls. Debated in the beginning of the film, the definition of "otaku" is hard to locate. Is it a badge of honor? An obsessive geek? Otaku Unite! does an admirable job of not pigeonholing fans, allowing viewers to make up their own mind as to the meaning, and all the while having fun in the process.

Not certain what the negative reviewers were expecting, but I found OTAKU UNITE! to be a blast. Informative and a hell of a lot of fun, the film should be equally satisfying to both the layman and the longtime fan. Filled with the typical eccentrics (anyone who's ever been to a fan convention will smile in recognition upon seeing these folks), the film takes an amused yet not condescending view, the outcome of the Cos Play being an excellent -- and hilarious -- example.
The extras on the DVD are also great, with a goofy-but-fun piece on the film's premiere at the Philadelphia Film Festival, and a breezy but thorough audio commentary. Highly recommended.

I'm going to talk from two point of views, the Otaku point of view, and the Outsider point of view.

From the Otaku point of view, I got to say it gave me great laughs seeing how cons used to be back in the early days. it's interesting seeing some old school people who watches anime, and how they get their anime before anime became mainstream.... Yeah, good old memories.... It's an anime con doc that I didn't skip any scenes for any reason... I watch from start to finish, and watch it again to listen to the director's commentary.... If you're a fan of Steve Benette. You'll be like "OH MY GOD!", when you watch his segment. It's worthy to have Otaku Unite! in your Anime Collection!

From the Outsider point of view, it may look like people in a trekkie convention... But it's not! But things will get interesting to watch as the video rolls on.

For me, I suppose the reason why I wanted to check this DVD out is because I know a lot of people interviewed and featured on this documentary from the past with my involvement through a BBS, the anime cons or even now as a consultant.

Reasons why I didn't want to see this documentary, is that people who know me, know that I have very little patience for certain otaku. Even moreso for otaku that produces their lingering body funk that epitomizes stank at a hallway at an anime convention. Gross!

Of course, this DVD is not about complaining of otakus, it's celebration of otaku and anime culture.

The DVD is the first documentary about anime fandom and I have to give director Eric Bressler some props for his coverage of the fandom but most of all, the most important thing of a documentary, doing the research and getting the people on camera. So, I'm happy that everything worked out because he managed to capture major key people for this documentary.

I suppose when watching this, I took the approach of putting myself in the shoes of an anime fan. To cover otaku anime fandom, you would have to cover so many different types of otaku at these conventions and they managed to do it well. And although I have never met Mr. Bresler and I'm not sure if he's an otaku or more of a filmmaker.

But for the people he had to cover, I don't know if I could do what he and the staff had to do and covering various types of otaku.

Of course, I cringe when I see men crossplaying and in Sailor Moon outfits. Nothing scares me to see a hairy, overweight man sporting a dress or some female outfit but I realize that some people find that entertaining. So, I digress.

But let's take a moment to go outside of the fandom and talk about those involved in the promotion of anime in the US.

One of the well-known promoters of anime in the US especially in the earlier years are interviewed on this documentary and for me, it was a blast in the past to see these folks who I have not seen for many, many years.

Fred Patten, known for his written work, working for Streamline Pictures and the founding Cartoon/Fantasy Organization (C/FO) and his work in the sci-fi fandom scene (and of course, he's contributed much more than that).

Carl Macek. Wow! This man has been at the top and been at the bottom in terms of his attention by anime fans. He has received so many praises and even death threats (mainly because of his splicing of three episodes to create "Robotech") and I could imagine how the mid-90's was a tumultuous time for him. But in the end, Macek has meant well and his goal was to bring Japanese animation to American television and he succeeded. Not just that but he has been involved in bringing so much anime to the US that he's such an important figurehead that I'm glad he was covered and to hear him talk about that crazy time in his past.

Trish Ledoux, another important person who helped popularize anime in the US. Similar to Carl, she also was a person that had attracted positive and negative attention by the anime fandom. As the former editor-in-chief of Animerica and her involvement with Viz, back then both she and Carl would have anti-posters at anime conventions and for her, the criticism against her was mainly fans reacting to Viz making a presence in America and taking the first step to stop fansub groups from covering their properties This was never featured on this DVD but just needed to add that little bit. I'm glad that Eric Bresler covered her more as an anime industry historian but there is so much, similar to Carl Macek that could have been touched upon in terms of her involvement in the industry.

Mike Tatsugawa (known primarily now as the head guy of Pacific Media Expo or PMX). Mike was the fanboy involved with the huge Cal Berkeley anime club, printing fan translations of anime through their books and for creating the anime convention "AnimeCon 1991' which later became known as the huge anime convention Anime Expo. Not sure how old the interview with him was done, since he has no involvement with Anime Expo and he's wearing an AX2000 shirt but he has contributed a lot in making anime mainstream in the US. But also another figurehead that has been mired in anime fandom controversy.

Seeing Steve Bennett, of course, having him on this documentary is a must. Having known Steve for a long time and eventually meeting the family, I'm happy that Bresler chose to positively focus on Steve Bennett, the artist and con guest who has probably attended nearly every mid-size to large anime convention across the US. The footage was during a tumultuous time for Bennett's Studio I.C. or Studio Iron Cat, so nevertheless, it was good to see him upbeat and featured numerous times throughout the documentary.

Even to see artist Robert DeJesus, who also has had his foot grounded in the earlier anime cons back then especially with his wedding at an anime con. Really good footage of his marriage at Otakon 1999. It's so cool to see how well he has done over the years.

I remember when he was just starting out and at night at an anime con, playing video games with the guy. The last video game match I had with Robert was a game 3DO "Sailor Moon Super S" fighting game at Anime America. Nevertheless, I've seen him several time and he's a good guy and his contribution to manga-style work by an American for over 15 years now, is always noted.

Also, had a blast watching an old friend, Helen McCarthy, featured on this documentary. She has done so much for promoting anime in the UK (and the founder of one of my favorite anime magazines back then "Anime UK") and was surprised to see her on this documentary and also very proud that Bresler featured her.

Then you have other important figureheads such as Frederik Schodt, Carl Gustav Horn, Scott Frazier (pre-Jan Scott-Frazier) and many others. It was good to see interviews from staff from various anime cons throughout the country especially covering niche cons such as Yaoi Con. And last, also he cosplay scene and an interesting individual named Jonny Otaku who has scenes in the documentary that showcase the kind of otaku that you either like or dislike. Imagine if Bresler featured Man-Faye? Then again, I rather not.

There is a lot of older anime coverage and found it cool to see Bresler interview the voice actors from "Speed Racer". That was cool to see!

So, all in all, the documentary was entertaining. I did find it a bit strange that before the documentary started, there was footage shown for "Kaiju Big Battel" which is a parody of professional wrestling entertainment and something I have no passion for. Not sure why it came up before the documentary, this should have been in the special features section or something.

All in all, on an informative and nostalgic trip to anime convention past and interviewing the major players at the time was what my main interest was on this DVD and I give Eric Bresler a thumbs up for doing his research.

If anything, I am still looking for a documentary that shows the positive and negative aspects of anime fandom, the conventions and so forth. "OTAKU UNITE!" is a very positive documentary showcasing the various levels of fandom and the people who contributed in making anime popular in the US.

But along comes the positivity, to get from point A to point B, there were a lot of things that had to happen. From the beginning of anime fandom, the anime con wars between Anime Expo and Anime America (suprised to not hear Anime America's name brought up on the DVD), although I'm glad to hear Carl Macek talk about that past, would love to have heard more from Trish Ledoux on the challenges that Viz faced in getting into the market back then and also the introduction of Animerica (which although it's not around like it was once before, the publication will be noted for helping contribute to the popularity of the anime at its time). I would love to have heard Scott Frazier (or Jan Scott-Frazier) discuss the challenges of an American working for Japanese anime companies.

Of course, with cosplayers and you had Jonny Otaku talk about his feelings of anime masquerade's being rigged. The sad truth is that this has happened and there have been major scandals that affected anime conventions and cosplayers.

There is so much out there that I wish could be covered in a documentary but for what Eric Bressler and team were able to cover on their documentary, you still get one hell of an informative piece of work. A lot of interviews, a lot of research and showing things positively, you can't go wrong.

So, if Eric Bresler and the folks at Movies of My Dreams Productions consider a second documentary and a DVD release, that would be cool!

So, "OTAKU UNITE!" is definitely an informative and nostalgic trip through anime fandom and anime convention past and I think fans who truly enjoy anime and its history will truly enjoy this documentary. It's worth checking out!

Thanks for selling me Otaku Unite! It was worth every penny! After watching the dvd I learned many interesting things about otakus & anime conventions I never knew before. Learning about the history of anime fandom in America was fun, & I now know there are millions of American anime lovers out there. I would recommend it to any anime otaku.

As a documentary, this is pretty terrible. Bad editing, annoying background music playing while people are being interviewed, no real storyline to the piece at all. It looks like it was made on some dude's PC as a college film project. The only reason to see this is if you frequented anime conventions in the late 90s or early 2000s, some of the personalities you used to see are in this (Steve Bennett, Trish Ledoux).

If you can get this for a few bucks and want to see how bad it is, go for it. But there really is no reason to watch this.

Ugh. This video is scary, and off-putting in so many ways. I'm a bit afraid to publish a negative review because I'm assured there will be a great outpouring of socially awkward people ready to pick apart every part of my post... at least that's the impression this video gives me.

Herein is promised a look at the otaku subculture, and what a look it is. I have to be frank- the first thing you'll notice is that there are a lot of very socially awkward and awkward-looking people involved. It would not be an exaggeration to say that at least the majority of people interviewed were morbidly obese, and I say that being a big guy myself. I tried to watch this with my wife since we sometimes enjoy documentaries, and one person interviewed about halfway in had that classic "convicted sex offender stare" you expect to see when you open up the Sunday paper after hearing about a big crime spree, to the point that she asked me to stop playing the video because it was too creepy.

Included are a bevy of things that someone unfamiliar or even against this culture can laugh about. See for example how no two speakers can ever agree on the Japanese or English pronunciations for words. One speaker says "ah-NEE-may" (anime) and "MAIN-ga" (manga), while another says "AA-ni-may" and "MAHN-ga", and the next just rotates between the possible versions. Someone with an ear for the actual Japanese language will note that pretty much nobody involved uses the correct Japanese pronunciation (tone matters too), assuming they're even trying to use the Japanese pronunciations half the time anyway, making it painfully obvious how little anyone involved actually knows about the culture they claim to worship.

Fans claim this documentary doesn't pigeonhole its subjects, allowing the viewed to decide if "otaku" is a bad word or a good one. Meanwhile, the video actually constantly has people explaining at length why they think otaku isn't a bad word, and their arguments all seem to boil down to "well this isn't Japan" and "if I see all these other people like me then it can't be bad". This is very faulty logic on a lot of levels, and the movie never really addresses how the word "otaku" really is a bad word wherver it's understood, anywhere in the world (although people in the culture will of course disagree, no matter where they are in the world). The otakus bicker back and forth about various aspect of the culture that you probably don't care about if you're anything less than an otaku yourself, down to the right embarrasing moment of a striptease by a pudgy cosplay (a word for dressing as characters in anime) performer bickering with judges that a contest was rigged. If you had negative feelings about otakus coming into this, then you see confirmation of everything that you suspected was wrong with this subculture.

And that's what you get, in the end- if you're far enough entrenched, this video goes far to justify the lifestyle you're living in all the ways you expect it to. If you're not in this culture, it's frankly a pretty frightning treatise on how far-out a lot of these people are. Over and over I just had to keep asking myself, "don't these people know how bad this looks?". The answer is no, they really don't.

There are some good highlights when the people who actually profesionally produce anime are involved. These persons are able to speak clearly into the mic, look presentable on camera, and tell cogent stories. These bright spots really just stand out as beacons that show the rest of the production for being as amatuerish and saddening as it really is. You will for example hear how a producer who "Americanized" a Japanese show to bring it to U.S. television received death threats. You will not get a single moment of real meditation on whether it's truly right or wrong to censor or alter media for Western audiences.