''Otaku Unite!'' is a 2004

documentary film A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a historical record". Bill Nichols has characterized the documentary in te ...

by Eric Bresler on American fans of Japanese culture, specifically

anime is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...

and

manga Manga ( Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is ...

, known as ''

otaku is a Japanese word that describes people with consuming interests, particularly in anime, manga, video games, or computers. Its contemporary use originated with a 1983 essay by Akio Nakamori in '' Manga Burikko''. may be used as a pejorat ...

''.

Summary

''Otaku Unite!'' provides a history of otaku-

fandom A fandom is a subculture composed of fans characterized by a feeling of empathy and camaraderie with others who share a common interest. Fans typically are interested in even minor details of the objects of their fandom and spend a significant ...

and an introduction to

anime convention An anime convention is an event or gathering with a primary focus on anime, manga and Japanese culture. Commonly, anime conventions are multi-day events hosted at convention centers, hotels or college campuses. They feature a wide variety of activ ...

s, with a focus on the fans themselves. A variety of individuals are featured throughout interviews, including anime

voice actors Voice acting is the art of performing voice-overs to present a character or provide information to an audience. Performers are called voice actors/actresses, voice artists, dubbing artists, voice talent, voice-over artists, or voice-over talent ...

such as

Corinne Orr Corinne Orr (born January 6, 1936) is a Canadian actress. She is best known for her work on the English version of the anime series ''Speed Racer''. Biography Orr became involved in children's theatre beginning at the age of 10 (with her first r ...

and

Peter Fernandez Peter Fernandez (January 29, 1927 – July 15, 2010) was an American actor, voice director, and writer. Despite a career extending from the 1930s, he is probably best known for his roles in the 1967 anime ''Speed Racer''. Fernandez co-wrote the ...

, industry representatives, convention directors and a plethora of "otaku" anime fans.

Production

Initially Bresler had planned to create a short, 15-minute film. Filming turned into a -year project, culminating in a near-feature-length film. Extras on the DVD come to 130 minutes.

Reception

''Otaku Unite!'' has been shown at a number of anime conventions, as well as film festivals including the 2004 Philadelphia Film Festival. ''Otaku Unite!'' has been translated into Japanese and Russian and was featured in the May 2006 issue of the Japanese lifestyle magazine '' Cyzo''.

References

External links

ToonZone Interview with BreslerAnime News Network - Otaku Unite! Review''Otaku Unite!'' at the Internet Movie Database
2004 films Central Park Media American independent films Documentary films about comics Documentary films about fandom 2000s English-language films 2000s American films {{arts-documentary-film-stub

Summary

Production

Reception

See also

References

External links