This is the fourth episode of my five-part series detailing the history of Gainax. In this episode, the studio tries to recoup the losses from the production of Nadia, which leads to a number of colossal failures as well as the shutdown of their sister company, General Products. In the midst of all this failure, Gainax does produce a number of artistic successes, the most notable being the two-episode OVA Otaku no Video. The bulk of the video is not only an analysis of ONV, but an examination of the historical forces that made its creation possible, as well as its unconventional legacy in both Japan and the United States.

Playlist of Nadia Omake Theatre:    • Nadia Omake Theater  

KAIXE's fansub of Nadia: The Nautilus Story: https://kaixerho.wordpress.com/2023/0...

Works Cited:

Akio Nakamori, “This City is Full of Otaku,” http://neojaponisme.com/2008/04/02/wh...

Animag, Volume 2 Issue 1

Animeigo, Otaku no Video Original Liner Notes, https://www.animeigo.com/products/ani...

Animeigo, Otaku no Video Wiki, https://wiki.animeigo.com/wiki/doku.p...

Animerica, “The Conscience of The Otaking,” https://www.gwern.net/docs/anime/eva/...

Animerica, “The Return of The Otaking,” https://www.evamonkey.com/writings/ho...

Anime News Network, “Hideaki Anno: A Career Retrospective,”    • Hideaki Anno: A Career Retrospective  

Anime Tourist, “Gainax: Past, Present and Future,” https://web.archive.org/web/200312050...

Anime World Order, “Show # 22 - Otaku Anime Reviews…More So Than Usual,” https://www.awopodcast.com/2006/06/an...

Anime World Order, “Show # 26 - We Have No Idea What We’re Talking About,” https://www.awopodcast.com/2006/07/an...

ANNCast, “Episode # 183 - Lea Halalea,” https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/annc...

Callum May, “The Indestructible Studio Gainax,” https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/feat...

Carl Gustav Horn, “The Target Shoots First,” from Royal Space Force 25th Anniversary Fanzine

Charles T. Whipple, “The Silencing of the Lambs,” https://murderpedia.org/male.M/m/miya...

Fred Patten, Watching Anime, Reading Manga: 20 Years of Essays and Reviews

Herodotus, The Histories

Khara, “Hideaki Anno Official Information,” https://www.khara.co.jp/hideakianno/p...

Lea Hernandez, Bani Garu, https://boingboing.net/author/lea_a_f...

Matt Alt, “An Interview With Patrick W. Galbraith on Otaku Culture,” http://neojaponisme.com/2012/05/22/an...

Murderpedia, “Tsutomu Miyazaki,” https://murderpedia.org/male.M/m/miya...

Patrick W. Galbraith (Editor), Debating Otaku in Contemporary Japan

Patrick Macias, “Pet Bottles,” https://patrickmacias.blogs.com/er/20...

Patrick Macias and Tomohiro Machiyama, Cruising The Anime City: An Otaku Guide to Neo Tokyo

rec.arts.anime, groups.google.com/g/rec.arts.anime

Sean O’Mara, “The Secret History of Gainax: 1981-1992,” https://www.zimmerit.moe/secret-histo...

Sean O’Mara, “10 Years of General Products,” https://www.zimmerit.moe/general-prod...

Takashi Murakami, Little Boy: The Arts of Japan’s Exploding Subculture, https://gwern.net/doc/anime/eva/littl...

Yasuhiro Takeda, The Notenki Memoirs, https://gwern.net/doc/anime/eva/2002-...

Timecodes:

0:00 - Introduction
4:28 - Nadia’s Production Troubles
5:30 - Nadia: The Movie
9:46 - Nadia Omake Theatre
10:49 - Nadia: The Nautilus Story
11:53 - Cyber Comic
15:31 - General Products USA
20:14 - The End of Wonderfest
21:28 - Circuit no Okami II
22:31 - Money Wars
23:45 - Blazing Transfer Student
26:54 - The Genesis of Otaku no Video
28:08 - Otaku no Video (Introduction)
29:37 - What is an Otaku?
32:38 - Otaku Research
36:50 - Content Warning
44:50 - The Genesis of Otaku no Video (Part 2)
47:01 - Kubo Meets Tanaka
49:01 - Kubo Joins the Circle
50:59 - Otaku no Video’s Animation
52:44 - Gainax’s Definition of Otaku
57:43 - Kubo at the Nausicaa Premiere
58:59 - Kubo Decides To Become The Otaking
1:01:17 - Portrait of an Otaku
1:09:26 - The Formation of GP
1:10:53 - Kubo is Betrayed
1:11:33 - The Formation of Giant X
1:12:53 - The Final Scene
1:14:16 - Otaku no Video’s Short Term Legacy
1:16:16 - Otaku no Video’s Long Term Legacy (In The US)
1:23:37 - Otaku no Video’s Long Term Legacy (In Japan)
1:26:27 - Ending Credits
1:28:22 - Next Episode Preview