This is Otakudom

One of the things that many people ask me is whether or not I oppose things like anime music videos (AMVs) or fan parodies. While they are technically copyright infringement, they do not hinder the anime industry. Most of the time they help the industry, and companies like Funimation consider it to be a form of free advertising. 

The basic thinking going into fan videos is thus: if it whets the audience's appetite, we'll leave it alone. But if it sates the audience's appetite, it needs to come down. Does that make sense?

--Evan Flournoy, Chicks on Anime Interview, Anime News Network 

If they don't hurt the industry, I have no reason to oppose them. There are so many anime I might not have decided to watch if it was not for AMV compilations like AMV Hell. I've made my fair share of AMVs myself, and I love watching fan parodies. Like AMVs, anime fan parodies use anime footage, except instead of editing them to music, fan parodies are generally re-edited and re dubbed by fans, creating something original and hilarious. Some of the more famous anime fan parodies are Dragonball Z Abridged, Evangelion ReDeath, or my personal favorite, This is Otakudom.

This is Otakudom is a fan parody project directed by Scott Melzer. It uses footage primarily from Fushigi Yugi, and chronicles the story of a group of anime fans, or otaku, attending their first anime conventions. It is one of the earliest and most famous fan parodies and has served as inspiration for the many that followed.

This is Otakudom

I have met Scott several times, and was able to interview him for Keep Anime Alive last year at Bakuretsucon. The video of the interview should be up sometime next month, but for now I'd like to talk about several of the key things we discussed.

Scott was inspired by the fan parody Koko wa Otaku, and as a result he and his group NoNDE Fanfilms began work on This is Otakudom. The fan parody played for the first time at Otakon in 2001, and quickly became a huge success. Scott had never expected that it would become such a hit. Currently he visits many conventions and runs panels talking about creating fan parodies, and tells the story of This is Otakudom. One of his most popular and successful events is the Fan Parody Panic, where the attendees record and create their own fan parody at the convention during the two hour panel.

One important thing to note about Scott is that he is a strong supporter of the anime industry and highly disapproves of piracy and bootlegging. In fact, his second fan parody, S.T.E.A.M. The Movie, is very anti-bootlegging and anti-piracy. At the time, Scott ran a video rental store, and piracy and bootlegging was something that hurt his business. He's always had issues with conventions that allow bootlegs to be sold in their dealers room. In addition, all the footage used in the movie are from DVDs that Scott owned -- none of it was downloaded illegally. If any of the anime companies ever tell him to stop distributing it, he will comply.

Scott Melzer and fellow NoNDE member Jon Miller have a lot more to say on the subject of piracy in the full interview. Look forward to it on KeepAnimeAlive.com!