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FEATURED FILM
Go Go Anime!
2004, Live Sockets Entertainment (dir. Shane Abad)
Documentaries about the anime experience seem to be getting
more popular. There has been Otakumentary (a 20 minute film
on fandom that was shown at Otakon in 2001), Otaku Unite!
(2003, dir. Eric Bresler), Invasion: Anime (2002,
dir. Angela Alexander) and now there is Go Go Anime!
As far as I can tell, Go Go Anime! is the first of
these fan documentaries to have a large marketing push behind
it and is the first to be commercially available on DVD. The
film is being released through Live Sockets Entertainment; this
documentary on anime makes an odd addition to their collection
of films, which seem to consist mostly of racing (High Octane
USA), extreme sports (Appetite 4 Destruction),
and scantily clad women (Girls of Mischief).
The
film is loosely centered on Anime Expo 2003 and is broken into
segments. There are three main threads that are woven through
the film – the first concerns the members of cosplay group
Sailor Jamboree, the second is about a group of older anime
fans, and the third features amateur manga artists, focusing
mainly on artist Henry Liao. After the first few segments are
out of the way, in which we are introduced to the people either
during practice or at home, we meet up with them again at the
Anime Expo convention and follow their exploits.
The
film was interesting to watch, but didn’t quite come together
as a cohesive whole. It seemed scattered and unsure of what
it was trying to say, in part because the film seemed unsure
of its audience. I am not sure if the film was trying to target
people who are already anime fans or if it was trying to provide
the curious novice a glimpse into the sometimes-arcane world
of anime fandom. However, in order to give itself as broad of
an audience as possible, the film ends up failing as a documentary.
For convention-going fans, much of the film would not show them
anything new. On the other hand, the film doesn’t provide
enough context to let newcomers understand everything they’re
seeing. This film could have been a great opportunity to explore
some of the history and motivations behind anime fandom in the
US, but it leaves all of these big questions unanswered.
I
was a little disappointed with the way the end product turned
out, especially as Go Go Anime! is a professional release
currently for sale. The filming seems amateurish at times –
for example, in the second segment on “Otaku” the
camera sometimes has trouble focusing on its subjects and the
lighting at times overpowers and washes out the interviewees.
The overreliance on cheesy wipes as transitions is distracting
as well, especially in some of the segments where there are
numerous cuts. (I’m reminded of that episode of The
Simpsons where Homer is editing a video and insists on
using star wipes for every transition.)
I
was also disturbed by the overt commercialism in the film, which
made it seem like money may have dictated the film’s choice
of subject matter. Sometimes the film feels like promotional
footage for the different groups being featured – Akadot,
Bandai, the Anime Network, and the video game Dead or Alive:
Extreme Beach Volleyball all get screen time to promote
their products. (Even more suspicious are the commercial Cowboy
Bebop and DOA Volleyball trailers listed in the
extras section of the disc, since both are mentioned in the
feature. Also worth noting is that Isaac Lew from Akadot, who
is shown in the film hawking his company’s wares, provides
the sole promotional quote on the cover of the Go Go Anime!
DVD.) Since we’re talking about an anime convention here,
it is understandable that there is going to be mention of the
videos and goods around which the anime subculture is based.
However, at times it seemed like Go Go Anime! was giving
special preference to certain companies and products.
Go
Go Anime! isn’t a bad film. It can be rather entertaining.
(And horrifying – the film contains images of a hairy
man doing Faye Valentine cosplay in thong-like shorts.) But
I was disappointed that it didn’t try to go under the
surface to get at the heart of fandom in the US. It didn’t
question any assumptions people may have about anime fans and
in fact promotes some of them. (One assumption the film seems
to promulgate is that the diversity of US fandom can be summed
up by the attendees at a single anime convention in southern
California.) As a documentary, Go Go Anime! just skims
the surface.
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