Imagine my surprise yesterday morning as I was waking up to hear the words “Otakon,” “Haruhi Suzumiya,” and “anime music videos” coming from my public radio station. In the midst of stories about the Minneapolis bridge collapse disaster comes a 5 minute report about–yes–the phenomenon of AMVs, complete with interviews with fans at Otakon! Oh, how I miss thee, Otakon, after enduring the indignities of AX!
I had no idea actually that Otakon had a “Iron AMV” contest, where contestants are given time to make AMVs on the spot. That’s a great idea and I’m surprised AX, which is in a town full of movie folks and people with editing skills, doesn’t have it. (This year’s AMV showing was a fiasco, for one.)
Anyways, as a diehard NPR listener–everything I learned about radio presentation and podcasting, I learned from NPR and This American Life–it was fun to listen to the incredulous reporter talk about “saucer-eyed schoolkids with robots that jump out of their heads” (and to mention–correctly–FLCL afterwards). Tremble in fear, mainstream America. Like the British, the otakus are coming. The otakus are coming!