Last night, I checked out the documentary Otaku Unite using the Netflix feature of my Xbox360. While the documentary provided a few chuckles, it wasn't very interesting.
Part of the problem for me is that it feels really dated already. It's hard to document something that isn't done yet and get a proper perspective on it. When it was filmed (2002-2004, I believe), the anime industry was booming. Translators had more work than they could handle, the shelves were packed with new DVDs, and everything was generally positive. Since then things have changed. The demographics at cons have skewed yet younger and the industry has had a bit of a... leveling out.
Also, the interviewees are something I took issue with. A lot of the people interviewed were just downright boring and didn't add anything to the piece. Being typical nerd fare - no offense meant there - they weren't terribly well spoken or extroverted. That's not unexpected. There were some more memorable personalities from the fan segment of the industry like Carl Gustav Horn (Who still looks like a nerdier Quentin Tarantino to me), but I think that some judicious editing and more careful choice of interviewees would've made it more watchable.
I also think that while the fan interviews were fairly representative of the congoing populace in general, it also didn't make anime fans (also known as "us") look too good. The guy who considered any cosplay contest he didn't win rigged, for example. Or the Guy Cosplaying as Card Captor Sakura. Or the creepy Yaoi-con lady.
In all, I'd say if you LOVE cons and were into anime during that period it's worth checking out for zero dollars. That aside, I'd avoid it.
Part of the problem for me is that it feels really dated already. It's hard to document something that isn't done yet and get a proper perspective on it. When it was filmed (2002-2004, I believe), the anime industry was booming. Translators had more work than they could handle, the shelves were packed with new DVDs, and everything was generally positive. Since then things have changed. The demographics at cons have skewed yet younger and the industry has had a bit of a... leveling out.
Also, the interviewees are something I took issue with. A lot of the people interviewed were just downright boring and didn't add anything to the piece. Being typical nerd fare - no offense meant there - they weren't terribly well spoken or extroverted. That's not unexpected. There were some more memorable personalities from the fan segment of the industry like Carl Gustav Horn (Who still looks like a nerdier Quentin Tarantino to me), but I think that some judicious editing and more careful choice of interviewees would've made it more watchable.
I also think that while the fan interviews were fairly representative of the congoing populace in general, it also didn't make anime fans (also known as "us") look too good. The guy who considered any cosplay contest he didn't win rigged, for example. Or the Guy Cosplaying as Card Captor Sakura. Or the creepy Yaoi-con lady.
In all, I'd say if you LOVE cons and were into anime during that period it's worth checking out for zero dollars. That aside, I'd avoid it.
I was actually at Otakon one year (2003? 2004?) when they were filming this, and got into a nice discussion with one of the crew. Unfortunately it sounds like the "look at the funny otaku!" approach won out.
I'd love to see a decent, thoughtful documentary about this subject, but maybe that's too much to ask.