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Holding Court with the Otaking: Toshio Okada
Otakon scored a Guest of Honor coup this year when it hosted Toshio Okada for his first US convention appearance. Okada is one of the founding members of Gainax, the animation and software company that has given us such classics as Gunbuster, Nadia, Otaku no Video, and (my favorite) Wings of Honneamise. Okada's appearance at Otakon was a stroke of the most bizarre luck. He saw the con mentioned in a Japanese men's magazine and was intrigued by the idea that a bunch of American fans would have something called "Otakon." The anime/producer/otaku guru felt it was his duty to come to the middle of Penn State's cow pastures to research the American Otaku phenomenon. The self-proclaimed "Otaking" (see Otaku no Video from AnimEigo if you don't get the reference) charmed the con goers, and his panels were some of the most heavily attended. The fact that Okada speaks English quite well allowed his natural charisma to show through in his presentations. Audiences were fascinated by the seemingly endless anecdotes he could dish out. For example, did you know that this future producer of Honneamise attended a university for only three days before getting kicked out? He said he enrolled only so he could join an anime club. Want to know the secret of making good live-action effects movies? Gunpowder bombs. But to make them really good you need to use gasoline, for the nice explosions. Yes folks, here was a man telling us how to make bombs for fun and film. The one element of Okada's personality that showed through again and again was that, at heart, he still isn't that different from the fans who sat and listened to him. He is a fan in the very best sense of the word, and he loved talking with everyone. Perhaps it was his English skill that helped in this regard, but I rather think it was the very un-Japanese openness he showed toward the con-goers that made him one of the most memorable Japanese guests I've ever seen. Not since the very dynamic Yasuhiro Imagawa (of Giant Robo fame and G Gundam infamy) made his appearance at Anime Expo a couple of years ago have I seen a guest who looked as though he were truly enjoying his stay. For the first time, I saw a guest seeking out and interviewing the con goers (reportedly for a book on Otakudom he's working on), and very seriously noting their opinions and desires. At a convention of would-be Otaku, he was definitely accepted as their Otaking. In the brief time I had to talk with him directly (although Carl Horn of Animerica spent a long time interviewing him), I saw a man who genuinely enjoys fandom and the creativity it spawns. He was a bit disappointed that American fans weren't making more of their own films and animes, although I'm sure that several videos are on their way to Japan to prove to him otherwise. I began to see how a man like this could have gone to Bandai Toys, with the hope of securing a few hundred thousand dollars for a film project, and leaving with the promise of millions! His enthusiasm is contagious, and I was honestly sad to have to leave the con on the last day. You see, he'd just finished a hilarious story about when he and two other key staff members of the Honneamise production were in Florida back in 1986 for rocket launch research, and they saw an episode of Robotech on TV.... But hey, who am I to spoil a good story? Let's just say that he's a fan at heart who went a very long way, and has many stories left to tell. And I most definitely look forward to meeting him again. |