Daicon IV

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Daicon IV was a sci-fi convention held in 1983, in Osaka, Japan; the 22nd Nihon SF Taikai.

1 Name
2 Opening
3 Culture and references
4 See also
5 References
6 External links

[edit] Name

Daicon is a portmanteau of "dai", an alternate reading of the first kanji in the name of the city in which it is held (which means "big/great"), and the first syllable of the English word "convention". However, it is also a deliberate pun, since its name suggests the word daikon, the east Asian giant radish. "Daicon", like the names of most Japanese sci-fi conventions, is always written in the Latin alphabet.^[1]

[edit] Opening

The opening to Daicon IV, made by Gainax (which at the time was called Daicon Film), is a 4:23 cel animated video. The opening to the sci-fi convention was anime. As many kinds of "geek" culture appeal to the typical Otaku, the video has many pop culture references. The animation features the now grown up Daicon III girl fighting a wide selection of creatures from all sorts of science fiction and fantasy movies and novels, including Darth Vader, Eleking from Ultra Seven, the Toho logo, an alien, a Macross VF-1 Valkyrie, a Pern dragon, Aslan, a Klingon battle cruiser, Spider-Man, Taiyou Sentai Sun Vulcan, and a pan across a vast array of hundreds of other characters) as she surfs through the sky on the sword Stormbringer.^[1]

The video features Electric Light Orchestra's "Twilight" from the album Time as background music, and the prologue lyrics from that same album as an introduction:

Just on the border of your waking mind

There lies another time

Where darkness and light are one,

And as you tread the halls of sanity,

You feel so glad to be unable to go beyond.

I have a message from another time...

Daicon IV firmly established Daicon Film as a talented new anime studio, renamed Gainax in 1985.

[edit] Culture and references

This video, although short, clearly marked the otaku subculture for its state-of-the-art animation for 1983. There soon were merchandise and figures of the nameless "Daicon IV bunny-eared girl" who is seen surfing around on a flying sword, Stormbringer, in the video.

In Gainax's 1992 OVA Otaku no Video, a character shows another what are anime and animation techniques, and shows a part of the Daicon IV opening. Additionally, Otaku no Video's very mascot, Misty May, is clearly a reference to the Daicon IV girl.

Another of Gainax's OVAs, FLCL (2000-2001), shows Haruko in episode 5 (Brittle Bullet) dressed in the same bunny suit, flying over a guitar to attack a giant monster. During her attack, she screams "Daicon V!".

The Japanese TV series Densha Otoko (2005) features an opening that is also a clear reference, featuring a girl with bunny ears surfing around on a train with the same background tune, Electric Light Orchestra's "Twilight".

The Daicon III and Daicon IV animations have experienced a difficult time being brought to home video. Due to the huge number of trademarked and copyrighted characters, images, and music used in the animations, for which Daicon Animation had not gotten a license, copyright issues prevented them from legally profiting from the work. Nevertheless, it was released on Laserdisc in 1988, as a free bonus that was included with a book about the creation process of the film. Though the Laserdisc is labeled "Not For Sale", the steep price of the book (around $150 USD) made it obvious that the real product being offered for sale was the disc itself. As it was only produced in limited quantities, the Laserdisc has since become one of several "holy grails" for collectors of anime paraphernalia, often selling at auction for prices reaching up to $1500 USD^{[citation needed]}.