8BitKid: Living Bit by Bit

Before Gainax blew our minds with Neon Genesis Evangelion and FLCL they created a short film for the Japan Science Fiction Convention. The burgeoning animation team, featuring greats such as Hideaki Anno, debuted their first film at the con (a.k.a. “Daicon”) in 1983 to critical acclaim.

Two years later, they returned to Daicon and debuted the “Daicon IV Opening Animation”, which was not only a satire that featured the prominent use of characters from American and Japanese animation, but also an overwhelming and visually stunning short in its own right.

Unfortunately, it is extremely hard to find a copy of this film beyond the grainy versions available online. The film was set to the song “Twilight” by Electric Light Orchestra, which they did not have the rights to. This licensing issue has squashed the possibility of legitimate distribution. It was pressed in very limited quantities on laserdisc. I was fortunate enough to see an incredibly high quality version when attending “Little Boy: The Arts of Japan’s Exploding Subculture” exhibit at the Japan Society in New York.

So enjoy this film that helped launch Gainax and is a landmark work in animation history.