About

Anime music videos are self-explanatory; they are videos of music set to clips of anime. The music can be of any genre, though rock and pop are the most popular. AMV's can also be made from any anime, though animes that are popular like Yu-Gi-Oh, Naruto , Death Note, Dragonball Z, etc., are the most used. They are very popular on YouTube and in otaku circles.

Origins

The first known AMV was created in 1982 by Jim Kaposztas. He hooked up two VCR players to each other, edited a very violent scene from Space Battleship Yamato , A.K.A Star Blazers , and played the Beatles's "All You Need Is Love" at the same time as the anime clips. This created an ironic and funny effect, obviously done for teh lulz. No known recording of this first AMV is known to exist on the Internet.

The first notable AMV was created in 1996. An unknown user took the song "Daytona 500" by rapper Ghostface Killah and synced it up with clips from the 1967 anime Speed Racer . The fast-paced nature of "Daytona 500" went nicely with the high-action, equally fast-paced nature of Speed Racer . This AMV became extremely popular, eventually becoming the first ever AMV to be shown on television. It is still one of the most popular AMV's out there, in addition to being one of the earliest.

Today

Today, AMV's are as popular as ever. New AMV's are being created and uploaded everyday. There are even websites dedicated to hosting and aggregating AMV's. AMV contests are held at anime cons and over the Internet to see who can create the best AMV. Even after two decades of existence, Otaku and non-otaku enjoy AMV's alike.

Notable AMV's include "Tainted Donuts", a combo between Trigun and Cowboy Bebop using the song "Shiroi Yami No Naka" by Shakkazombie; "Crimson Destiny", a FullMetal Alchemist video using the song "Dream On" by Aerosmith; "Jinnai and the Bugrom LIVE!"; and "Mystery Yaoi Theater 3000".