It’s the 4th of July Weekend and one of the things I’ve gotten used to these past couple years is that it means Anime Expo has come around once more. While I don’t have the anime convention experience as pantsukudasai56 it is still a event that I’ve gotten used to attending once a year when possible.

The latest “AMV of the Day” arrives just in time for the largest North American anime convention held every 4th of July weekend in Los Angeles. Not to say that the other anime conventions around the country are nothing to sneeze at, but Anime Expo is a whole different animal that every otaku in North America needs to experience at least once in their life. It’s a video that comes courtesy by the very talented video editor who goes by the handle of BecauseImBored1.

A video that combines scenes from anime and real-life footage of cosplayers and anime con-goers into one timely video that celebrates the positive nature of the word “otaku”. It’s a word that has a negative reputation in Japan, but one that’s seen as a celebration of anime and Japanese pop-culture fandom worldwide. It’s a label taken on proudly.

“Otaku Paradise” has such a huge number of anime referenced yet barely scratches the surface of what “otaku” watches and follows year in and year out. I love the fact that the video intersperses these anime scenes with real-life people in cosplay of those very same anime characters. Not everyone cosplays, but every otaku appreciates and admires those who do. Yet, cosplayers and non-cosplayer otaku both have one thing in common and that is their acceptance of the label of “otaku”.

One thing this video made me do while I watched it for the first time and the many times since was put such a huge, happy smile on my face. It’s small consolation for having to miss this weekend’s Anime Expo 2014.

Anime: Another, Attack On Titan, Baccano!, Baka And Test – Summon The Beasts, Bakuman, Black Lagoon, CANAAN, Clannad, Code Geass – Lelouch Of The Rebellion, D.Gray-Man, DragonBall Z, Durarara!!, Fate/Stay Night, Free! – Iwatobi Swim Club, Fruits Basket, Fullmetal Alchemist, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, Genshiken, Genshiken Nidaime, Haikyuu, Hellsing Ultimate, Howl’s Moving Castle, Idolmaster, K, K-ON!, Kampfer, Kanon, Kara No Kyoukai – The Garden Of Sinners, Kill La Kill, Kuroko’s Basketball, Kyoukai No Kanata, Kyousougiga, Little Witch Academia, Love, Chunibyo & Other Delusions, Lucky Star, Macross Frontier MUSIC CLIP Collection – Nyankuri, Melancholy Of Haruhi Suzumiya, MM!, Munto, My Little Sister Can’t Be This Cute, My Neighbor Totoro, Naruto, Ookami-San To Shichinin No Nakama-Tachi, Ore No Kanojo To Osananajimi Ga Shuraba Sugiru, Ouran High School Host Club, Panty & Stocking With Garterbelt, Persona 4: The Animation, Pokemon : White, Pokémon: Movie 2, Pokemon 2000, The Power Of One, Princess Jellyfish, Puella Magi Madoka Magica, Romeo × Juliet, Sailor Moon, Sakura Trick, School Rumble, School Rumble 2, Shugo Chara!, Soul Eater, Soul Eater Not, Summer Wars, Super Smash Bros, Sword Art Online, Tales Of Xillia, Tengen Toppa Gurren-Lagann, Toradora!, Trigun, Uta No Prince Sama, Welcome To The NHK, Yu Yu Hakusho

Song: “Raging Fire” by Phillip Phillips

Creator: BecauseImBored1

Past AMVs of the Day

• The Breath of Spring (Bakemonogatari)
• Spiral Ascension (Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann)
• Strangers Like Us (Gargantia on the Verdorous Planet)
• The Gore Never Bothered Me Anyway (Elfen Lied)
• Valor (Kill la Kill)
• Time Falls Away (Tokyo Magnitude 8.0)
• Don’t Stop (Nichijou)
• Left Us Falling (Clannad and Clannad: After Story)
• Devil’s Game 2.0 (Puella Magi Madoka Magica Series and Films)
• Animegraphy 2013 (Various)
• See Who I Am (Various)
• Demons of the Past (Black Lagoon: Roberta’s Blood Trail)
• Ride or Die (Redline)
• Yurei (Another, Dusk Maiden of Amnesia, Mirai Nikki)
• Bloody Ayase (Oreimo)
• The End of My World (Clannad/Clannad: After Story)
• Life Is Fantastic (Nichijou)
• Event (Nichijou)
• Star x Crossed (Romeo x Juliet)
• Protectors of the Earth (Shingeki no Kyojin)
• Let Them Eat Rei (Neon Genesis Evangelion)
• Sorry for being Hercule, Sincerely Mr. Satan (Dragonball Z)
• Fidelity (Wolf Children Ame and Yuki)
• Nothing to Lose (One Piece)
• Affective Schoolgirls (Nichijou)
• RadioAkshun (Neon Genesis Evangelion)
• Danger Zone (Macross Plus)
• Maid to Kill (Black Lagoon)
• A Thousand Years (Clannad/Toradora!)
• Careful What You Wish (Black Lagoon)
• Ash vs Gary (Pokemon)
• Just Can’t Get Enough (Bakemonogatari)
• Our Miracle (Sword Art Online)
• Dead End (Mirai Nikki)
• Am I Not Human? (Another)
• Moves Like Jagger (NSFW)
• Mayoi Calling Araragi (Bakemonogatari)
• Troll of Hearts (The World God Only Knows)
• Written in the Spirals (Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann)
• The Way You Are
• Means to an Endgame (Code Geass)
• Azumanga Daioh 1985
• Safety Dance (Nichijou)
• Cherry – Chronicles of PHOTOpanic
• Remember My Name
• Futuristic Lover (Bakemonogatari)
• Sexy and I Know It
• Everytime We Touch (Toradora!)
• War (Valkyria Chronicles)
• Hold On To That Feeling
• Disco Heaven
• Hands Up! (Dragonball/Z)
• A Little Late
• Sexy
• I Heart Tsundere
• The New Era (One Piece)
• Fairytale of Lies
• Calling
• Alchanum
• This Is War (One Piece)
• Move Along (One Piece)
• Party Rock (One Piece)
• Remember the Name (One Piece)
• Imagica
• Maya and Company
• Who’s That Chick?
• Just The Way You Are
• My First Kiss
• Death Romance
• Furor (Oreimo)
• Highschool of the Dead Game
• Kobato – Ring A Bell
• Devil’s Game
• Mahou Shoujo Requiem
• A Prelude to Dreams
• A Thousand Miles (Macross Frontier)
• Instinct
• Hold Me Now (Princess Tutu)
• The Beautiful People of Black Lagoon
• SugardanSen & Attack of the Otaku
• Fairy Tail Teenage Dream
• Repeat (Puella Magi Madoka Magica)
• Toradora! Rough Love (Grow A Pear)
• Black Lagoon…To Be Loved
• This Is War (Fullmetal Alchemist)
• Danse De Raven
• Azumanga Daioh – Little Girls
• Something Fishy
• And Now, A Word From Our Sponsors
• Against All Odds (Macross Frontier)
• A Thousand Miles (Todaradora!)
• Toradora Fireflies
• Spinning Infinity
• Have You Got It In You?
• Azumanga Daioh Portal