AMV chronicles #39: F.Y.C.

I don’t have any strict criteria for what AMVs or editors I choose to write about here. There’s little reason to celebrate the usual suspects that don’t really need the attention, which is why most of this “series” has been devoted to editors who haven’t gotten a lot of credit, and to the weird and/or virtually unseen AMVs that don’t fit in with the award-winners and/or videos that rack up views in the six-figures. I guess I’ve gotten wrapped up in the idea of how cool it is to find something awesome that’s been widely overlooked or unnoticed… as if those videos aren’t popular solely because they’re just too damn uncompromising or cutting-edge for mass appeal. But along the way I’ve also posted about a few really well-known AMVs, not because I felt like they needed yet another champion — I’m not so deluded to think that I hold the kind of influence for my posts to actually impact the popularity or reputation of anyone’s works — but because they just resonated with me in some weird way that I had to say something about. And those responses haven’t always been the most eloquent or insightful, nor have they always been positive — these days, I question whether or not a lot of those hate-posts really served any purpose — but I always wanted to put them out there anyway because I can’t stand the idea of this stuff just existing in a vacuum of nothing but Youtube comments that may as well be posted by spam-bots. Whether or not someone’s work is “important” doesn’t really matter, if it’s left an impression on me that’s unique or different or weirdly sincere or whatever, then I just want to acknowledge it outside of its element and hopefully Google will eventually help someone stumble across my rambling sentiments and discover a cool video that they never would have otherwise found.

This is one of those AMVs that doesn’t really need any help or extra hits. Heck, it’ll probably be one of the AMVs that people remember most from this year. It’s possibly the most ambitious AMV I’ve ever seen, packing in more visuals and effects than anyone can actually take in in a single viewing. At least that’s true for me; even after having watched it a half-dozen times, I’m still spotting things that I’d missed the first few go-rounds. I can’t begin to imagine how much time and work must have gone into the making of this… which in itself doesn’t make this a masterpiece or anything, just to be clear. But if that’s not worthy of a pat on the back, I don’t know what is. Some people don’t care for this video at all, and I definitely understand where they’re coming from. It’s funny how coming across a single dissenting opinion like that, even if it’s the only negative criticism in a sea of likes and upvotes, actually makes me want to watch it more than I would if literally everyone was fawning over it. There’s so much crap on the Internet that it’s become a challenge to artistically offend anyone who’s spent enough time knee-deep in it, so for anybody to take the time to object to anything, let alone something this well-produced, does more to pique my curiosity than steer me away from it.

At first glance, this isn’t the kind of AMV that I usually seek out. It’s actually the kind that I’m quick to be extra-critical of, either because I’m generally not a fan of these kind of effect-heavy videos, or because I’m gradually growing less and less amused by the whole meta-AMV approach to editing (in particular, this is a complicated response on my part that I don’t know how to unpack without getting into self-contradictory territory, stay tuned). But I can’t help but feel really impressed by its seamless merging of live action and animation. It’s surely not the first AMV to explore this territory (or the first in 2015), nor will it be the last, but the interaction between the two modes of video is intrinsic to the concept of the AMV to an inseparable degree that’s probably unmatched. It’s quite a ride and it never goes more than a few seconds without doing something to surprise you, which you really can’t say about too many other AMVs.

I can’t write this entry without adding that, normally, the second I see you include Trollface in your AMV is the second I turn it off and never come back. Maybe that’s a little unfair but just because I’m on the Internet right now doesn’t mean I’m here for the fuckin lulz, okay? Obviously, I stuck around to watch the whole thing. Getting the song stuck in my head for a few days kept me thinking about it, much more than I expected that I would. And all the while, I couldn’t stop asking myself, is this really a good AMV? It wasn’t a masterpiece (right?), but it was still definitely good. Maybe it was very good. If nothing else, I felt like it was certainly worth watching, if only to have an opinion about — whether or not I’ve actually formed one at this point, I don’t know — and for the purposes of being able to talk about AMVs in 2015. Was it anything? The only thing I’m sure about is that it’s definitely something.