AMV Creator James Kaposztas Has Passed Away
A pioneer of anime fandom is no longer with us, as news recently came out about the passing of James Kaposztas. As friend and Anime.com co-founder Michael Pinto shared on Twitter, James—known to friends as Jim—played a key role in the support of early anime fandom events in New York City and Philadelphia, and is credited with creating the first known anime music video (AMV) back in 1982.
Kaposztas first started messing around with the creation of an AMV to get some editing practice in and as a way to share his hobby, as he explained in an interview with Patrick Macias for The Japan Times in 2007. At the age of 21, he hooked two VCRs together and mashed up footage from Star Blazers—the localized version of the Space Battleship Yamato anime—with The Beatles classic “All You Need is Love,” creating a comically dissonant effect between the song itself and the violent scenes on screen.
The second version of the AMV in question, via Kaposztas’s YouTube channel:
As detailed on his LinkedIn profile, Kaposztas had various staffing roles at the Otakon convention over a 22-year period. He also took part in the early cosplay scene, dressing up as Captain Avatar from Star Blazers.
To my old anime fandom friend, may you rest in peace James Kaposztas. Know as “Jim” to his friends, he created the first anime themed music video using nothing but second hand VHS footage. #anime #fandom #AMV pic.twitter.com/JfOrNY62F8
— Michael Pinto (@michaelpinto) February 6, 2023
Our thoughts go out to the family, friends and colleagues of James Kaposztas. His contributions to the anime community and beyond won’t be forgotten.
Source: Michael Pinto via Kotaku
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Joseph Luster is the Games and Web editor at Otaku USA Magazine. You can read his comics at subhumanzoids. Follow him on Twitter @Moldilox.
