Trivia / Daicon III & IV

• Doing It for the Art: III was made by three art students who had to quickly learn professional techniques and make do with limited resources. IV was made by a staff of twelve, many of which worked overnight in a near-literal sweatshop with no air conditioning. They withstood these conditions primarily so they could create a tribute to the works they loved.
• Keep Circulating the Tapes: Aside from a (possibly unauthorized) LaserDisc and VHS release in the '80s, neither short has been given a proper release. This is because of the many potential copyright infringement cases that could arise from selling an unauthorized Massive Multiplayer Crossover. Truer to the trope's name, circulation of the LaserDisc release was instrumental in establishing the shorts' cult following and influence. Daicon III is due to be saved from this state, with Daicon Film regrouping to produce a high-quality restoration, but no similar news has emerged for Daicon IV. Fortunately, both the III and IV shorts can easily be found on YouTube.
• Referenced by...:
  • Doubling as Company Cross References, FLCL has a scene where Haruko sky surfs on a guitar while dressed in a Playboy Bunny outfit, much like the protagonist in IV. She even yells "Daicon V!" while doing so.
  • Train Man (2004): The TV series' Animated Credits Opening alludes to IV, including its usage of "Twilight" by Electric Light Orchestra as a Real Song Theme Tune.
  • The OP of the Reincarnated as a Sword anime shows Fran Sky Surfing on Shishou in a reference to the scene of the bunny girl surfing on Stormbringer.
• Screwed by the Lawyers: Given the many potential legal issues and copyright infringement cases that could arise given its nature as an unauthorized Massive Multiplayer Crossover, any kind of official rerelease post-1980s is very unlikely.
• What Could Have Been:
  • Both shorts were originally meant to be shot on 16mm stock, the same kind used for professional TV anime. However, on both occasions the staff had to settle for lower-quality 8mm film due to cost issues.
  • IV was initially meant to be fifteen minutes long, something that quickly proved to be infeasible. In the end, the new animation amounts to three minutes total.
  • Gainax attempted to release the shorts in America, beginning to clear the many legal issues required to do so. However, Playboy (which owns the trademark to the Playboy Bunny outfit in the country) denied them permission, putting an end to their plans.

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