Anime.com Inc. publisher and co-founder Michael Pinto reported on Twitter that James (Jim) Kaposztas, a longtime Otakon staffer who was recognized in the U.S. anime fandom as the first known person to create an anime music video, has passed away.
In 1982 when he was a 21-year-old college student, Kaposztas hooked up two VCRs to each other and used scenes from Space Battleship Yamato synced to The Beatles’ “All You Need Is Love” to create the first known anime music video.
Kaposztas told The Japan Times he saw creating AMVs as a way to share his hobby and get practice with editing, as he was a communications major at the time. While not many fans took the effort to use VCRs to create anime music videos in the 80’s and 90’s, that changed in the early 2000’s with the rise of the popularity of Japanese popular culture in the U.S. and the switch to digitally created AMVs. AMV screenings and contests are now a regular part of U.S. anime conventions.
Kaposztas also worked in various positions at Otakon for more than 20 years.
Source: ANN
Lesley's Anime and Manga Corner 
Wow, I’m stunned! I had no idea that AMV’s existed in the 1980’s and 90’s. I honestly have never heard of the person who created them. I assumed that it was a Japanese short film directer, I didn’t know AMV’s came from a fan. And the first person to make one is gone! I would love to see his first AMV, hopefully some anime cons will be doing tributes to his work so more people will learn about this pioneer.
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To be honest, I didn’t know this either. But after learning about the impact he had on the fandom, I felt it was important to report on his passing.
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Thank you for doing so! It’s sad news, but important.
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