Week 4

1. What was the cultural impact of Akira (1988), and why does it occupy a key place in the canon of anime greats?

Anime has been in western pop culture for many decades now, and characters like, Saitama, and Goku are now in the cultural zeitgeist. Akira (1988), by director and creator; Katsuhiro Otomo, is set in Neo-Tokyo a post-WW3 Tokyo, filled with corruption, biker gangs, and addiction. Where politicians seek to make themselves richer while the commoners must live in this dystopian ghetto, amongst the filth and rats. The anime differed form those coming out around the same time, as its art style was inspired more by western cartoons, than other anime. “Otomo’s drawings for “Akira” were distinctive for their realism; he used lighting, color and an attention to detail to create a vivid, lived-in space.”(Chu, 2018)

Akira has remained in the cultural spotlight, due in large part to how many popular shows and films still reference the anime to this day, one extremely popular reference shared by several shows throughout the years would be the “Kaneda Bike Slide”, where different characters would stop their bike or mode of transportation copying how Kaneda did in the film, a few notable shows that did this would be; TMNT(2003), where Raphael can be seen pulling the maneuver on his red bike, Clone Wars (2003), where Obi-Wan can be seen on a hovering machine, but pulling the maneuver, and Ready Player One, where both the move and a replica of the bike itself can be seen. These examples are just some of the few that can be seen throughout recent pop culture. (Shambrookblog, 2018)

Akira tells the gritty world of Neo-Tokyo through the eyes of the youth, It follows Kaneda and his friend Tetsuo, as they are swept up, through no fault of their own into this large government conspiracy, and they can’t do anything about it but rebel. Tetsuo gets spirited away, and awakens to his powers, in a new situation, and Kaneda moves heaven and earth to save his best friend. But as the situation continues we see Tetsuo despising his only friend, feeling oppressed and smothered, living in Kaneda’s shadow. To Tetsuo, Kaneda’s bike symbolized his power, and by trying to steal the bike multiple times and failing due to not knowing how to handle the bike, this shows that Tetsuo wasnt ready for his psychic abilities either. 

Akira tells the story of a corrupt government that tries to gain power through any means necessary, and by doing so they forget their citizens and leave them in disgusting conditions with no support to fix these issues. The sense of civil unrest is shown throughout the film, with “Akira”, being used as a synonym for an overwhelming power that will topple the current regime. Which is eerily similar to today in many countries, including America. Countries like; Palestine, India, Kurdistan, Hong Kong, and several more countries, all have ongoing civil rights protests, fighting against the existing regime, and because a godlike power like Akiras, doesn’t exist, people are forced to fight against the common enemy. Beneath, Akiras, amazing and fluid animation, its cyberpunk aesthetics, and its compelling narrative, the underlying story is one of oppression, and how things will eventually get better if people rise up against the oppressing force. Because of this people are able to relate with the text making it forever relatable, which is why it is one of the Anime greats.

References

Shambrookblog. (2018, October 16). An Incomplete History of “The Akira Bike Slide”. Retrieved from https://the-avocado.org/2018/03/28/an-incomplete-history-of-the-akira-bike-slide/

Chu, H. (2018, July 13). Why the pioneering Japanese anime ‘Akira’ is still relevant 30 years later. Retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/why-the-pioneering-japanese-anime-akira-remains-relevant-30-years-later/2018/07/12/b7577c74-813f-11e8-b851-5319c08f7cee_story.html