Now Viewing: akiraTag type: None An iconic gritty cyberpunk action anime/manga created by Otomo_Katsuhiro. The manga debuted in December 20, 1982 and was completed in June 25, 1990. Although it is generally considered to be a cyberpunk story, Otomo was not influenced by the work that is widely credited for defining the genre, Neuromancer. In fact, he had not heard of it when he started Akira because Neuromancer had not been translated into Japanese yet. Otomo was instead inspired by Star Wars, Moebius, Tetsujin-28, and the science fiction work of Yokomizo Seishi. Although the manga is only six volumes long, said volumes are very thick and feature quite a few highly detailed splash pages. It is set in a Japan that is reeling from a highly destructive World War III. Tokyo was leveled by a massive explosion, but the city has been rebuilt over the years and is now called Neo-Tokyo. However, the situation in Neo Tokyo is not good: gangs and violence are rampant even in schools, a rebel force/terrorist group is constantly clashing with the government, and there are many poor people on the streets. Protagonists Kaneda Shoutarou and Shima Tetsuo are part of a teen biker gang led by the former. The two have been friends since childhood, but the deeply insecure Tetsuo often feels resentment towards his charismatic but crude friend Kaneda. Tetsuo gets into a serious accident one night while roaming the city with the rest of the gang. A strange person with an elderly face, but the body of a child suddenly appears in the middle of the road; Tetsuo swerves to avoid him but ends up in a spectacular crash. The person disappears as suddenly as he appeared, and soldiers arrive to ostensibly take Tetsuo to a hospital. In the meantime, Kaneda becomes involved with a female government rebel named Kei. Tetsuo eventually leaves the hospital, but he has changed considerably for the worse. He was discovered to have incredible psychic powers but he often needs to take pills in order to keep himself from having agonizing headaches. Due to a combination of his developing powers and his inferiority complex, his relationship with Kaneda is strained and he turns against his former friend and gang. The government, led by Colonel Shikishima, wants to retrieve Tetsuo due to the danger he poses and to fulfill their own project involving a mysterious being known as Akira. As he taps into his psychic potential, Tetsuo grows increasingly powerful and becomes a serious threat to the entire city and the world. Kaneda is eventually forced to team up with Kei to stop his former friend. The manga received the Kodansha Award for Best Manga in 1984. The manga was adapted by Otomo Katsuhiro himself into an anime movie that was released in 1988. Otomo Katsuhiro wrote and directed the film, which was especially expensive to create. The film cost ¥1,100,000,000 to make and its very fluid hand drawn animation consisted of 160,000 animation cells. While the film shares the same premise as the manga and has a similar style and tone, the film's storyline is condensed and many scenes from the manga are shuffled around chronologically or combined. The film also omits the second half of the manga and has its own ending. The film's soundtrack is composed and recorded by the group Geinoh Yamashirogumi and blends Japanese folk music with synthesizers. For many North Americans anime/manga fans, the film was also one of their earliest exposures to darker anime with more adult themes. The film was also the start of seiyuu Iwata_Mitsuo and Sasaki_Nozumi's voice acting careers. Kaneda's red motorcycle is also iconic and is often recreated. The movie is also famous for its poster art, a from-above shot depicting Kaneda walking towards his motorcycle, which is often parodied and homaged. Rapper Kanye West is a large fan of the series and his music video for Stronger homages Akira. The 1998 science fiction movie Dark City also has a finale that director Alex Proyas described as his homage to the manga. Shima Tetsuo is the inspiration for the King of Fighters characters K9999 and is even played by the same voice actor. However, the character was considered to be too similar to Tetsuo and was replaced by the character Nameless. The character Akira is tagged Akira_(Akira) Cast: *=manga only Main Characters: Kaneda_Shoutarou Shima_Tetsuo Kei_(Akira) Supporting: Colonel_Shikishima Kiyoko_(Akira) Takashi_(Akira) Masaru_(Akira) Akira_(Akira) Kai_(Akira) Yamagata Joker_(Akira) Nezu_(Akira) Ryuu_(Akira) Chiyoko_(Akira) Doctor_(Akira) Miyako_(Akira) Sakaki_(Akira) * Mozu_(Akira) * Miki_(Akira) * Kaori_(Akira) Tetsuo's_Aide * Birdman * Eggman_(Akira) * George_Yamada * Other Wiki Information Last updated: 05/13/15 4:48 AM by jojosstand This entry is not locked and you can edit it as you see fit. |
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