From: seawasp@vm2.cis.pitt.edu (Sea Wasp)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.movies,rec.arts.anime
Subject: Re: AKIRA - Great flick! - But what's it about ?
Date: 24 Aug 92 03:06:06 GMT
Followup-To: rec.arts.sf.movies
Organization: University of Pittsburgh
Originator: seawasp@pmax1.cis.pitt.edu

In article <1992Aug23.235023.28163@mel.dit.csiro.au> gre253@mis.csiro.au (Steven Green) writes:
>I just saw AKIRA over the weekend, on video even. It's a total knockout.
>But I was left wondering what the hell it was all about. This is NOT
>a criticism on the film, some of the best Sci-Fi movies I have ever seen
>leave you feeling the same way ( 2001, Quiet Earth just to name two )

	I prefer AKIRA immensely to both of the above (I rate Quiet Earth
a bit higher than 2001, but I like AKIRA better than both)

>Did anyone else feel this too - or did I watch it too late at night. Also,
>I did have a little trouble identifying the central characters at the start
>of the movie. Kaneda and Tetsuo (sp?) especially. After about fifteen minutes
>I was OK.

	Well, this is a Anime classic ("Anime", for those who don't know,
is Japanese Animated entertainment, often called "Japanimation" over 
here), so I'm crossposting this to rec.arts.anime for more informed
discussion.

	As for my opinion:

	AKIRA is not a strongly plotted movie in some ways. In part, I
suppose you could say it's about animation -- the biggest team of
animators ever assembled in Japan got in on this one. And it's worth
it; AKIRA has some of the finest animation ever put on screen.

	But insofar as the movie itself... SPOILERS...

















	AKIRA is about a post-disaster Tokyo. The first disaster was
caused by the title character/being/concept, AKIRA. Akira was a boy,
part of a special group of children who were involved in an experiment
to create/unlock full psionic ability in human beings. Akira's power
was far too great and he was not ready to control it, and the resultant
explosion leveled Tokyo.

	The movie is quite mystical in spots; one of the points of the
movie, insofar as it has any, is that Akira and his power represent an
evolutionary jump (a common theme in Anime, see GUNDAM as another example)
which the human race isn't prepared for. As one of them describes it, to
become AKIRA is like being an amoeba infused with the strength and 
intelligence and power of a human being. 

	Tetsuo, street kid and always second-rate sidekick, comes in contact
with one of the surviving experiment children. This triggers his latent
powers and the experiment directors keep him and try to reawaken the Akira
phenomenon (in hopes they can control it). Of course, Tetsuo is older and
not as controllable as the other children; he loses it even worse than
Akira did (Akira only exists now as his dissected parts kept in cold
storage) and almost re-enacts the destruction of Tokyo.

	However, the interference of his cosmically-lucky former friend
Kaneda, combined with the work of the three surviving psychic children,
hold off the disaster until they can contact Akira -- whose spirit still
survives -- and Akira's power combines with Tetsuo and the joined beings
become something akin to a god.


	So I suppose you could say that it's both about the danger of
mankind tampering with forces it doesn't understand, AND about the
possibility/potential within our race to become as gods.


	If you liked Akira, you might well like other anime; I'd 
STRONGLY recommend Arion, the GUNDAM series (especially Zeta Gundam
and Char's Counterattack), and Crusher Joe. Depending on your tastes,
there are a lot of other amazingly good anime films out there; for
humor there are the Dirty Pair, Urusei Yatsura (UY), Ranma 1/2, and
a host of others; there's a good deal of horror, like Beast City, 
Demon City, and Vampire Hunter D; SF, like GUNDAM, Crusher Joe,
Macross; and bunches of other stuff ranging from odd superhero-like
shows (Saint Seiya, Yoroiden Samurai Troopers) to everyday soap-operas
(Maison Ikkoku)...


                                 Sea Wasp
                                   /^\
                                   ;;;
Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.movies