[BRIEF NOTE] Akira
Feb. 20th, 2006 02:25 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rfmcdonaldAs part of his ongoing effort to familiarize me with anime and manga and after showing me the film version of Akira, ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
finfin is lending me the six volumes of the manga Akira. I'm on volume 3 right now, and finding myself having mixed emotions. On the one hand, it is interesting to see some of the underdeveloped themes of Otomo's film version unpacked, like Lady Miyako and the origins of the political maneuvering in post-apocalyptic Japan. On the other hand, there are a lot of things that shouldn't have been unpacked because of their superfluity.
One thing that strikes me as interesting about Akira--both versions--is that I don't see the future here. If anything, without the information revolution--personal computers, the Internet, text messaging, the works--Akira's future feels decidedly retro, like the Japan of the 1980s. Whether or not Otomo intended this effect, I leave to people better versed in his works.
finfin is lending me the six volumes of the manga Akira. I'm on volume 3 right now, and finding myself having mixed emotions. On the one hand, it is interesting to see some of the underdeveloped themes of Otomo's film version unpacked, like Lady Miyako and the origins of the political maneuvering in post-apocalyptic Japan. On the other hand, there are a lot of things that shouldn't have been unpacked because of their superfluity.One thing that strikes me as interesting about Akira--both versions--is that I don't see the future here. If anything, without the information revolution--personal computers, the Internet, text messaging, the works--Akira's future feels decidedly retro, like the Japan of the 1980s. Whether or not Otomo intended this effect, I leave to people better versed in his works.
