Explaining it to people who haven't seen it

[Gryshnak]

I'm giving a talk on anime to our local SF group next month, and of course I've got to include Akira. Trying to explain it to people who have never seen it will be difficult. But someone last night made another comment about it - they don't just want to know what happens in the movie, they want to know why it had such a big impact on society.

So did Akira connect to any deep Japanese cultural roots? Did it have some hidden meaning that the west may have overlooked? Or was it just lots of really neat eye candy, and an ending that could be interpreted several different ways?

[EVA fiend]

Hmm.., I dunno about what kind of effect it had in Japan (aside from the fact that it was the most expensive anime movie ever at the time, & that it was wildly over budget).., but in the UK at least..., Akira was the movie that opened up the doors to anime here..., without Akira there would have been no Manga Video (though I'm sure that some people will probably say that would have been a blessing.., :heh: )...,

I remember going to a preview showing of it at the Bristol Watershed art cinema in 1990.., I had an idea what the story was gonna be about because I had been reading the manga since 1988..., what I wasn't prepared for was the awe-inspiring animation..., & the fantastic sound..., prior to Akira, the only animation I had seen in the cinemas were offerings by Disney.., & nothing I had seen by Disney could compare to it..., I was amazed, & completely spellbound for 2 hours.., so much so, that my little bro & I bought tickets to see it again the next day...,

A year later, Island World Communications released it on video..., & due to it's success..., IWC decided to release more anime in this country..., & they changed their name to Manga Video.., the rest is history..., :)

[Project Akira]

Originally posted by EVA fiend
what I wasn't prepared for was the awe-inspiring animation..., & the fantastic sound..., prior to Akira, the only animation I had seen in the cinemas were offerings by Disney.., & nothing I had seen by Disney could compare to it..., I was amazed, & completely spellbound for 2 hours.., so much so, that my little bro & I bought tickets to see it again the next day...,
And Disney still hasn't made anything that compares ^^

As for cultural roots, I think that one of the underlying ideas of Akira, rebellion of the youth, is something that's looked down upon. The fact that it had a story and characters you could connect to (Tetsuo the teen that's lashing out after being held back for so long, Kaneda the thug who's really a good guy, etc) but wasn't directed towards kids said alot. It was intelligent filmmaking that said something with animation.