Hidden Meaning in Akira - Earthling Cinema
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- Опубликовано: 28 авг 2015
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What if an alien in the future stumbled upon Akira? Welcome to Earthling Cinema, where we examine the last remaining artifacts of a once-proud culture and try to understand what human lives were like before their planet was destroyed. I'm your host, Garyx Wormuloid.
This week's film:
Akira (1988)
Directors: Katsuhiro Otomo
Stars: Nozomu Sasaki, Mami Koyama, Mitsuo Iwata
Production Co: TMS Entertainment, Akira Committee Company Ltd., Bandai
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Written by: Ben Steiner
Analysis & Directed by: Jared Bauer
Starring: Mark Schroeder ( / mark_schroeder )
Edited by: Ryan Hailey
Original Music by: David Krystal (www.davidkrystalmusic.com)
Opening Animation by: Danny Rapaport
Producer & Additional Artwork by: Jacob S. Salamon
© 2015 Wisecrack, Inc. 
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before the film: WHAT???
after the film: WHAT???
after the review: WHAT???
Wilfor83 ikr I don't get it at all
NANI???
Lmao retweet
Wilfor83 after this revelation
Read the manga apparently
It’s crazy that they referenced the Japanese 2020 Olympics in an animated movie from 1988
It takes place in the 2019s too
@@megasocky no shit
They knew
And we almost started a ww3
maybe the giant testicle will destroy the city, you never know what 2020 has for the surprise
I feel like Akira has a strong theme of anti authoritarianism where Imperial Japan could fit Tetsuo equally, growing in size destroying itself and everyone around it with the Nuclear blast being the reset of Japan
Same
Ironic that the Colonel is portrayed as the good guy.
Fr
@@judsongaiden9878I think he partially represents restraint and selflessness.
@@rahulshah1408 He's the kind of guy who'd team up with Adrian Shephard during an interdimensional conflict.
So that's what the fuck happened at the end of Akira.
Basically: Akira awakens, and creates an absorption sphere to trap tetsuo, he then moves the whole sphere (including himself and mutated tetsuo) out of the universe and into a blank existence, where where tetsuo expands and becomes a new universe
the shot of the ball receding quickly kinda makes me think like it was meant to depict a reverse big bang (the sudden change in size, in the case of the big bang, the universe went from very small to very big in a matter of plank units of time, while the opposite happened in the sphere implosion), after that the expansion re-bounds and goes on like a normal big bang :)
so tetsou becomes god pretty much?
Cho0segoose That's what I'm gathering from this.
Cho0segoose Yes
Tetsuo is the embodiment of the folly of man with the power of a god. either symbolically or literally, he was an infant in his developing form, because he was not enlightened. he was a lost soul who had no control over what he was doing. even without the powers, his life was self-destructive; self absorbed. Once unlocked, his powers, like most men, were used to consume all that was around him, including the ones he loved. he even called out for help within realizing what was happening, but it was too late. (this is directly tied into what we, as humans, are doing to our own world.) we all have Akira (God) inside of us because we were created in God's image... Akira, the enlightened, had harnessed this unlocked power for the sake of creation.... His methods are holy... this is evident in the fact that he did not destroy Tetsuo, but removed him and allowed creation to take place elsewhere... this movie is one of the most poetic things I have experienced... it's so basic, yet so absolute. We all have the power to either create or destroy... yet, there is also creation in destruction and destruction in creation... such is the balance of life.
“He and his pals go out for a harmless little joy ride”
*smacks man in face with bar*
Who DOESN'T want to become a giant testicle anyway? The greatest question in human history.
I think that was part of the Grand Inquisitor.
+TooTsaka I already am one.
TooTsaka MEGA giant testicles, that’s who. Really it would be a pretty embarrassing downgrade for them.
"Which American history books tell me weren't even that bad."
Laurie it was bad but it’s sad they teach us that way
Would you be so kind to remind us when the US government apologized to the Japanese people for the destruction of several hundred thousand civilians through atomic disintegration? I am sure that it is mentioned in every American history book.
@@JAK3Y7 Dude what. Our schools do not brush over the bombings
yea our class just brushed that over
Tbh the bombings of Tokyo where much worse and lesser known
This video should be required viewing for all Akira new-comers. The frenetic pacing of Akira makes it difficult to see all the subtle symbolism, leaving many people saying things like "the animation is amazing but the story sucks".
thats because the animation is probably the best. The story seems more of an excuse and I am a big fan of akira.
Zero Cool Kid I’ll have to agree with you there. It’s story is ok, but nothing special. It’s animation is the star of the movie, though. Absolutely gorgeous!
I know what you mean. When I watched Akira, my reaction was somewhere along the lines of, "I understand why this is so famous. It tackles deep and complex themes in an innovative way that is still unique today. I do not know what those themes actually are, but I know they are there."
Just watched the film for the first time and i'm 21 years old. I thing i've understood the subtleties of the film more than the actual fucking plot itself. Guess i need to read the manga :)
Jesus I remember watching this like 8 years ago and I think I repressed the memories of all the old child people, I just remembered the teddy bear coming to life and the big anime fights.
I dare you to do Neon Genesis Evangelion.
Good luck.
+Reiko33 They made it up as they went along. There, analyzed.
+Logan Benton
+Logan Benton I think they ment End of Evangelion which they did not make up as they went along.
+Reiko33 what about Ergo Proxy
+Omer Khan It's still not that hard to get it, NGE is a dark parody on mecha anime so Shinji is a sort of ultimate authority on humanity as all protagonists in this genre seem to have "mankind's fate" in their hands at some point. Because he's been treated badly, and has another tantrum, he decides all of mankind should die. This initiates Third Impact, aka WWIII. However, in this same tantrum, he finally discovers the world isn't as confusing as he thought it was before, so he decides life might be not all that bad. Third Impact is aborted, he and Asuka are seemingly the first or only humans to return to earth. Shinji, having acquired a new set of testicles, still has a beef with Asuka and tries to kill her. When she shows him love, he stops this attempt. All well that ends well.
Oh yes and almost ALL of the plot derives from what Japanese media, including Akira and Godzilla, were dealing with up until then. You could say that, very vaguely stated, it is about the Japanese youth - or Japanese society as a whole - being systematically forced to always act in the benefit of their nation (in the name of the FATHER) despite their own desires. Anno decided somewhere along NGE it was more important to talk about (his) life rather than follow this tradition, or what he would call, obsession with technology/death/rebirth/guilt/innocence in order to make something he felt would be more valuable and personal. It worked, ever since NGE anime has been very refreshing and talks about bigger (philosophical) questions which are narrated closer to the Japanese spirit.
In an extent you could make a link to the Cold War, as the world back then was always fearing nuclear war which was considered mutual assured destruction. The new generation (of anime), Shinji's generation, is born in a world where Cold War is a memory, history, another tale. He and the other children are foils (ab)used by the people who aren't finished playing power games. This generation however, is the first one that actually cares more about minding their own business, exploring their minds rather than engaging power struggles. Of course this is complex, as portrayed in the anime but don't tell me today's society, with its social media that paradoxically drives people closer but also heightens the contrast on our individuality, is so much easier. This last paragraph might be a little far fetched but I came up with it while writing so I thought it might be worth sharing.
Man, I thought I had this movie figured out, but it looks like I was way off. But movies this brilliant can always be interpreted a number of ways. I have new found respect for this movie now.
Having not watched Akira yet, this was weird as fuck.
+Chris Pontius why did you watch this then you moron? ahahaahahhahaaaha
+AMV Top 50 What so you've watched every film featured on this series? Ahahahaha *you* moron :L
+Chris Pontius I'm with you on this one, all this time I thought Akira was about a guy and his motorcycle running around
it's worth watching, but its such a mind fuck I doubt it'll give you any sort of satisfaction after the first viewing
AMV Top 50
Because these videos can be pretty funny even when you haven't watched the movies yet. And if I like the video, I might consider watching the movie. Like I did after this video.
Great to see them doing some more non-western movies. Japanese story telling in particular has such different conventions and tropes, its really interesting to compare to western storytelling
3:05 - "Which American history books tell me weren't even that bad."
Amazing commentary!
And what about tetsuo's girlfriend everyone forgot her ?
Cen prince de Lapin-tisserie Not me. -Spolier Alert-
I was wondering where the fuck she went. Meanwhile everyone's kind of figuring out the meaning and theme of the movie. I'm guessing Kaori died in the explosion. Or she was crushed by Tetsuo (You kinda do see blood when it's happening). Which, I thought was fucking weird and stupid. Like what was the point of her even being there... We had no insight into her story. It was like she was just some meaningless casualty. No development. Wished they could've done more with her character. Guess that will leave a bitter taste forever. But that's just my opinion.
G lol yeah she died because -Testi- her boyfriend couldn’t control his body due to his powers I assume and crushed her. I watched the sub and he something like “she’s dying she’s dying” “I can hear her voice inside me” so it’s obvious she died or just went with him :)
She a lot soul. Poor girl.
I was rooting for Tetsuo's girlfriend to kind of manipulat Tetsuo into thinking what he's doing is bad. Like she's the one who will give enlightenment to Tetsuo.
She got squanched
The funny thing about that Mango joke is that in Indonesia, they call Mangoes, Mangga...
a lot of southeast asian countries call mangoes mangga
lol that's true, i used to think that manga in term of mangga
portuguese and quite propably other similar languages have that as well, except that it is spelled manga either way
Optamizm Philippines called them Mangga also,it came from i dont know spanish maybe
Hilarious.
Burst out laughing at "6-part mango" and it only got better from there.
These are some good observations, but on one point, I don't think you went quite far enough. Tetsuo's transformation (and other similar transformations in Japanese films) is not just about technology ruining tradition, it's about a fear that too much reliance on technology might make us inhuman. It's surprisingly subtle in this movie, but in others, not so much.
When Western filmmakers try to make movies with the same basic idea, it always seems to instead be that too much reliance on technology will literally destroy humans, as seen in the Terminator films, Wall-E, and of course that great classic of Earth cinema, Maximum Overdrive.
Which, as we know, is not the way the destruction of humanity actually went down - I don't want to spoil the ending of humanity for anyone who didn't see it, but let's just say that the big hair fad of the 1980s came back in the most terrible way possible.
Lol his transformation was due to his body not being enough to withstand the power he had due to him being careless. His power was seeking another host. It has zero to due with any of that nonsense. Actually, you're right. Not only are we too reliant on technology, but we use and abuse it. Which is why it searched for a different host. The more carelessly Tetsuo used the power, the weaker he became. Interesting
"he found the girl named Kay because of the same cloths and haircut"
When he found her they didn't have the same cloths. They all (Ruo, Kay, Kaneda and two others) dressed up in the same uniform in order to get in the building where Tetsuo was held.
P.S. whoever is watching Akira for the first time, do yourself a favor and watch it in original with english subs!
In original with DUBS? Did you mean with Sub(titles)? :)
@@derBene left this comment 4 years ago lol, but yes, subs :) edited, thanks!
Major difference in emotions and everything watching Sub
Tetsuoo!
Kaneda!
+Kwago Nite sasukeee
ICHIGO KUROSAKI!
Luffy!
+CJ Skittlez KAGOME!!!
Please do No Country For Old Men
Yeeees! I second that
Yes
+ Payton Witthar Thirded
Fourth'd.
+Heidi Lengas The floor is up for debate
really appreciated the summary of the parallels between Tetsuo and post-war Japan; I’ve seen the comparison made several times before but this was the first explanation that was simple enough for me to understand
"So he decided to become a giant testicle instead..." Lmao I died
I just kept playing 3:23 over and over and over again. Wow.
*thwack*
+Peusterokos1 ouchies!
Wow, this is an EXCELLENT analysis of Akira! This is probably one of my favorite episodes, the jokes were on point here too.
ghost in the shell!
this!!
+david cortes Yes please!
+david cortes Oh man yes! At least the first movie.
my god, PLEASE
+david cortes There are like, what? 100 different themes and meanings to choose from? Unless you just mean the first film. I suppose that could be covered in, I dunno, 2 hours or so? ;D
Man I'm I glad I saw this. I recently saw Akira a short while back after being aware of its hype for many years. Upon finishing the movie, I was left curious as to "what the hell did I just watch"? Thinking I had wasted my time on something that was just simply well-drawn. Now that I understand it's meaning, I take it in a better point of view.
This was the best Earthling Cinema yet! Would love to see Ghost in the Shell!
Agreed. Would be cool to see some live-action Japanese films as well, a'la Miike, Kurosawa (both), Shinji Tsukamoto, etc.
+jordanowen42
Did you just.. reply.. to yourself?
+FieryWingedAngel someone prolly deleted their comment
Possibly
And now I finally understand this freaking movie. Thank you satire movie review channel
The US history books joke absolutely made this the best earthling cinema I've seen thus far! Love the show, keep up the great work!
Garyx what's space cocaine like? And don't say "it's out of this world" please...
lol
My old friend Jungi was caught of having some. He described it as "passport to next level of existence", and the smell close to like Brittish boiled eggs. (he is stuck in age to compare things to earthling nutrients dunno.)
Tough being illegal only in jupiter, he had many enemies in many places. He is currently is Jupiter's criminal cryostasis n.11. Poor Jungi.
Dat Epic Fish
nice creativity you got there
The fad for space cocaine ended quickly. It seems that it washard to sniff rail in a zero gravity environment. Oh sure, for a while it was fun to chase the little coke balls around the space pods, but the fun ended when it entered to machinery. Due to the cybernetic neuro-cell implants in the space pods, the ships started moving at high speds, but erratically, unable to decide on a as specific goal and stick to it. At the same time, they started spewing volumes of useless information. At this point, the intergalactic federation stepped in and made it illegal. But there was hardly a need. Space crack, which can be consumed much more easily in a zero gravity environment by smoking it in special pipes, had replaced space coke as the next big thing.
Ethan Davidson but what if you own a 'space bullet'? Surely they sell space bullets for your space cocaine...
It never ceases to amaze me how Earthling Cinema can turn my indifferent position on the movies being reviewed into being intrigued. So much so that I'm willing to re-watch some of the movies featured.
Coming back for you first, *Old Boy*!
Thank you so much wisecrack!! I love this channel
That was actually a really accurate synopsis even though it was supposed be merely funny. Great episode.
This episode made way more sense than actually watching the film. Thanks guys!
This video was fantastically done. Bravo!
These never fail to make me smile, thank you.
Would you guys consider doing a TV show? A little Breaking Bad?
Consider it...considered. Something special awaits.
+Wisecrack Do LOST, seriously what else would you do
+Gonçalo Gonçalves i think they would want to do a TV show that had an ending. it's supposed to be a show about aliens analyzing the culture of Earth after its destruction, and seeing as dr. who currently has no end, it'd be a little difficult to do.
+Gonçalo Gonçalves It's unoriginal because, to be all like TV Tropes, Seinfeld is Unfunny. It seems unoriginal because it created a lot of those things, so that when other shows did it, it makes Doctor Who seem uninspired.
+JesterSqueak It can't always be good things like Akira and Breaking Bad. Their best video in my opinion was the mean girls review.
"...which American history books weren't even that bad."
OMG LOL MY FKIN BRAINS OUT
I never miss an episode, Thanks for the wise!!
Awesome video. Thanks!
This one was a particularly good one. They're always great but this one... Bravo.
In Bruges?
I really enjoyed this. Subscribed.
I am so glad you guys did Akira!!! What a pleasant surprise
this is uncanny, I just watched akira a couple days ago
+Samdara L me too, last week, actually. I couldn't believe it when I saw they uploaded this.
Simply put you gotta read the manga to truly understand the movie. I think this movie was iconic by not only being a great anime movie. But by encouraging viewers to read Manga
is there only one book or there’s multiple? I wanna get it but idk if my wallet will allow it 😭
Wow, usually these things are half thoughtful and mostly tongue in cheek, but this was actually REALLY thoughtful! I feel like I actually learned something!
I loved Akira, but by the second half I was very lost story wise. This video TOTALLY helped me out in understanding the movie!!!
The animation was undeniably groundbreaking but the story is much better told and give more justice if they put this into series.
It seems like studio Sunrise is going to produce an Akira series, we just have to wait for new announcements about it
You guys should do spirited away
+Coco Nichole yes
Holy crap, I never thought of the movie in any of those deep ways. Well done!
Maaaan... that is... really amazing point of view. Thanks for it!
I got my own thoughts about the movie, but... they're hard to describe out of my mind.
FINALLY I CAN UNDERSTAND AKIRA!!
Stalker, Amadeus, or Dr. Strangelove. I love your videos! Keep up alein cinema it's perfect!
Excellent video! Make more like this!!
OMG yes I've been waiting for this XD
Dude.. Read the Manga.. This only covered one half of the Manga.
That's Sparky Sweets, Phd's job :)
Earthling *Cinema*
I think the mangas didn't survive the earth destruction... only the movie copies...
Shut uuuuup.
The Movie barely covered 10% of the actual events in the Manga since the plot is so different.
I personally think that Akira is one of the cases where the Anime is better then the Manga, most of the stuff that got cut out was pretty boring.
The movie did a great job using the Mangas elements to create something more compact and interesting that fits into movie format.
I mean, the Great Tokyo Empire is probably the biggets part that got cut out and every character there was almost as boring as the military subplot, this manager guy didn't even have a name and akira did absolutely nothing after fucking up the city 3 seconds after beign introduced.
this analysis let me down. it doesn't pick up on the spiritual concepts In Akira.. higher levels of consciousness, psychic powers, tapping into infinite energy of we are made, becoming one with reality, etc. at the end Akira saves Tetsuo and brings him to his level of consciousness.
thats more the manga. the movie barely scratches depth of six volumes of akira.
Jeff Adrian Coquilla
That is likely true, however the movie must do a decent job of getting into these themes as I have never read the manga and I picked up on all of that.
Really brought up stuff about Akira I had never considered before.
So glad you chose this movie
Please, Do an Earthling Cinema on No Country For Old Men.
Could you please do Requiem for a Dream?
It's one of my favorite films
I love these so much.
Equal amounts insightful and funny! Pretty neat!
Please do a ghibli movie next, like Howl's Moving Castle or Spirited Away!
What about Ghost in the Shell now? Or Princess Mononoke, or Perfect Blue...
thank you for the in depth analysis
This is actually one of the cleverest EC's I think you have made... Brilliant :)
Great episode. Please do *Ninja Scroll*.
lololol "6 part mango"
That analysis was awesome!
Such a wonderful show, one of this channels best
Please do No Country For Old Men.
+Wisecrack You guys are doing a great job on Books and Movies. Have you thought about doing the other two mass culture industries? ie TV shows and music?
TV shows in particular would let you do multiple episodes on a single topic, so you wouldn't run the risk of exhausting all the most popular content.... like what is kinda happening with Thug Notes
Yeah, both TV and music are on the horizon. Sounds like you totally "get" what we're trying to do. Thanks for the support, Aaron.
Hey, thanks to you guys. You're my favourite channel on youtube.
Glad to hear that music and TV are on the horizon. Let me then be first of thousands to say THE WIRE hahaha
You have earned yourself a subscriber.
I love your sense of humor, Bro
He pronounces Japanese names more accurately than English ones, fucking hilarious.
Will Ferrous it's reasonable, as fast as you learn it it's easier to read from the text what it sounds like.
You should examine the movie Drive!
this video helped me understand the movie. I just recently saw AKIRA and was left like "huh?". great video!
I've never seen this, but I am going to very soon.
Thanks, Wisecrack!
my coment appears there xD! im so happy for some rason!!!!!!
Next, you must tackle Synechdoche, New York
I happened to click on this because I was looking up AKIRA scenes. Came for AKIRA, stayed for the eyebrows. What you said is so true and funny. I'll subscribe and check out more of your work.
Amazing thanx to this Akira makes more sense to me and I perceive it even as a more beautiful piece of anime than before!
Yes what is the hidden meaning behind me? Akira is my name, Duhn duhn DUHNNN.
Hey Akira
Wanna hang out ?
No
@@asclepia088 your loss
Seven Samurai, I just thought about that and I ran to my computer just to say it
+WhiteTuxMafiaAndFilms Pretty much most of Kurosawa's jidaigeki films.
i wanna see them try Ozu
This is the best analysis of Akira I have ever seen.
I have watched this video like 15 times already. I need more!
Please do Leon The Professional.
The Fifth Element would also be fun to see.
Both please!! lol
Do Princess Mononoke next?
YES! I ASKED FOR THIS!
That is a surprisingly cogent and insightful analysis.
eraserhead
That would be like a half hour long
*My hero academia*
holy shit I saw my comment in there I'm so happy
Dude that was awesome ..loved the video .I read akira the manga and watched the movie and didn't really understand the ending of both mediums #I was young. But the context,hidden meanings ,symbolism that you mentioned just made me realise how awesome it is....thank you man,you just made my day. (-_-)
Well I've never seen your videos before, but you have a direct line to my funny bone. thank you
Full Metal jacket please.
Could we get some Mad Max for Earthling Cinema?
That was great!
This is awesome. You had me at 6 part mango.