AKIRA & the Masochism of Katsuhiro Otomo
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- Опубликовано: 7 фев 2025
- 30 years ago Akira debuted to a world that wasn't ready for it. Three decades later and it's still as important - and as fun - as it ever was. In this video I take a look at the creation of Akira, the legacy it left behind, and the madman responsible for it all: Katsuhiro Otomo.
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Featuring the work of:
Awaken Akira: www.awakenakir...
Ash Thorp: altcinc.com/
Zaoeyo: zaoeyo.com/
Synthspiria: synthspiria.ba...
Mechanized Dystopia by Speed Machine: speedmachine83...
I Am Tetsuo by neon shudder: neonshudder.ba...
Seigyo no Sakkaku by Gregorio Franco: gregoriofranco...
Dark Side of the Road by Carbon Killer: carbonkiller.b...
Flycruisor by Aerds: aerds.bandcamp...
Neo Tokyo's Theme by ACIDULÉ: acidule.bandca...
K&K (Lovers in the Light) by Bwana: www.residentad...
Self Driving by Patrick Henaghan: discobible.com
Akira VHS Remix by Tachyons+ : • AKIRA VHS REMIX
Special Thanks:
Joe Yang - Pause & Select : / @pauseandselect
"Back when the 2020 Tokyo Olympics felt like an impossible future."
It still feels like an impossible future.
After the year 2020 has been so far, I legit would not be surprised if a giant miscoloured blob of screaming flesh grew beyond its ability to control its power and threatened the very existence of the world.
Lol, I watched this video in 2018 now watching again in 2020 as it came to my feed.
Sir, it will take 30 years before this is fully appreciated on the West. Otomo: Ok, print
2020 Tokyo Olympics is still impossible.
was just looking to see if anyone else from the future (2020) was going to leave this comment.....
I had no idea there were so many _motorcycle slide away from camera_ homages.
Neat.
Some are in kiddie fare, too! It's what the animators can do to further amuse themselves; throw in Easter Eggs liberally.
@@firsttimer2254
Yeah. It's neat to consider the creators when paying close attention to their work.
I'm conditioned to recognize the Wilhelm and Howie Screams. I smile every time I hear them
Dave Marx where's Ready Player One?
@@ghnunes
Haven't seen it. Is there one in there?
Can't blame the guy for not including *every* instance.
@@davemarx7856 Of course we can! :) The movie is a must see, specially if you are an anime, game, movies, all-things nerd.
I am Japanese. when i was 11 years old kid, I found that Akira had being played in the movie theater through the documentary of making of Akira. I remember that I feel something special of Akira, so I asked my mom i wanna go and watch this movie. that was shocker!! i was kid then, I don't understand this movie at all, but music, graphics, slangs, charactors and incidents in the movie was just so so cool. it's been 30 years since then, this movie is still my best one.
Wow! I wish I had been able to see it in the theatre, that sounds amazing.
And 32 yrs later, it still is.
AKIRA changed my life. Funny story, I spent 30 years trying to find a song from the soundtrack. It was the song that played when the boys were hanging out in the mall with the girls talking about Tetsuo and Kay and her crew set off the bomb. It was the only song missing from the soundtrack. Anyway just over a year ago and maybe my 5th trip to Tokyo I met a girl. Her English wasn’t great and I don’t speak much Japanese but we went on a date in Shinjuku. I fell in love with this girl and as we are having a beer and some izakaya style food I asked the universe for a sign. Was she the one? Should I do something about this... that song played. I grabbed my phone and Shazamed it. I got the song! And that was the sign. We are now engaged. Anyway if you made it this far I hope you enjoyed the tale. I love love love AKIRA
What's the song called?
WHAT'S THE SONG?!?!
FUCK YOU! WHAT'S THE SONG?!
lmao
WE NEED TO KNOW THE NAME OF THE SONG!
Along with Ghost in the Shell, Perfect Blue, Princess Mononoke.....Akira is and always will be one of the greatest archives in animation PERIOD, I fucking adore every frame of this movie.
Just wrote my top favourite movies lol
Those titles are definitely accessible as well as popular overseas! Add maybe a dozen more, and you have the majority of my intake and the extent of my fandom.
my favorites in this bish...............also Nausicaa and EoE
Princess Mononoke is a tad bit overrated in my opinion, I think Nausicaää was a more impressive milestone for Hayao.
Adding Evangelion for the "little before 2000 classic" and Death Note for the "post 2000 classic"
This was a great video.
Was?
@@toblit6784 yes
@@BobbyDukeArts alrighty I say it is a great video
Indeed, and it's so cool seeing you here lol.
Bobby i of all places i didnt expect seeing you here
My dad made me watch this when I was 6 and my mom freaked out about it. But this movie literally changed my life. I hold it close and dear to my heart to this day.
This film is an essential for musicians, filmmakers and visual artists. And few movies this influential exist. It can’t be stressed enough how important it is for people to watch this in their lifetime. Great video. Keep it the quality work man
Edit: 2 years later I’m just now seeing all the replies, everyone who did seems super cool. Thank you all for the likes
Woah! 6 seems a bit young... at 9, 12 maybe, if not 16?
Haha. Amazing. my dad made me watch it when i was 8 as well and it blew my mind even back then and even though i had no idea what was going on half the time i was captivated by the animation and has stayed close to my heart too. its become a bit of an obsession.
Makes me feel better for edumacating my kids by showing them Metropolis (the Fritz Lang version) at about the same ages, maybe a bit older (but before 10, anyway). They still remind me of it, 25 years later, so I think it worked, I still remember seeing clips from Metropolis at the same age; it's become a family tradition.
The sound design in that movie is awful, though. Completely throws you right out of the action when lots of things that should make sounds don't.
Hahaha I watched it when I was 10. But then it was a few yrs after its released date. Lol don't think my mom knew what she rented at the time 😂😂😂
“Akira demanded to be heard”. That sums it up perfectly 💯
You got that right
"And the world never stopped listening"
This video would deserve a thousand likes per view
Stunning editing!
Indeed, it deserves that.
Pairing AKIRA and Berserk is like pairing ice cream and pie. Their very philosophical statements acting are a perfect pair. Each of them a testament to the fact that manga is a compelling an art style as common literature.
what would be gunnm in that equation? a rich decorated cake?
@@tja9212forest cake?
Otomo was only in his early 30's when making this masterpiece.
He's made some brilliant work since Akira - "Cannon Fodder" comes to mind as one of the most visually unique animations I've seen, and one of the most effective depictions of totalitarianism since Orwell's 1984.
But I can't help wondering how making one's masterpiece so young would effect him later on. I remember reading in an interview that Otomo felt living in the shadow of Akira hasn't been good for him mentally, and while he's grateful for the success Akira achieved, he has little interest in returning to the world of Neo-Tokyo.
Definitely, understandable that he might not want to return to the grind of being a manga-ka, but still kind of baffling that someone so visionary never really had a proper follow up to AKIRA (I remember Steamboy just being kinda boring).
as someone who readily indulges in Otomo's other works i can see how living in the shadow of Akira takes a toll on him. he's incredibly talented, but his talent is constantly overshadowed by his own work which is over 30 years old now. he is not known that well outside of japan, and even there he is still kind of underground.
shooot I'm subbed to you, love your stuff man :)
30s aren't young
@@KhayJayArt Yes, they are!..
The degradation in body and mind expected in senility are still a long ways away, and many retain much of the strength and energy of years gone by. By someone's thirties they should have benefitted from having had more experience than someone in their teens or twenties, as well.
The period may be thought of as a 'peak': The immaturity of youth has been outgrown, and the effects of aging still to come. This will vary hugely, and is dependent on individual traits, circumstances, and lifestyle choices of course!
For Mr. Otomo to have completed his masterpiece relatively early in his career, the OP argues, it casts a shadow on what remains to be done.
I still remember seeing this at a friend's house when I was probably about 10 years old. I had already been a big Dragon Ball fan at that time but Akira just absolutely blew me away with the amazing grandeur of the Neo-Tokyo setting. I still watch it about every 3 to 5 years and it still gives me chills.
Once again, aces. However, for the first time in my entire history of watching RUclips videos, I wish your film was longer! Whilst many others ceaselessly blather on, you practice a measured and deliberate economy of words here that informs the audience yet at the same time invites them to go and see for themselves. This very well could have been turned into an utterly enjoyable long form documentary, but instead you gave us a masterfully crafted peek inside to anime's watershed moment in reaching a global audience. As always, I look forward to everything you release. Cheers!
Thank you so much for this comment :) it made my day.
I hope he does more on Akira. Robotech/Macross was my first glimpse into anime as a kid, but Akira and Ghost in the Shell made me understand what the medium could do
'91. My wife and i, married just a few months, visited a friend for a movie night. When we arrived, he handed out tabs and put on Akira. My life was never the same.
-yo the editing for that intro was actually awesome...-
actually all the editing for this video was awesome... not that ur other videos are bad but this video just looked... better...
ToasterCat it was on point
Yeah, he actually had a credible opinion in this video.
I really liked the flow of it, cool.
It's probably the cyberpunk music
whoa, the dynamics of this episode are crazy. I love it so much, it felt like you were experimenting a little more. I DIG IT!
Having shown Akira to lot's of people who don't watch anime or even cartoons, I can say that it still holds up. The response I get almost unilaterally consists of amazement that "cartoons" can look so good and surprise that they can be so adult in their storytelling content.
After 3 watches over the years, the intro is still freaking exiting at every re-watch. Editing masterpiece!
Damn my one weakness: literally any video essay about Akira.
"Dad, how did the universe begin?"
"Once upon a time, there are two motorcycle gangs..."
Holy crap, that bike slide edit - so, so good. Well done on this one (and all the others too tbh :D )
I"m just 21 yo and AKIRA is my very first manga I read but I was a child and the books belonged to my uncle. Far as I can remember I always loved the story even if I understood it after few readings. I watched the anime 2 years ago and it was amazing, I prefer this type of graphics than those of today.
The dystopian future of... next year 😐
I know right, however I'd love it if something changed and 2019 became the future we expected
I hope I be a psychic
@@SHIRO3301
Humanity's future will either be a degrading sycle of war on this one planet
Or
Become a zero waste society and take to the stars.
(Wtf? Sycle? ... cycle)
@@lordjeff6894
I hope I become a computer.
@@davemarx7856 why
This video deserves way more views. Great video bro keep it coming!!
Your first 50 seconds of this video summarizes exactly how I felt as a kid watching Akira. Up to that point it had all been saturday morning cartoons, GI Joe and Transformers. Akira totally blew me away. As you said, it was on a VHS bootleg copy one of my elementary school friends had :)
Hey man this was well done. I’m 40 years old and a long time Akira fan. You did this work justice.
wow!!!!! this was probably the most noticeably well edited video i've seen! the spinning akira transparency layover thing? the separate layers of the incredible detail in the manga popping up? pairing the timing of the music with the images onscreen with an unobtrusive voiceover?? amazing. really great work! i look forward to seeing more of your work!
Thank you :) I put a lot of time into these elements so Im really pleased when they're noticed! Thanks for the lovely comment.
My anime class collectively voted to watch Akira as our movie of choice. I was thinking it would be just a boring movie about a thug kid, and wondered why the whole class was getting hyped over an 80s animation like this. I couldn't have been more misled! It was so good. It left me feeling so empty when I finished it. It's truly something I didn't expect at all and everything in it just leaves you feeling something super cathartic yet questioning the future with a sense of uneasiness, if that makes sense. Plus, the animation wasn't choppy at all like I was thinking it would be. The fact that it was all done by hand just makes me appreciate the work so much more. Katsuhiro Otomo is a mad genius!
I have no idea how they hand drew all these scenes
Asses glued to a chair and desk. With the lamp on and passion too, I bet! 😂
By hand 😅
We didn’t ALWAYS have com buyers 🤦🏽♂️
OMG, people had actually to WORK to fulfill their goals, unimaginable !!! 😉
Lots and lots of references, model designs both 2D parallel views and 3D mock ups on scale, photos, Perspective grids, etc.. This is the same material that goes through the making of certain comics/manga. Computer graphics where used in the making of this film for some scenes backgrounds and effects too.
Holy moly, the intro editing made my eyes watery. what a introduction for this absolut brilliant masterpiece. Love your video!
That opening song 😍 for my ears. Thanks for the links!
nice synthwave music there :3
and of course the editing is great
@BrandoTendie ayyyyyyy waddup. never gon be active in the anigayminaysh again?
sup flug
I never thought things could ever get any better until I came upon the bike slide scene... you got us nostalgic for a minute there friend, and for that you earned a slow clap, a like, a share and a minute stand out of respect to your work and the legendary AKIRA that changed the world of anime forever indeed.
Absolutely amazing!!!...the effect this movie had on me as a child and still does to this day is just completely overwhelming!!!...great job man
Akira was the second anime movie i watched, after Spirited Away, i grew up loving art, and am currently majoring in illustration/sequential art, my parents knew i loved this shit so they got me Akira and i'd watch it in the car as a wee lad but i never really payed attention because i was always distracted by my game-boy and what-not, I've re-watched the film now dozens of times, and read the manga through. This, Cowboy Bebop, and Ghost in the Shell are my biggest inspirations, i know it's really far fetched, but i hope to create something similar one day, to at least hear the phrase "this kind of reminds me of Akira!" my life will pretty much be complete lol. Amazing video and amazing editing! Liked and subbed
this video is so much underrated, easily one of the best videos on youtube. Great job.
I saw this in a movie theater back in the day. The insane experience I will never forget.
Ash Thorp's Akira tribute is one of the best fan recreations ever made. So short, but so perfectly and meticulously capturing the feeling that Akira creates.
I was happily surprised when I walked past a construction site in Sibuya a year ago and saw that they had printed Kaneda on his bike on the wall to the site. This spring they had printed more frames from the manga there. You can see it on google maps.
Saw that on my own trip in April.
Coordinates? If its not any trouble.
About 35°39'43.77"N 139°41'57.35"O
Photos of it here for anyone who wants to see -> facebook.com/dedo.officiel/photos/pcb.10156676693896773/10156676693576773/?type=3&theater and beckyjewellart.com/blog/tag/tetsuo
How is this NOT in the millions in the viewcount?! This is absolutely wonderful, isntantly subscribed!!!!
1:00 - 1:30 That was beautiful. This is such a great video. You got yourself a new sub
The bike slide montage gave me chills. Thanks for the experience
Amazing how they did true 24 fps with an animation. I always loved the "feel" of the movie as a kid, but couldn't put my finger on it until now. The smoothness and detail, its amazing. Sad how 2d animation rarely met that level after the movie.
It's a high water mark, for sure!
parts of it are "on ones" (24fps), but its a mix of that and traditional 12fps animation.
Akira is a particular case, it costed a fortune at the time(it was in fact the most expensive animation movie ever made in Japan), they gave a lot of freedom to Otomo and kinda flopped in his home country(like another animation masterpiece of that time, Angel's Egg). Since then, with few exceptions, no one has produced a 2 hour long movie that used 24fps that much, nowadays the approach is to use 24fps animation only when is really required(action scenes, particular important scenes, scenes in which the suddle change of expressions is essential) and go as low as 7-6 fps for the scenes that feature simple talking or non-important movements. Which is smart imo, keeps costs lower and reduces the burden on key animators and in-betweeners.
Your intro sequence is SO well done. Just WOW!
Akira is the movie that turned me on to anime. I had only a few bucks for a weekends entertainment so down to the local blockbuster I went. When the latest release I wanted to see was all checked out, I started perusing the aisle and I came to the foreign film section and there was Akira with a must see recommendation by Siskel and Ebert. Good times.
"Akira demanded to be heard; and the world, has never stopped listening"... So well put..Kudos.
KANEDA!!!
StageLined great...here comes the inevitable back and forth shout.
Eh, what the hell... TETSUO!!!
KANEDA!!!
TETSUO!!!!!!
Ka...ne...da!!!!
@@tdugong tetSUUOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
What a great video. Your presentation made me shed a tear in awe for this piece of art. Kudos to you!
1:15 that is god tier editing man. Great!!!
My goodness! Each video you gets more rich and complex. I am so thrilled I found you. Thank you for all your hard work.
Epic is not only the word needed to describe Akira. Your editing leaves me speechless *tipfedora*
Jesus man this video is insanely well made. This video essay is on an entirely new level. Akira is one of my favorite animated films of all time and your insight on it's cultural impacts heighten my appreciation for it. Also, your voice is incredible, please keep creating.
The only time 'watching this in 2019!' is relevant..
And Blade Runner.
Lovely presentation. Masochism is a strange way to describe the pursuit of excellence.
I rewatched the Director's Cut last night, and wow it still amazes me, it is truly the GOAT.
Bro is there an actual director's cut or are you talking about the extras
That was one amazing anime.
This Video is a total masterpiece, i watch it once a week JUST FOR THE VIBE. Youre a Genius dude
Akira and Ninja scroll were my first introduction into japanimation in the early 90's.
ME TOO 😍❤️🇪🇸👍👍
I'm absolutely mindblown by the quality of your work.
One other factor that drove anime into the mainstream, was when Streamline Pictures (one of my friends, Fred Patten, now deceased, formed it with Robotech's Carl Macek) released Akira in theaters. They were one of the earliest anime import and dub companies that really pulled it in.
Fred Patten formerly ran the C/FO (Cartoon/Fantasy Organization), a multi state/multi city anime club, back in the 1980s, that also attracted early anime fandom, with bootleg copies of anime, we'd all sit around and just soak in that old school anime goodness. As such, that's where I first caught Akira.
BRO Im a huge AKIRA fan and let me tell you this is the best video ESSAY I have watch about akira because of the soundtrack and the coherent structure of your arguments really a master piece. Thanks for this bro.
There's nothing like Akira, even today 2019.
I thought your editing was already top notch a few videos back but this blew me away. You rule!
i was just finished watching it before watching this, this is such a great video man, the wording and everyhing, so damn good!!!
Bloody hell this editing was a pleasure to watch! From the scenes timed to the beat @1:57 to the bike slide homages. I tip my hat to you good sir. That was an easy subscribe.
I’m actually mad that I’ve put off watching this video for as long as I did... I loved everything second of it.
This is so carefully crafted, I love this episode a lot.
"and a city who's structural integrity is out to get him" - haha so good!
OMG, dude, thank you so much for your music compilation at the end. Your videos are great and you have masterful editing skills, but I really appreciate you going the distance and promoting the music, because I was wanting every single track as I was listening on.
I love how you ended it. It's a movie that "demanded to be heard."
In a way, the prediction of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics still holds true because the event was also cancelled/delayed before they could occur in real life
Beautiful video once again, love it ;)
I love the way you edited the bike skidding scene. It is amazingly done and I have to pay respect to that.
There better be Kaneda bikes next year
There is only one motorcycle produced to mimic the style.. check out honda's NM4. Hella sweet looking, but it's automatic. A cool thing about the bike's dash lights can change colors depending on the riding mode your in, ie. sport-red, other riding modes=different colors. Some fabrication work and I'm sure you can get it really close.
there is another one called the "stingray" made by a small company in japan. can't really find much information about it tho.
If you want one, steal one yourself!
jesus u deserve so much more subscribers and merits than that ... The work you put into your vids is so crazy...
I'm rly enjoying all of your work, we need more people like you ! :D
Keep it up !
Love
Well I subbed. This was fantastic
Akira's 35th anniversary collectors manga is Amazing. You should all buy it
Every time I see this movie, especially the 2001 digitally-remastered, English re-dub of the film, I always see something new that I haven't seen before. The attention to detail of this movie is INSANE, even after watching the movie over and over again for nearly 25 years. Nice video.
How do you do it joe each and every one of your videos leave me in shock and with a smile on my face
Thanks Lou, glad you liked it :D
it's not the essay we deserve, but it's the essay akira deserves.
thank you for that masterpiece of a youtube essay, wonderful intro and bridges, which also let the viewer >feel< the imagedriven narrative of otomo.
i didn't know he painted 25 frames, i wasn't even aware of disneys number.
how many pictures are the ghibli ones?
i appreciate your content very much. thanks for all your work, and thanks all of your supporters and friends.
We’re finally getting a 4k release of this, as well as another adaption this time as a series rather than a movie.
Mate... Your editing on this is just fantastic.
Very nice video! I still have my original VHS version.
I still prefer the VHS version to the DVD/BLU-RAY
Yea for me the dvd had new audio, that i really didn't like, but the 25th Anniversary Edition got that original audio :)
This is brilliant. You brilliantly created this video. Thanks.
I love this movie and have owned it in various formats over the years (now inc. bluray).
It sparked my love of Anime which continues to this day.
An early OAV worth a mention is Cyber City ~ Oedo 808 (1990~91).
Worth checking out if you haven't seen this trilogy of Sci-fi Anime Gold.
It's nice to meet another fan of Yoshiaki Kawajiri's work. I like Cyber City Oedo 808 as well, but I'm sad that there was never an official conclusion to the franchise.
As you say it's a shame it was never completed, but I've seen it's ideas included in many Anime films and series since.
Another favourite from that time is Roujin Z OAV (1991).
Very funny and futuristic for its time.
I know of Roujin Z, but have never seen it.
awesome work - thanks 🙏
"Anime was about to E.X.P.L.O.D.E."
Damn right.
Who else is psyched for 2019 and the Tokyo Olympics?
Fantastic piece. Summed it up beautifully. In an age where content is just pumped out at rapid pace just to turn a profit, AKIRA's legacy becomes even more special.
In truth many shots in Akira feature a very clever combination of frame rates, often based on where the eye will first be drawn.
You'll have your main subject in 24fps (but also often in 12fps) then with less central elements in the plate running at sometimes as little as 6 or 4fps, depending on the complexity of their motion.
Helping to smooth all this out however, all optical camera moves and mechanical motion of both animated elements and still plates across the frame are always performed in 24fps, adding to the terrific illusion of fluid motion throughout.
Think of it as optimisation of resources, similar to what a video game chooses to render in high or low detail based on where the player is and what's in their field of view.
thank god I wasnt the only one who heard that and was like wtf, I was like there has to be another animator here who was like yeah that's wrong?
This is common practice for most anime films even now
This movie changed my life as a teenager and is still epic!!! Great edit!
This is the only animated Japanese film where the backgrounds blend so well and feel part of it, as nice as the backgrounds are in Ghibli stuff, it is so apparent they are water colour backdrops, in Akira it's the most homogeneous presentation ever. In that respect, nothing beats this film, and I don't believe anything will.
It's impressive how you're always bettering yourself after every single video. Well done Joe!
My friend was named Akira after this movie.
Hopefully your friend is not named “Asa Akira”...LOL 🤦♂️😳😅
Wow, Wow, Wow!!! Brilliant video essay - well done, mate!
Well done man. you are on your way to 1 mil subs
Wow. Once again, you did it. Amazing work! It gets better with each new release.
God help us if this literally all happens at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo
God? You meant the Idea of Evil ;)
lol
For the first time watching any RUclips video, I go to the end and thought, that's it?! Incredible work, and I seriously need at least another 10 minutes.
AKIRA is the Greatest Anime Movie Ever Made, along with Castle in the Sky!
alot of the other studio ghiibli movies are better then castle in the sky
Chin Chin I know. My Second Favorite is TALES from EARTHSEA, and my Third Favorite is Princess Mononoke! The rest are all great and magical!!
umm, no, Castle in the sky is a great film for what it is. My personal ghibli favorite, others may be "better" but that film has so much charm. Iconic ghibli adventure film.
Schmuck Martin Exactly! It's the first Ghibli film I ever watched, and it changed my view of Anime Films Forever!
Death THunder Studios I completely agree with you! Castle in the Sky is also my favorite anime movie!
I was trying to find the intro song earlier but after watching this video for the (I think) 9th time I realized that your editing and production is absolutely fantastic man
Especially the editing
It feels surreal that 2019 is now.
I never thought the side sliding motor has been cameoed so many times.
You make some incredible video essays my friend (the score for this video was also incredible)