The Anime That Accidentally Inspired Akira
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- Опубликовано: 4 дек 2019
- Harmagedon (1983) or Genma Taisen is an infamous anime movie by Rintaro which may have paved the way for 1988s Akira
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#harmagedon #madhousemonth #akira 
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Madhouse Month Playlist- ruclips.net/p/PLyhSewr7iiMRliPUR6qKRYED0WV7QsMIo
I think tomorrow will be Lensman because I have yet to finish my Barefoot Gen video lol
Further Reading
gonintendo.com/stories/333116-classic-interview-reveals-details-on-the-creation-of-street-fight
www.otakuusamagazine.com/the-vault-of-error-harmagedon/
Comic Book Movies - Virgin Film By David Hughes
books.google.co.uk/books?id=v3vSSClbsrQC&pg=PT1&source=gbs_selected_pages&cad=2#v=onepage&q&f=false
chronotomo.aaandnn.com/1982/01/talk-conversation-with-sogo-ishii.html
www.animenostalgiabomb.com/clamp-x-1999-movie-rintaro-interview-gundam-wing-animerica-may-2000/
ruclips.net/video/nIZZoHF8VmQ/видео.html
really enjoyed hearing you mention Project A-ko, that and Devil Hunter Yoku were two of my fav as a kid.
I Japanese & watched this movie in the theaters. I was in elementary school at the time,
Well ,It was not a silly movie for me .
It was shocking new kind of anime.
And even watching now , still think it’s a great film. Look at the quality. This was in early 80s.
What I was into it back then,
I was going crazy for gundam (1st)
All boys were buying gunpla(plastic model toy)
There were movies after anime ended.
GundamⅢ and This GenmaTaisen were
2 big anime movies for boys and
Genma was a new serious type of anime
for little older people like high school
I felt little scary when I saw it
This was way before NES comes out
Wow thanks for sharing. Your perspective as someone who grew up with it is interesting! But ya, the animation is stunning! I recently was inspired to make an amv from Akira and Gits. I'd be super grateful to hear what you think of it! These are the anime I grew up with! haha ruclips.net/video/Lc2IQ0NS-_s/видео.html
I watch harmageddon on cable tv. On 90s. For me another good movie of 1983 its Crusher Joe
RECHOOSENONE
クラッシャージョー！
Crusher Joe！That’s old school.
Man you have the change to see this movie to theaters,i bet you also saw akira,you are very lucky to born in japan,i cannot imagine back then the arcade scene in japan,best decades ever 80s 90s.
I remember being blown away by the Animation in Akira when it was already a decade old, those were the golden days of anime in my opinion.
Fun Fact Shotaro was an assistant to Tezuka. Which explains why his Manga's art looks so much like his.
Makes a lot of sense
i found out about that since 2011 to 2016
"If theres anything Canada is known for, it's weird splooshy energy and drqgons."
Ight
Kanada the animator not Canada the country to be clear
@@Stevem i refuse to interpret this as anything other than an insult to the great nation of Canada EN GARDE GOOD SIR
genderly confused rainbow dragons
I love Otomo's animation style, its so organic. AKIRA still greatest Anime and Manga for me.
I’m so happy seeing people in the comments begin to check this movie out thanks to your vid, it’s nice to see a positive showcase on it rather than bashing. Great video filled with info it’s a really great movie!
Dude. Otomo and Keith Emerson? How have I never heard of this??? Thank you so much!
Give it a go if it sounds up your alley
@@Stevem It seems uniquely up my alley lol
4:09 That is some oddly satisfying animation.
Very smooth
The VA cast is something else.
Looking back at how many current legends already worked while i wasnt even born is amazing.
Thanks stevem for covering this.
Emerson Lake and Palmer worked for Otomo and Rintaro holy shit
high as a kite while doing it
Harmaggedon was a crazy awesome movie!!! I remember watching back in the Golden Age of Anime. There was a little rental store we used to frequent back in those days and I remember my sister and I picking up movies and Super Nintendo games but it was either two movies or one movie and a game. My mom didn't really care as long as it kept us occupied while she got to go out with friends or whatever. Anyway sometimes we'd get something like Goonies, Gremlins, 3 ninjas etc. But once anime barely started gaining popularity in the West before it being played on tv and Sailor Moon and Dragon Ball etc we would check out the movies on hand mostly because of the movie covers. I miss those days. Not knowing shit about anything and just picking something up because "the cover looked cool." I remember seeing Ninja Scroll, Wicked City, Genocyber, Bubblegum Crisis, Patlabor, Akira, Alita, GitS etc. Harmageddon was one that really stuck out to me because of the stylized look. I really would like to revisit it again in my adulthood and explore some of the themes that I didn't really understand as a kid.
you might find a copy in a bargain bin
@@Stevem Right.
It's on RUclips
@@TheEnigmaticBM39 Cool. 👍
Man that sounds like you're describing my childhood, I used to rent the crap outta all those manga video releases ever since I first saw akira at a buddy's and wanted more, watching genocyber at like 7 years old was kind of a mistake though. I recently found like literally all of those classic rental store anime tapes in a dumpster when some comic book store went out of business, awesome score except that I don't have a working vcr anymore.. :(
Also, if you're old enough to remember arcades from the 80's, you may have seen this movie as a laserdisc game called 'Bega's Battle'.
I was going to say Psychometer Eiji. The psychic genre is actually pretty huge in Japan. It's still somewhat prevalent with Gantz (sort of) and Mob Psycho
yeah i think it was a cultural storm which started in the 80s and kept going in japan where other places it faded out
I think inazuman started this psychic genre in manga/anime
@@iliveinsideyourhouse3943 i think it was babel nisei.
Fun fact: Otomo was a fan of the original manga, which is why he wanted to work on the film.
Some of the key themes are clearly about overcoming prejudice, such as with Luna having to work with Sonny to fight Genma, and a very Osamu Tezuka esque "love all the creatures", presented in a very sincere manner, which although can be seen as a bit cheesy, considering the issues of climate change that we're going through, feels appreciated.
Whats your interpretation of the last shot? For me, I feel that the deer with the eyes glowing is probably a reincarnation of Vega, which would make sense, considering theres a few Shinto and Buddhism references throughout the film.
I remember Otomo mentions in an interview he was a fan of the original manga, if I had to guess it's a reincarnation maybe it's his sister
@@Stevem Could be! Would have been nice if she got more screentime, her death was pretty harsh.
There's definitely some post humanity concepts that probably inspired The Wachowski's too.
I know that the final form of Lavos in Chrono Trigger is based on Vega.
vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/chrono/images/d/d2/Lavos_Core.gif/revision/latest?cb=20100625215810 Here's the image for comparison.
@@Klonoa7H looks similar could well be, so do you think the team told toriyama do something like this or that Toriyama was a fan
@@Stevem Given that it was a big film, maybe Toriyama took some influence.
I'm actually kind of surprised that you didn't mention the original author, who was Shotaro Ishinomori, who created Cyborg 009, so that explains why there's parallels, in regards to both being about psionic beings in post apocalyptic sci fi worlds.
@@Klonoa7H I thought about mentioning it but it just felt a bit thin, like psi(esp) was all the rage in the 80s
Thanks for reconnecting my synapses on this title! My God, I had forgotten this gem (*and the throwback at the end too)
I was introduced to Harmageggon at the age of 7 when they had Bega's Battle laserdisc game at a department store in NYC. I was amazed by the level of detail of the animation, it was basically Galaga with animated backgrounds and cut scenes directly from Harmageddon, great memories, I need to see a blu-ray copy of this movie! Great video mate!
I was going to mention the same thing. I used to be utterly transfixed by the "insert coin" sequence that would play, with these amazingly animated scenes (especially the part that turned gory, where the guy started melting). It was decades before I would find out that not only had I not imagined the entire thing (because no one I talked to remembered ever seeing it), but that it was taken from a feature-length anime.
Man, Emerson Lake and Palmer on the ost, that's straight fetishism for a synth-head.
I'm intrigued in what Pink Floyd soundtrack on the film would feel like.
Take Meddle and sync it up i guess
Thanks a lot. You made me remember what I found so fascinating about AKIRA back in the day when I first saw it: It's level of realism as an Anime. The story and the soundtrack are just a major plus beside the realism of the the animation, character and environment design and prop design.
Harmageddon was based on a Shotaro Ishinomori work called Genma wars.
yes... I show some of the manga in the video, though I don't remember if I showed the book
Shotaro the goat....now I have more stuff of his to look up.
This looks like a Bonsai Pop thumbnail lol
Also I'm currently busy but will get to watching this one!
no worries dude, I don't know If I've watched much of their channel but I think I've seen the thumbs before , although I wasn't thinking of them when i made this
Fun fact: Harmaggeddon was the source used for Bega's Battle an arcade laserdisc game by Data East in the 80's
A fine addition to my collection.
OMG! Thanks for reviewing this---A FORGOTTEN (WEIRD) GEM!
very interesting, and that sure is a handsome looking anime!
you aren't wrong, its got style
Haha that parody of Project A-Ko at the end there is from "Fast Food Freedom Fighters", a most hilarious fan-dub that you can find most of on youtube. Been around for like 20 some odd years.
"I.... am.... Colonel.... Sanders!!!" HAHAHHA
Excellent review.
a manga about psychics that i wish would be turned into an anime movie is 'DOMU a childs dream' anothor otomo creation. its so bloody good. if you havent read it, i highly suggest it. but im dang surprised its never been adapted to this day.
thanks for the video
I think Harmagedon is a play on the word "Harmine" a chemical compound when in its infancy was associated with telepathy, so much so that scientists wanted to call the compound Telepathine instead.
I remember renting this at the local video store back in the 90's. I thought it was a fever-dream
Harmagedon is great! I've been meaning to do a video about it and I think I will finally get around to doing that now that this has been posted.
love your videos keep it up
trying ahahah
thanks i had forgotten what this was named. saw this back when we used to watch stuff like this in dark dens shunned from society
Harmagedon was also adapted into one of the first laserdisc arcade games: Bega's Battle (1983).
Have we tried synching this up to Dark Side of the Moon? Will report back.
I'm sure someone has
Finaly someone talking about this masterpiece !!!!
(Can we have a link for the video with otomo at 4:28 ?)
ruclips.net/video/nIZZoHF8VmQ/видео.html
@@Stevem thank you bro
What year did Otomo and Rintaro have that meeting, or the production of Harmagedon started? The first time Otomo did a manga about psychics, supercomputer and freedom fighters was in 1979 in a oneshot entitled "Fireball", and some of the scenes there (such as enormous energy ball explosion) are almost identical to the scenes in Akira manga, which was released a year before Harmagedon (1983)
So if anything, I think the manga source of Harmagedon was rather the one that influenced Otomo in relation to the psychic boy trope, not the film.
Probs 1980/1981, but this was in production in 1982 at the same time as the manga began maybe even before that(yes before the manga didn't start releasing until december 82). What you are talking about is a one shot which yeah the original Genma taisen would have inspired, however this topic is much bigger than that, I'm talking about how it inspired the anime and the direction akira would take production wise. While akira began in 1982 did Otomo know it would have such a focus on ESP, was the time he spent on harmagedon the catalyst to bring it to the forefront of the story, that's at least in some regard what rintaro is implying that interview, perhaps through talking to otomo he revamped this old idea into a manga which was also obviously inspired by punk film makers like the creator of Burst City too.
More so this video is about how genma affected the anime version but thats a much harder title to shape since you can make a case for both
Domu (1980) is about psychic kids too
Yeah I was wondering about fireball too, which is an obvious precursor to akira.
That robot man reminds me of the 3rd form of Lavos in Chrono Trigger
Someone said lavos third form was based on the design
@@Stevem Ah good then my art senses are working :)
otomo's visual fingerprints can't be understated, but i agree that it's a tough watch. fun fact: back in the early 80's, (i wanna say roughly somewhere btwn 82-83), data east entertainment decided to cash in on the arcade laser disc video game trend, and released a gem called BEGA'S BATTLE. not sure how popular it was, but the arcade i frequented in my childhood, didnt have it around for very long, and it was the only spot that showcased it.
3:41
That sounds like the Smurfs intro theme that was turned into a classical tune with some alterations.
I never knew that harmagedon even existed 😂 big thanks to you
most don't to be fair
This was one of the first anime films I ever saw, and it has a special place in my heart despite any flaws.
It can be cheesy and awkward at times but then so can Cyborg 009 and really most things from the 60s. The hate for it is absolutely ridiculous, especially since most will tell you it has horrible animation.
👍
DOWNLORD
ruclips.net/video/TcfFR8l-qU0/видео.html
X電車で行こう
ruclips.net/video/IySZmRuvZm0/видео.html
Well Akira is probably top 5 anime movies for and now I'm gonna have to watch this
Yeah I'm getting recommend this on my home page 3 years later ha
Akira isn’t top 5 Lol
I can't help but feel this movie and Godmars,the winner of the Anime Grand Prix back in 1982 was the start of the OVA vibe to it. GodMars was based off of Mars which was written and drawn by Mitsuteru Yokoyama who also gave us Tetsujin 28-go and Giant Robo.
It's really ironic that both Shotaro Ishinomori and Mitsuteru Yokoyama's works are basically the start of the amazing OVA boom now that we think about it. Both Godmars and Harmageddon/Genma Taisen are works that deal with ESP-ers,intergalactic wars against demons,robots that help the main heroes and there's even teamwork and tribulations that came with it.
Did the Clamp girls see this also? Because this is X1999...Those fire Dragons are almost the same 🤩
Those dragons are kaneda and both films are directed by rintaros so I'm guessing it's just kaneda again he's in most rintaro films
@@Stevem yeah, kanada worked on x movie.
Great video
Thank
I started watching this movie and looks good but man, there is something on it that makes me sleep so easy. I wish I remember about it when I'm having issues to sleep in the future
Subbing cause we got the same name. Great vid !
Always loved the soundtrack
9:34 ANIME WORLD ORDER : Greatest anime podcast ever.
Genma wars was awesome
I think I'll check this movie out. I love Keith Emerson and Anime 😎
Rip
really glad to have this suggested to me. your video spends so much time insulting the story, but the visuals look so good. i will watch it and see for myself.
I had this movie on Lazer disc when I was a kid, and I really loved it. I had Urotsukidoji also, and loved it. I also had Akira. I got honored by my city for finishing second at the scholastic chess nationals, and the rest of my chess team were there with me, coaches included,as I was presented an award, and our team got an award for the most improved program, as we were a pretty ghetto school. But I was 13 watering an Urotsukidoji tee shirt with a giant blue demon it and you could just see the top of what was basically his pubic hair. This photo not only hung at my grandmother's, but still hangs up imy old middle school. Lol, I still get a kick out of that, as juvenile as that may be.
Listening to description past 1:30. "Hold on, is this a 40k video?"
Harmeggedon is one of the best anime films of all time. Its cool to hear someone doing a youtube video about this movie. This movie is really undderated and unknown. I think this movie inspired Chrono Trigger for SNES.
To me it inspired the Mother series. Chrono Trigger would make sense for the robot, but I don't see any other connections 🤔
I rented this movie from Blockbuster 3 times. I never made it through without falling asleep.
I have been trying to find the English version of Harmegedon. I found the Japanese version easily, but because I am also blind, subtitles are useless for me. anyone have a clue where I can acquire the English version (DVD preferred)?
I saw it on the syfy network back in the day, not bad from what I remember.
Think you'll do this theme feature thing annually? Doesn't have to be daily. Good stuff.
If I can work it in and have an idea to do, madhouse has been on my mind a long time and I gotta say it's a ton easier than talking about early toei
I'm interested in Harmagedon now it looks awesome
The music is Toccata and Fugue by JS. Bach.
Is there a place where I can (legally) stream this? The quality in the video looks very clean but I don't see a blu-ray release for sale anywhere. The animation alone has me very interested in watching it.
this is from a Bluray Japanese Rip, unfortunately it hasn't been picked up to my knowledge like i said in America this was not well liked and here in the UK we get what we are given so I havent seen anything
Gotta torrent for this one. Maybe Discotek will grab it one day, they love their old school stuff.
@@Klonoa7H discotek doesn't release in UK :( and they REGION LOCK it all
But I could see that happening after Rintaro passes unfortunately that's how it goes these days
The plot description sounds like Ghidorah the three-headed Monster
Sometimes looking good is all I ask of something I'm watching.. this movie *looks* great o.o
Never knew of this until now, will certainly check it out.
Also, this film can easily be Mob Psycho 100's grandfather.
the animation looks sick .
Seen this year's ago and its actually pretty good.
What is the parody called that's mentioned at 10:40?
Good vid
cheers
I may have to watch this.
Another very good mention: Barefoot Gen (1983)
No
@@marcbasil Why No? Please explain.
it LOOKS amazing
I want to see this! What is the name? Where can I find it?
My first anime 🤖
wow still watching too I take it
You bet, I have the original dub on DVD and it gets played. :)
02:12 Jotaro, is that you?
SO cool!
"It looks too realistic."
What's the problem? I've seen realistic looking anime from this era before.
*sees manga*
Well, this is a huge departure.
This is true, but also Otomo's style was pretty niche in the early 80s still that kind of anime had not caught on yet
2:07 .... Reminds me ALOT of Angels Egg... Which was released in '85, so if this was made in the 60's it might have inspired both... hmmm
I love the term "ambicious nonsense"
Can't tell if you are describing an anime or an Alex Jones rant.
y'know im sure alex jones would love Harmagedon
is this the anime with a character esque Gary Coleman in skates. havent seen it in 30 years. good anime.
You're thinking of Demon City Shinjuku, if the skates were motorized. It was a little guy with a Spanish accent.
Aren't you thinking of paranoia agent?
@@fuzzydunlop1753 paranoia agent isn't 30 years old. Demon City Shinjuku is. The character in question is named "Chibi", at least in the English dub they used to show on Sci Fi Channel. Skated around with his hands in his pockets, and his skates sounded like RC cars.
does anyone knows an old anime in whitch the protagonist shout himself in the head with a gun????? i think it was inside a volcano.
i saw it when i was little so i only have that escene in my head, kinda, i would deeply apreciate if someone helpme with that, thanks.
Wat, Harmageddon is great, man.....!!!!!D
You didn't even mention one of the most cosmic (android) love stories ever created.....!!!P
I just saw a thumbnail below for a vid about how Rangu is a masterpiece and made me miss 3 minutes of this video.
Saw Harmageddon years ago.
Anyone here knows which 80s anime featured an abandoned huge robot on the dark side of the moon (I think it was called Dallos) and a revolution of lunar colonies against their earthly oppressors? I can't find it for the life of me!
Funnily enough I found a anniversary edition copy outside of Japan. XD
Think it is a bit of a misleading title, it is clear from reading Akira manga and the film that no one film or source had influence on Katsuhiro Otomo. IT definitely will have had some influence, and the Chun Li thing is fascinating to hear about. I definitely going to try and watch this film LUL
What..?
I wish I can read the book... The manga, not the novel.
For one thing, it's made by Ishinomori Shotaro. As a fan of Cyborg 009, Kamen Rider, and his other tokusatsu heroes it's a must read.
Also I like how he drew his manga; many of them are so out of this world I wish contemporary manga so what he did more.
Who is the character at 1:44?
Was there ever another English dub? Like what they did with Akira to try and improve the quality of the script and voice acting.
That thing around @2:30 looks like the Lavos core alien from Chrono Trigger... cdn.wikimg.net/en/strategywiki/images/1/15/Chrono_Trigger_Lavos_core.png
This movie sounds awesome
i need to watch this
gogogo
🔥
Wow . thanks
Crazy times