Yamagata's Death
Yamagata is Kaneda's right hand man in his biker gang, The Capsules. He is so cool, he wears a ripped sweatshirt over a ripped T-shirt. His death by the hands of Tetsuo is the catalyst for Kaneda's character arc, as in both versions of the story he vows to kill Tetsuo for turning against his friends. Yamagata's death, as well as its impact, is different between the film and the manga.
In the movie, Yamagata is killed by Tetsuo after he and Kaisuke walk into the bar, their usual hangout, and discover that Tetsuo killed the bartender. Tetsuo is seen crouching shadily in a corner with a handful of drugs in his hand; upon seeing this, Yamagata says he looks like "a crackhead" and asks, "Are you really Tetsuo, or someone else?" Tetsuo then smiles sinisterly, and the scene cuts. The purpose of the scene is to reveal that Tetsuo is going full-on crazy, is addicted to the drugs that keep his powers under control, and that he does not care about his friends anymore. Later in the movie, Kai tells Kaneda about Yamagata's death, so Kaneda proclaims that he's going to "Give Yamagata his wheels back," and crashes his bike into a wall. The scene is touching, but does not leave as much of an impact as in the manga. The manga version of Yamagata's death is executed with more emotion. After Tetsuo goes insane upon developing psychic powers in Volume 1, he forces his way into leadership of The Clowns, rivals of The Capsules. Tetsuo, always living in Kaneda's shadow, desparately craves power and leadership, even if it means betraying his friends. When The Capsules discover Tetsuo's betrayal and insanity, they engage their rivals in a bike fight and corner Tetsuo at an abandoned warehouse. Yamagata proclaims that Tetsuo has "Gone too far," and Tetsuo slams him to the ground with a wave of psionic energy. Kaneda arrives to Yamagata's aid and points a gun at Tetsuo, but can't pull the trigger due to their past friendship. Tetsuo then explodes Yamagata's brain right in front of Kaneda, leaving Kaneda, always in control, helpless with his friend's corpse in his arms. The death of Yamagata is made far more intimate and personal by placing Kaneda at the scene. |
Tetsuo's Mutation
The reason the Esper children are wrinkled is because of the drugs they must take to keep their power from going out of control. In the manga, Tetsuo goes cold turkey on the drugs so his power can reach its full potential. However, there are unforeseen consequences: his power becomes so strong that is starts to escape the confines of his body, altering his shape. These periods of mutation occur in spurts, happening a few times in the latter part of the manga. In the movie adaptation, Tetsuo's mutation is the climax. The progression leading to this extreme occurrence is not shown, and the phenomenon goes relatively unexplained, so the scene appears more random and surreal than it should. A scene that should incite sympathy for Tetsuo instead alienates the audience, and that is a major problem.
The corresponding clip can be found to the right; skip to 4:45. |
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THE WHOLE SECOND HALF OF THE STORY
Content covered in the animated movie originates from volumes one, two and six, only about half of the manga. Halfway into the manga, at the end of volume 3, Akira destroys Neo-Tokyo and the characters have to struggle in a more post-apocalyptic setting, rather than a cyberpunk one. But the movie's namesake is not an actual character; instead, he is dead the whole time, with his organs cryogenically frozen under the Olympic stadium. In the manga, Akira becomes the emperor of "The Great Tokyo Empire," aided by Tetsuo, and the story begins to discuss themes relating to human behavior in the absence of civilization, and how struggle weeds out the true heroes from the frauds. The second half also goes into more depth about the nature of Akira and the other psychics' power and provides some much needed explanation about the various phenomena previously shown. The truncation of the plot is appropriate due to the 129 minute run time of the movie, but the difference is major and worth discussing, especially since it ultimately detracts from the integrity of the characters and narrative.