Friendship
He's not your friend, he's ours! If somebody's gonna kill him, it should be us!
- Kaneda to Col. Shikishima, Akira (1988)
The importance of friendship and camaraderie is emphasized quite a bit in Akira, in both the manga and the movie. All members of The Capsules have a strong bond, presumably after dealing with years of neglect and being labeled as worthless scum together. After Tetsuo leaves The Capsules to pursue leadership in their rival gang, The Clowns, Yamagata, Kaneda, and the others are furious. They hunt him down with the full intention of killing him since Tetsuo betrayed them and even killed some of their fellow gang mates. It is this betrayal, as well as the death of Yamagata (in both versions), that leads Kaneda to hunt Tetsuo down. Betraying your friends is the ultimate crime in Kaneda's eyes. The last few pages of the manga pay testament to The Capsules' fellowship, showing Kaneda, Kei, and Kai riding through a regenerating Neo-Tokyo while visions of the deceased Yamagata and Tetsuo ride beside them: their friendship is eternal, transcending even death.
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Power of Youth
Aaand, this is the result:
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"Their youth is their greatest weapon..." Otomo also values the power of youth. Most of the adults, and even authority figures in general, are portrayed as corrupt and drunk with power. The notable exception is Colonel Shikishima, though even he stages a coup d'état in the movie. They automatically treat the teenage cast as ignorant miscreants, focusing attention on the restless youth so their own malicious activities go unnoticed. Though most of Akira's characters are actually delinquents, Otomo makes it clear that they are only so because they were molded to be by all authority figures in their life. Kaneda and Tetsuo, orphaned and sent to neglectful foster homes (at least in Tetsuo's case), never had a chance. Seeing their reform school in the movie, where Kaneda, Yamagata, Kai, and the other students are slapped and punched to the point where they are covered with bruises and vomiting blood, it is not hard to understand why these characters are so driven to rebel. Even the terrorist characters, Kei, Ryu, and the other members of the resistance organization, commit their crimes in response to Neo-Tokyo's corrupt leadership. These themes comprise a majority of the first half of the film, and tend to be what people remember of it. That aspect of the source material was certainly not lost.
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Loss of Humanity
In both halves of the Akira manga and in the anime movie, themes about humanity and what makes a person lose their humanity are frequently explored. The general consensus seems to be that power turns people figuratively and sometimes literally, into monsters. The most obvious example is Tetsuo, who goes psychotic after government experimentation leads him to develop psychic powers. Though the circumstances of his mutation are different in the movie and manga, this moral is conveyed in a literal, slightly traumatizing manner as he swells into a fleshy mass of misery and destruction. Again, the Colonel is a refreshing exception to this theme; though in direct opposition to the protagonists, he maintains his humanity by working toward its common good. In the manga, he even ends up working with the protagonists, his former enemies, to stop the destruction of Neo-Tokyo.
The destruction of civilization brings out more animalistic qualities of the citizens of Neo-Tokyo in the second half of the manga, something that the movie was unable to explore. Kei and Chiyoko are repeatedly attacked by groups of men with the intention of rape, a certainly "uncivilized" behavior. The Colonel is also disappointed to see that most of his former subordinates are among these types in The Great Tokyo Empire. The interesting part is that one of the Colonel's men hiding out in the Empire aid him after recognizing his former commander. The message conveyed in this scene is hopeful: though destruction is a dehumanizing force, people can be reminded of their humanity and return to their former selves.
The destruction of civilization brings out more animalistic qualities of the citizens of Neo-Tokyo in the second half of the manga, something that the movie was unable to explore. Kei and Chiyoko are repeatedly attacked by groups of men with the intention of rape, a certainly "uncivilized" behavior. The Colonel is also disappointed to see that most of his former subordinates are among these types in The Great Tokyo Empire. The interesting part is that one of the Colonel's men hiding out in the Empire aid him after recognizing his former commander. The message conveyed in this scene is hopeful: though destruction is a dehumanizing force, people can be reminded of their humanity and return to their former selves.
Emergence of Heroism
Though destruction reveals that many live in the shadows, it also reveals those who truly stand in the light. The heroes of Akira are gang members, drug addicts, terrorists, delinquents of all sorts. In the real world, one can be quick to rule these types off as "the bad guys." However, when Akira destroys Neo-Tokyo, they are the ones retaining their humanity. With the military and police force no longer existant, all of the former authority figures retreat to The Great Tokyo Empire where they commit crimes worse than those they used to punish. In contrast, the protagonists rise to the occasion and work for the greater good, revealing their heroism. The movie is less obvious about this theme, but it is still there: simply by making Kaneda the main character and developing his arc, the film does a perfectly adequate job of illustrating the emergence of heroism.
Man Creates a God in His Absence
This is also something that is barely touched upon in the movie, and is easily overshadowed by much more prominent themes. In the manga, citizens of Neo-Tokyo flock to Akira and Tetsuo after the city's destruction and worship them as Gods. To these people, psionic waves and telekinesis are not science, but miracles. Before Akira destroyed the city, psychics were viewed as monsters to be avoided. But in times of distress,such as a post-apocalyptic environment, people need something to put their hope into. Even if they put their hope into an empty child and a perverted, psychotic fifteen-year old.