Akira - A Retrospective (Part Four)

I am going to do something different this time and add a post to volume 4 even though I haven't fully finished it yet and then, after finishing the volume, I will edit this post, so keep your eyes peeled.

Remember that moment when you first saw The Empire Strikes Back and you felt like the Empire had won? You truly felt like, after watching that film, that there was no hope for the heroes. Well, keep that image in mind for volume four of this story. We open to a devastated Neo-Tokyo, now a water-filled crater with ruins making up the rest of the city. A rescue helicopter is coming in to deliver supplies and medicine to the millions of impoverished citizens left to their own misery inside the city limits. There is no defined timeframe between the destruction unleashed by Akira and the opening of volume four, but it seems to have been months at least. The city is wasteland, populated by the poor, starving, wounded, and sick residents who now cling to whatever will give them hope. In the case of most, this is their new messiah, Akira. The boy sits on a throne and rules without saying a single word, as Tetsuo and other new followers enforce the will of kingdom of Akira. This is a hard place to be as a reader, for we are not 100% certain that Akira is behind this. One would be safer to assume that Tetsuo was pulling the strings, but with Akira, it is difficult to fully understand his motives.

The story moves back and forth between the various characters, showing where they now stand in the story. Kei, Chiyoko, and fellow resistance member Ryu seem to be operating from the shadows, even though Ryu seems to be willing to let himself fall into a drunken oblivion. Kei and Chiyoko also give medicine and aid to the remaining two Espers, who are unconscious and ill following the attack by Akira in the previous volume. Kaneda is missing and his whereabouts are unknown. The Colonel dresses as a nomad and operates on his own. Lady Miyako operates her temple as a refuge for those who do not follow Akira and provides aid to those she can. Operating in Neo-Tokyo are American operatives as well, having snuck in through the outer edges of the city. These operatives seem to be working to gain more information Akira and the current conditions of the city. And finally, the citizens, who are now miserable and destitute; these people operate in a tribal sense, following those who provide aid and support for them. They also use a barter system of goods as the economy has completely crumbled. Outside of Japan, the world has cut off the country as it has gotten word of the Akira project.

With that setting in mind, volume four plays out as an intense chase with the heroes seemingly always on the run, with the villains holding the upper hand at almost all times. Tetsuo is particularly cruel, giving people the pills that activate mental abilities within people, always with mixed results. Some become monstrous mental thugs, and others die instantly. Akira, meanwhile plays with rocks and sleeps, not saying a word. Occasionally he creates a double helix shape with stones, but not much else. Tetsuo also collects women to rape and murder, which is shown at one point, though not shown in a brutal fashion that might disgust readers. At one point Lady Miyako tells Kei and Chiyoko that they need to bring the Espers to her. They begin this process only to be attacked multiple times by Tetsuo's soldiers who are also trying to steal the Espers to bring to Tetsuo. What ensues is brilliance as Chiyoko is shown to be a true hero, and very much in the likeness of many action heroes in film and other media. In fact, I would say that Chiyoko steals the show in this volume demonstrating a level of heroism that many comic book characters could only dream of.

Also, Lady Miyako meets with Tetsuo and explains the history of the Akira Project, much of which turns out to be a truly sad story. As this story unfolds, Miyako explains that Tetsuo needs to stop taking the pills as they are inhibiting his full power levels. Chiyoko, wounded heavily in saving one of the Espers has met up with and is now with the Colonel, while Kei and the Esper she was protecting have made it to Lady Miyako's temple. While making refuge at the temple, Tetsuo's men launch a massive attack, attempting to take the Esper, Kei, and Lady Miyako.While the forces are resisted with heavy casualties on both sides, the temple is eventually destroyed in a violent assault by Tetsuo and his men. Meanwhile, the Colonel and the other Esper are making their way toward the temple when they are also assaulted by Tetsuo's forces. The Colonel, in demonstrating his own level of coolness, unleashes a massive attack from a portable trigger, causing the satellite Sol to blast the attackers into oblivion.

The final piece of the volume is the trickiest to explain as it is very metaphysical and resembles the mental states of Tetsuo and Akira. Tetsuo, finally off the pills he has been taking since volume one, screams aloud and flies into space, not by his own doing (it is hinted that Akira possibly is responsible for this). When there he witnesses meteors and debris forming into the double helix shape and then witnesses his own birth and early childhood. When he sees an early image of Kaneda he screams and is teleported before Akira, who silently stares and then smiles at Tetsuo. The journey that Tetsuo took however, involved a massive level of destruction as a large building emerges from nowhere and falls to the ground. From the rubble, Kaneda emerges, unsure of what has happened. In the final pages we see Akira sitting on his throne, seeming more sure of himself. Bowing contritely before him is Tetsuo, who also seems content.

I know this is a long entry but there is a lot that happens in this volume and thus far it is my favorite for tone, pacing, and character development. The symbolism of Tetsuo's rebirth is critical for understanding the level of power Akira has and knowing that what we have seen of Tetsuo has only been the surface for what is to come. Of course it was also great to see the return of Kaneda at the very end foreshadowing the upcoming and inevitable confrontation between Tetsuo and him. I had mentioned in the previous post that this volume and volume three seem almost two sides of the same coin. I still stand by that. Volume four appears as a much darker version of volume three. Remember in three, Tetsuo was missing the entirety of the story, and in volume four we see Kaneda gone for the same. Anyway, enough rambling....time to get to volume five as things are getting heavy now. Until next time, mate ne!

Akira - A Retrospective (Part Three)

We open volume three some time after the climax of the previous volume. Tetsuo is missing and the city of Neo-Tokyo is now under martial law. Robotic drones patrol the streets in order to maintain control and simultaneously search for the now-missing Akira. In Lady Miyako's temple we are introduced fully to Nezu, a member of the government and member of the resistance movement. Lady Miyako informs him that Akira must be found before the military or worse can get ahold of him. As Lady Miyako distrusts Nezu, she asks a hidden child named Sakaki to move to find Akira first. Sakaki and two other children, with powers similar to the Espers (though on a lower level) are dispatched and move to get Akira before the military and Nezu. From this point the story moves rapidly.

The third volume is primarily a long chase between Kaneda, Kei, and another woman, Chiyoko, as the three work to hide and protect Akira as they are pursued by Nezu's people, the military, and Sakaki. The pace is intense and the battles are exciting. Nezu is revealed to be the weasel that Lady Miyako suspected as he is only interested in harboring Akira's power for himself. Meanwhile, the military is desperate to get Akira back and is using the Espers to hunt him down. In the face of all of this, the military leadership begins to doubt the worries of the Colonel as he seems to be dangerously obsessed with Akira at this point. Kaneda, Kei, and Chiyoko face a number of battles and hurdles in the course of the volume, losing Akira and getting him back at multiple points. Throughout this all, Akira is unconscious, though the Espers warn that soon he will awaken. The chase and battles converge at a late point in the story as the military finally orchestrates a coup on the government of Japan, as they sense urgency at the loss of Akira.

When the sides meet the battle is fierce, as homes are leveled, people are killed (including Sakaki and her two friends), and finally, Akira wakes up. The Espers are overjoyed and seem to hint at a long friendship between the three of them and Akira that had been interrupted. As one of the Espers, Takashi, is speaking to Akira, Nezu takes aim, hoping to kill Akira. He fires and misses, killing Takashi instead. This drives Akira into a rage and his psychic powers erupt in a blast that devastates Neo-Tokyo, leveling much of the city. As the destruction subsides, we have no idea what has become of our heroes; Kaneda, Kei, Chiyoko, the Espers, the Colonel, Lady Miyako...all are left to mystery. In the ensuing silence, we see a shadowy figure emerge and walk toward a small block of concrete in the waters at ground zero where Akira erupted. Sitting on that block is Akira himself, playing with stones as if they were wooden blocks.The shadowy figure is revealed to be Tetsuo, who is smiling down at Akira, who looks up at Tetsuo. With that, volume three ends.

Volume three is a rollercoaster ride compared to the pacing in the first two volumes and reads very quickly. The action is perfect and it leads to the reader cheering even more for Kaneda and Kei. In fact, the reader is so swept in the action that it is very easy to forget about Tetsuo and when he emerges at the end it is like a swift kick to the gut as you remember that he hadn't gone anywhere at all. When I review volume four it will be important to contrast that to this volume as the two are almost two sides of the same coin, like mirror images of the same story. More on that next time. Until then, mata ne!

Akira - A Retrospective (Part Two)

*NOTE: If you haven't read part one, please do so before reading this one. Thanks.

As we left our protagonists at the end of volume one, we were left with a feeling that nothing seemed to be going right for them. The military, led by the seemingly obsessed Colonel, had entered the scene and seized Kaneda and the female resistance member working with him named Kei. The Colonel had also taken Tetsuo as well, who at the end of volume one had exhibited a growing array of telepathic/telekinetic powers. When we begin volume two, we are immersed into the depth and scope of the military's role.

Volume two is essentially told in two settings: 1) The military headquarters, and 2) the Olympic Site, where Akira is held in cryogenic sleep underground. We begin at the headquarters where the children who appeared in volume one reside. These are the children who look like small children and yet have the appearance of senior citizens. These children are known as the Espers. The three of these children have been assigned numbers, branded on the hands and each has a different power and level of power. The Espers are aware of Tetsuo's presence and one of them issues a dire warning that Testuo is dangerous and needed to be stopped if possible. From here the story moves VERY rapidly, like a solid action movie. Kei, being guided by the Espers, is seeking a weapon in the headquarters that can deal with Tetsuo. Kaneda escapes his cell to go with Kei, and the two of them spend much of the first half of the volume searching for first the weapon and then Tetsuo. Tetsuo, in the meantime, becomes quickly bored with the constant testing he is forced to undergo and demands to see the Espers.

When Tetsuo and the Espers meet, the tensions are already high, and the Colonel along with the chief doctor on site are worried about potential conflict. As we see in the story, there is a good cause for concern as Tetsuo and the Espers engage in a battle of mental powers very quickly as Tetsuo learns of Akira and demands to see him. As the Colonel attempts to stop him, he soon learns that Tetsuo is beyond his control. The scenes of Tetsuo effectively crushing the Espers and the Colonel are brilliant and as they are broken up by the scenes of Kei and Kaneda working their way ever closer to Tetsuo. When the sides finally converge, the battle is quick and devastating. Tetsuo escapes by teleporting out of the building while Kei and Kaneda battle their way out against soldiers.

We then shift to the second half of the volume, the battle at the Olympic Site. Tetsuo gains entry by murdering the guards stationed there and begins descending to the underground level where Akira is held. Kei and Kaneda make their way through the sewers to try and intercept; at the same time the Colonel and hordes of soldiers come in through the main entrance to try and stop Tetsuo from descending. What ensues is a massive battle as the lift descends, with Tetsuo making easy work of the soldiers on their hoverbikes. Through the battle it is revealed that Tetsuo and Akira share some link as each time Tetsuo is stressed or in combat, the temperature in the Akira holding chamber increases. When the Colonel realizes this orders his men to stop attacking, which only serves to make Tetsuo's opening of the Akira chamber much easier. as the chamber opens, a massive blast of coolant is released killing many soldiers and the chief doctor almost instantly, and yet Tetsuo is unfazed and continues into the chamber. Inside we see that Akira is also a very small child and he goes with Tetsuo without saying a word, leaving the underground chamber through an opening nearby. The Colonel becomes enraged that Akira has been taken and orders the military super-satellite "Sol" orbiting above, to fire its superlaser on Tetsuo, with the intent to kill. As Akira and Tetsuo exit the underground facility they are soon followed out by Kei and Kaneda. At that moment Sol fires at Tetsuo and the area is obliterated. Tetsuo is enraged but still alive and is fired on again and again, as Akira is knocked away from him. Kei and Kaneda come across the unconscious Akira and Kei notices that Akira's hand also has a number, 28, on it. The volume closes with Tetsuo screaming in pain as he realizes the laser from Sol has taken his left arm.

Again, this volume reads like a great action movie and reveals a great deal about the military's role in the story as well as laying a good foundation for the Espers and Akira. The development of the relationship between Kei and Kaneda is solid and allows readers to truly cheer for someone. While the lines are still not clear, it does become obvious that we are supposed to root for Kaneda and Kei and their mission, even as unclear as it appears to be. The revelation early on of the leader of the resistance movement, Lady Miyako, being a former member of the Espers is ominous and interesting, and Otomo does a good job of only hinting at this, allowing the story to evolve naturally where it needs to. Paced well, and having exciting action scenes, volume two is an excellent follow-up to the first volume. Onward to volume three. See you next week. Mata ne!

Akira - A Retrospective (Part One)

Many American anime fans will recall the movie Akira, released in 1988, as a classic, being among the first to usher in the new era of anime fandom in this country. However, the film was drawn from the manga source material and highly condensed in order to fit six lengthy volumes into a two hour animated film. This means that much of the deeper story was lost in the transition, and while fans clamor over the film, the manga actually has a much more complete and detailed story worth reading. When considering what may have been lost, remember that the film was two hours long (125 minutes) and the manga was a six volume set, with each volume at more than 380 pages (and the final two volumes clocking in at more than 450); obviously something was lost. So for the next six weeks or so, I will be reviewing and discussing the Akira manga series, now twenty years past since the manga was completed. Katsuhiro Otomo's work was a major influence on science fiction, anime, manga, and other forms of entertainment and his masterpiece deserves a thorough reading.

Volume one picks up at a rapid pace, establishing the futuristic Neo-Tokyo setting following a devastating bombing. Very little is said initially and we see a motorcycle gang plowing past warning signs and gates that say keep out. When the gang reaches the bomb site, with the lights and skyscrapers of Neo-Tokyo behind them, we are introduced to our main pair of characters: Kaneda and Tetsuo. Kaneda appears to be the leader of the gang and Tetsuo seems shy and not very confident in how he approaches life in the gang, although he comes across as a confident rider. When the gang is returning to Neo-Tokyo, a ghostly figure in the form of a young boy (though with an old man's appearance) appears and causes Tetsuo to crash. As his friends come to his aid, a group of soldiers comes and they take Tetsuo away, raising Kaneda's suspicions. And thus, our story truly begins.

Volume one focuses on introducing us to the world, the busy streets and neighborhoods of Neo-Tokyo, which seem to co-exist with the downtrodden alleys and slums. Otomo is very conscious of this and takes time to highlight some of these bizarre dualities of technology and poverty. We also see that the military is a powerful and dangerous entity in the story, infused with power, funding, and a shadowy form of control. While we see the military appear as antagonists at times, they never seem to exist outside of that role and in fact, they never seem to be around unless they are attacking Kaneda; and yet, they also seem to have a ever-present existence within society...sort of an everywhere and nowhere presence. We see glimpses of things to come as the various groups and players in the story refer to Akira and yet, the audience gets a single ominous panel of a large domed machine with the name Akira written across it, which lies deep underground and kept in deep-freeze; we also see a group of extremely powerful children who look like old men and women and yet have extremely destructive powers of the mind; we see an obsessed Colonel who seemingly wants to form an army of those with powers; and we see the resistance group and their efforts to free the children from the army's grasp. These seem like grand concepts and feel as such in the story. The reader feels a bit like Kaneda as the story moves forward, trying to grasp onto what exactly is going on and not knowing the full story yet. And amidst these larger concepts exists the gang world inhabited by Kaneda, Tetsuo, and others.

Multiple gangs populate Neo-Tokyo, and all on bikes, which seems like an homage to the gangs that roamed the world of the film Mad Max. They wear particular clothing, and all pursue drugs, violence, and other crimes in the pursuit of a good time. Kaneda's group is no better, and Otomo makes it clear that Kaneda is not a perfect angel by any means. He is the hero, but almost by default. He is more akin to someone like Han Solo than Luke Skywalker. He's likeable but also a jerk that the reader will want to punch at the same time. His friends are similar, and in the early portion of volume one we feel as if he's not very heroic at all. It is isn't until he gets caught up with the resistance group that he begins to exhibit some heroic characteristics. And these become more pronounced when Tetsuo emerges from the military hands as a changed person. Tetsuo is darker and more violent. A more confident and controlled individual, he and Kaneda immediately clash in disagreement. Tetsuo undergoes more testing by the military as he begins to exhibit powers similar to those children seen previously. When Tetsuo escapes by murdering his guards and doctors, he joins a rival biker gang and they begin seizing power within the city from the other gangs. This prompts Kaneda and the other gangs to unite to face Tetsuo and his gang and the first volume closes following a major battle between Kaneda and Tetsuo.

While there are times the first volume moves slowly, it is forgivable as Otomo is simply establishing the story. The characters are interesting and as much criticism as I lay on Kaneda, he does stand out as the hero. Tetsuo is an excellent villain, who can be interpreted as tragic on some levels and then again, not by everyone. The dual nature of the gang world and the grand conflict between the resistance and the military; between Kaneda and Tetsuo; between the riches and splendor of Neo-Tokyo and the reality of the downtrodden; and between the powerful children and the youth who live in the criminal world.....these are elements that work well. They create a rich story and an intricate science fiction world that demands further exploration.

Next week I will tackle volume two. Until then, mata ne!

Hana Yori Dango (花より男子) - Season One

I decided to start with an easy one. Hana Yori Dango is one of the more recent famous J-dramas emerging from Japan. Originally a manga story published in 1992, it has been envisioned in different media and in different countries as well since then. The focus of this post, however, is on the 2005 drama which consisted of 9 total episodes.

A basic explanation of the plot is as follows: a teenage girl, Makino Tsukushi, attends Eitoku Garden, which is a school populated by the extremely wealthy. Makino, unfortunately for her, is not wealthy in the least. Her family is poor, but all of the families money goes to providing her the opportunity to attend Eitoku, regardless of her dislike of the school and its students. At Eitoku is a notorious group of the four absolute wealthiest male students, calling themselves F4; these four roam the school at will and terrorize anyone who crosses them. They bully, intimidate, and punish anyone they dislike, and the school allows this as their families have donated huge sums of money to Eitoku. Needless to say, that strong-willed Makino and F4 eventually cross paths and thus begins the romantic comedy of this story.

In the drama, Makino is played perfectly by Inoue Mao. Her delivery of Makino's character is sharp, effective, and hilarious. While comical (intended so as the story comes from the manga), she also comes off as surprisingly human. Others around her at times appear so cartoonish as to be absurdly funny, such as her father, mother, and brother, and even the fellow students at Eitoku seem one-dimensional; but Makino is believable and this is really her and F4's story, and so you can buy that. F4 is led by Domyoji Tsukasa, played brilliantly by Matsumoto Jun (member of the music group Arashi), and the others include Oguri Shun as Hanazawa Rui; Matsuda Shota as Nishikado Sojiro; and Abe Tsuyoshi as Mimasak Akira. The members of F4 are great in this in that they are terrible and yet, as the story progresses the audience gets to see the human side of these imperfect people. Other notable characters in the story are Domyoji Kaede who is in the running as the most evil of mothers; Makino's entire family; the manager of Makino's workplace; and Domyoji's sister. The characters in this really make it unforgettable and the actors are perfect in their execution of the material. And through all of the insanity and tension, the audience falls in love with the all-too-human and strong-willed Makino.

The settings work as well. The school, Makino's home, Domyoji's home, and the city landscapes offer a contrasting view between the absurdly fantastic world of the wealthy and the real world that Makino lives in. And sometimes those lines blur through the story which provides a canvas for some great humor and drama to come through.

Are there flaws? Sure there are. I find that there are points mid-way through the series when it lags, or reaches improbable points of silliness, but then again it is important to remember that this type of drama, based from manga, is not overly realistic and is typically akin to a comic book being portrayed on the live screen. Again, I feel that this drama is fun, and full of emotion and feeling, not taking itself so seriously as other dramas might. If you can find it online with subtitles give it a watch and you'll probably find the world of Makino and Domyoji as endearing and fun as I did.

Here's a link to the first 9 minutes. It's subtitled, so take a look and see if you like it.

Welcome

I'm glad you are taking the time to look at this blog I've started. I'm a huge fan of Japanese pop culture and there are a number of reviewers out there who look at manga and anime, but I see very few that look at Japanese films, TV, or even music. In light of that fact, this blog will maybe fill that void a bit. Each week I will review a J-Drama series, movie, or aspect of music (sometimes a group or singer, or sometimes a song or complete album). I don't pretend to be an expert, just a fan and this is my way of introducing you to some great and not so great works out of the Japanese pop culture world that move outside of the typical manga and anime box. I hope you enjoy it and look forward to your feedback and comments.