![akira_by_chuchuan-d4o2gcx[1].jpg](https://i.imgur.com/vCESN3y.jpg "akira_by_chuchuan-d4o2gcx[1].jpg")
I just finished watching 'Akira' after hearing so much about it for so many years. Why is it considered a masterpiece? It was hardly that good, it was actually pretty shit. Its a non-sensical "edgy philosophy" story with whatever plot it has held together by tonnes of violence and shitty animation. Why is it considered such a great masterpiece?
>>63822876
the ending is original in the film, the manga is supposed to be better.
>>63822876
>Why is it considered such a great masterpiece?
You not going to understand one way or another considering your current attitude after watching but when it was release animated movies didn't have mature content and weren't so beautiful animated and detailed. Even if you don't like the plot, which got butchered down to what you saw from a six volumes set each with three hundred pages manga, it was an amazing technical achievement.
>>63822876
>It was hardly that good, it was actually pretty shit.
I thought that as well but something really hooked me up in that film. Really like the Colonel, childrens and psychic Kei at the end.
that's anime for you
>>63822876
the music and the visuals are still god tier but the plot is kind of confusing.
Invest in the manga man, you won't regret it.
it's shit OP, I agree as well.
>>63822876
It's considered good for the animation.
The story is nothing impressive, the manga is actually better for that.
>>63822876
I'm in your boat, OP. I recently watched Akira for the first time after hearing about it for all those years. I agree it just seemed to me like some edgy 2-deep-4-u nonsense with the ending. I have a similar opinion on End of Evangelion, which I saw for the first time lately. I didn't watch the anime, but even so, the ending came off as convoluted and confusing just for the sake of being so. That said, I'm watching and waiting for the remake series, Rebuild of Evangelion, which seems pretty entertaining thus far - hopefully they don't go in the same direction with that ending.
It does my head in when writers pull a trippy, existential ending out of their asses instead of a proper resolution.
>"Just come up with any old shit and the 'fans' will interpret our ending for us. No need to think too hard. Lots of colours and Space Oddity bullshit and we'll be rich in no time."
>>63822876
correct opinions: great visuals and sountrack, chopped up plot and >kaneedaaaa, tetsuooo, but based colonel and good pacing
if you take these facts and conclude that its overall shit, then I can't help but feel that its because of your attitude/expectations going into the movie.
I M O ofc f a m
TEEETSSSUUUOOOOOOOOOOOOO
>>63822876
It looks kinda good, but that's pretty much it. Story wise they've butchered the manga for the 2 hour format. They've should have gone crazy and made two films at 3-4 hours per film.
Of all the anime movies I've seen I consider it the best. Anime just doesn't work well in the movie format imo.
>I watch movies decades later without understanding the influence they had
I bet you hated Apocalypse Now too
>>63822876
>Why is it considered a masterpiece
It's aesthetic design and execution is Blade Runner-tier. That's probably the main thing. Compared to stuff coming out today it still looks incredibly impressive, so to a 1988 audience it would have been mindblowing.
>edgy philosophy
It's a movie not philosophy. Learn to kino, and by that I mean I don't think you understand how to look for depth in a film.
>plot
The plot is fairly flimsy at times but I still think it's interesting, even if it gets very nonsensical at times.
>shitty animation
Watch more animation.
>why a masterpiece?
It had a significant cultural impact not only in Japan but also across the rest of the world and it's also one of the most technically impressive animated features ever made.
>>63824455
>Anime doesn't work well in the movie format imo
I bet you have lots of opinions and each one is incredibly valuable.
>>63822876
Because at the time most anime people were familiar with was shit like Speed Racer and Kimba The White Lion. It showed western audiences that Japanese anime could look good and not be 100% asinine shit, with more adult themes. It led to more anime getting dubbed and shipped to the west and generating a cult following, eventually making stuff like Sailor Moon and Dragon Ball Z popular and raising a generation of weebs that paved the way for even more anime to reach western audiences.
Honestly it's okay. The art is great, but the story suffers from being taken from the comic.
>>63822876
>>63823186
ridiculous underage viewers haven't learnt how to not take everything seriously
the violence is well drawn and the "philosophy" is just a fun trope that makes it feel like an epic action film
>>63825648
>"philosophy" is just a fun trope
>>63822876
I used to love to talk about how I love it. But I am tired today.
People say it's nostalgia. And I have seen some other anime from its time and realized Akira's themes were common place back then
I have also listened to enough world music, read enough science fictions, watched enough good animations
It's still good minus the hype
>>63825800
yes
>>63822876
The film is considered a masterpiece mostly because the art direction, animation, and subject matter were groundbreaking at the time.
The manga is the actual masterpiece. The film is basically an abridged version of the first two volumes of the manga with a tacked-on ending.
The bulk of the manga doesn't even happen until -after- Akira shows up and destroys Japan, resulting in frantic chaos as psychic cults, bandit gangs, and foreign military forces converge on the ruins of Japan.
>>63822910
>>63823008
>>63823045
>>63823079
>>63824424
>>63824455
>>63825645
>>63826130
manga is for weaboos
>>63822876
good film
>>63826248
If you say so.
>>63822876
I agree with others that Akira is remembered as a visual masterpiece, but the plot is meh. Despite its age, Akira is still visually impressive by today's standards.
There's a video on youtube, something lke "why akita is great" or something like that. It explains the work required to make Akira.
For example, there's a scene in the film where two characters are just walking in Neo Tokyo talking exposition. Despite being a throw-away scene, the background has like seven unique layers scrolling past the screen. The background layer all the way in the back is EXTREMELY detailed, despite the fact it is mostly obscured and probably not even noticed by rhe viewer.
Akira also has historical significance because it was the first anime where animators tried to make faces show emotion dynamically, instead of just a static face and no facial "enunciation".
>shitty animation
The animation is literally the only thing Akira has going for it.
What's your favorite OST track?
Battle against the clown master race reporting in
>edgy philosophy
I don't think that's what the movie is about. The movie allows the characters to have their own ideas.
>>63822876
>watches anime
>reads magna
only geeks and virgins like this shit. Anime is fucking lame
>>63822876
The plots all over the place but the animation still puts films released today to shame . Those opening shots of Neo Tokyo have never been surpassed
read the manga years before watching the movie, cuts a whole lotta stuff out of the story. Animation was nice though.
>>63826856
tetsuo's theme is god tier
>>63826687
>>63822876
video in question
Why Akira matters
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BBAJdtPVnZc
CANADAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
Plot is shit. Typical Japanese garbage. Animation was generally garbage.
The cityscapes were the only thing worth noting. And half the time that was ruined by character animation.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sl_mg2w95D0
How can you look at animation of that quality and not appreciate it? Art style is not the same as animation. Did you by any chance watch the dub? Because imo, some dubbed anime tends to come off as edgy and hammy because a lot of mannerisms and ways of speaking lines and addressing each other just doesn't work that well in english.
Akira was one the west's first exposures to 'adult' anime with consistent, detailed and fluid animation. The likes of it had never been seen before.
>>63822876
>shitty animation
this proves you literally don't know what you're talking about. Akira's animation is objectively good, and only someone completely ignorant of what good animation looks like could say otherwise.
>>63822876
>i dont get it ergo it's shit
hurrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr mad
>>63822876
It's like a millenial kid asking why Nirvana is considered a great band when it sounds like any other regular band we have today.
That is because before Nirvana, the only rock the world ever knew were shitty sounding synthetic rock. Nirvana changed all that, and for that reason, Nirvana is a "historically significant" band, in other words, great.
So, if there is something that a lot of people consider great or a masterpiece, and you don't understand why, 9 times out of 10, you just don't know the history.
Why is 2001 A Space Odyssey considered great, when a lot of modern films have better visuals and CGI? Answer: because it's historically significant.
It's a mistake to judge a film, especially an old film, by today's standard, in a vacuum. You have to consider the culture, the history, the society during the time, the context.
Why was the Fischer-Spassky chess championship match the greatest chess match of all time, even though there are better matches out there? Because of the historical and social context. During that time, Russia and USA were mortal enemies, it was the height of the Cold War, and coincidentally, Fischer was an American, Spassky was Russian. They're not just playing chess, it wasn't just a championship game, it's a battle of ideologies.
tl;dr,
You have to consider the historical, social, culutral, and contextual aspects of a film when judging it.
>>63828286
It's not. The cityscapes as said >>63828226 here is good because they used a specific technique to film it.
After it was drawn.
Character animation was choppy as fuck. Their kenisics were all fucked up (typical jap lack of understanding human locomotion)
>>63828395
shut up fag
>>63828431
Great argument. I'm convinced I am wrong.
Fucking retarded weebs.
>>63828311
>You have to consider the historical, social, culutral, and contextual aspects of a film when judging it.
is this why /tv/ insists movies made before 1970 are ever good and not failed parodies of narrative?
>>63828395
you realize that there's more to animation than whether it's smooth and choppy, right? "choppy" animation usually actually has deliberate choices hidden in which frames that are shown, which accentuate movement. Some studios run on less frames to save money, but often there's stylistic advantage to it.
And guess what? This is how all great animators animated their films (except maybe Richard Williams). Then Disney (or whatever other studio) would send in slave-monkeys to draw the rest of the frames, the "in-betweens".
So while it's initially satisfying to see a ton of frames, it has no signification on the actual quality of the animation itself, and usually is done just to appease dumbasses like you who don't understand how animation works.
You're wrong on the character animation too, but there's no easy way to debate that on a text forum like this so I'm just gonna leave that as a disagreement.
It's about the cycle of civilization and is especially relevant to Japan because
>strained wartorn empire
>nuclear eradication of two cities, defeat
>intense period rebuilding and becoming one of the most financially, culturally and technologically well-off countries in Asia
>decline and decadence
implied new collapse and renewal
>>63828602
It's also why during /tv/ go nuts when there are leaked photos (even low-res photos) of celebrities' pussies and breasts, like Jennifer Lawrence, when there are literally hundreds of better-looking females on /s/ complete with hi-res photos.
Why do you fap to or get better boner when looking at celebreties' boobs, ass, and feet, even though there are way more 100x better-looking boobs, ass, and feet of other super hot (but non-celeb) girls?
Answer: unknow women have no context. you don't know their personalities, you don't know their voices, etc. But celebrities have context, you know them. It's better to see and fap to the sagging tits of your friend's mother or your teacher, than to 10/10 perfect tits of a supermodel you don't know.
>>63822876
Agreed, it's overrated trash. GitS is much better in every regard.
>>63828679
>it's not shit animation, it's the style! no they were trying to save money! but probably it's the style!
I'm sure you are an expert on animation. My pleb brain really can't understand the artists intend with its 2deep4u style of choppiness.
>>63822876
>shitty animation
You can argue the story isnt that great but how fucking dare you call the animation anything bad
![[CBM]_Neon_Genesis_Evangelion_-_17_-_The_Fourth_Qualified_Individual_[720p]_[3A30C456].mkv_snapshot_16.32_[2015.12.16_13.37.22].jpg](https://i.imgur.com/zRdU4G0.jpg "[CBM]_Neon_Genesis_Evangelion_-_17_-_The_Fourth_Qualified_Individual_[720p]_[3A30C456].mkv_snapshot_16.32_[2015.12.16_13.37.22].jpg")
>>63828806
This
It's really funny how /tv/ fails to interpret even the most obvious meanings and metaphores
On the topic of anime, it's like when people claim that the biblical references are only in NGE because they look cool.
>but Anno said so
The artist who never liked the publicity, hated the anime fanbase, and didn't feel like explaining his most personal artistic expression for idiots may have misdirected the meanings of his work for those who never gave the effort of understanding them
>>63829045
Cool. Yeah, real great animation.
>>63829086
The plot was quite obvious. It's typical jap shit. sage.
Akira is without a doubt the most overhyped piece of shit Japan has ever produced. It's soulless empty trash, marketed at unemployed Neets who want to see society break down rather than get a job and integrate.
>>63828935
i'm not bullshitting you. fluidity is the last thing I consider when judging whether animation is good or not. More often than not, having evenly distributed frames actually harms the animation, since it fails to emphasize any particular moments within a character's arc. The characters end up looking floaty as a result.
And even then, Akira is a hell of a lot slicker than most anime. Your standards are WAY too high if you think that it doesn't look good because it really is some of the best ever made.
>>63829154
>thread full of i-dont-get-it posters
>obvious, sage
>>63829154
that looks pretty cool bro. thanks for showing an example of good animation.
also, were you asleep during tetsuo's transformation? literally nothing can top it in detail.
>>63829086
Yeah I personally thought all the Christian imagery (which wasn't even the main part, there was a lot more gnostic, kabalaah and eastern shit that all worked together) was really effective at conveying certain ideas and concepts.
>>63829086
too add on, he was addressing children. basically a hand-wave for stuff they wouldn't understand
>>63829154
A looping gif from tumblr is never going to have astonishing animation
or is your complaint that they were even able to make a looping gif in the first place
>>63829154
This really does show you don't know what you're talking about. The example you posted has several things going for it that give away it's part of a high budget animation. First off, it's literally less than a second long. There are at least 5 different layers of animation going on in that second. The background is moving independently from the road, both character's hair and the girl's shirt is being moved by the wind, they could easily have kept the motorcycle static, but instead chose to add the added detail of the front components shaking. The lines of the road are on a new layer, adding to the effect of speed. Even the shadow, in this short span of second, is moving slightly in every frame.
>muh manga
The movie stands on its own nerds.
>>63824104
LEAVE ME ALONE
>>63829154
>One second gif loop of characters driving in a straight forwards line with several animated components is a valid example of 'shit' animation.
akira is still in fact the most technically accomplished animation of all time
>>63829197
This is insultingly bad bait, you should be ashamed of yourself.
>>63829814
>akira is still in fact the most technically accomplished animation of all time
I like Akira, but I'm fairly sure this only applies to Fantasia
>>63829905
fantasia isn't even on the level of pinnochio
>>63829953
>>63829905
shiiiiit, probably is pinocchio. literally the citizen kane of animation in every ways possible. but both akira and fantasia are runner-ups for sure.
>edgy 2-deep-4-u nonsense
>a non-sensical "edgy philosophy"
Is there an easier way to spot a guy that is insecure over not being as smart, thus he calls anything stupid to seem smart?
>>63828935
>My pleb brain really can't understand the artists intend with its 2deep4u style of choppiness.
That's actually true though. Not even a weeb here but you probably know very little about animation if you can't figure this out.
what the fuck is up with Japanese and "giant baby/fetus" monsters? so many fucking videogames and other manga/anime have some "ultimate power form" resembling a fetus or something.
did Akira start this?
does it represent something? Did Japan being nuked lead to a zeitgeist of gen X'ers feeling like "new life" was evil or something? Or that the ultimate expression of uncontrolled power paradoxically resembles raw, unformed life?
its probably the only good chink cartoon movie desu
>>63830702
radiation babies, i dunno
>>63830702
Never thought of it.. name one besides Bleach though thats the most obvious.
>>63831300
akira, final monster is a giant fetus blob
Berserk theres a fetus monster chasing guts
Battle angel alita manga, theres a big monster robot whose inner form is a baby fetus
multiple video games, mainly japanese Shmups, have the final boss as a floating brain/baby/fetus
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/FetusTerrible
>>63830702
Because it's creepy?
>>63822876
Kill yourself you a fucking faggot.
>>63826586
lmao why is he wearing ballerina slippers
weebs are fucking faggots
>>63831300
just searching "giant fetus monster" gives another
https://youtu.be/oSfyxWviRB4?t=624
>>63824515
>Steamboat Whiley in Vietnam
>good
Ayy
>>63822876
>watching it when it came out
>watching it 27 years later
>"bawww why does it not hold up to my moeshit!?"
It is okay if you can't handle it. Just post on /a/ next time. They'll love you.
>>63823186
>watching End of Evangelion without watching the OG show first and expecting to understand it
>watching Rebuild instead
>>63824515
>"Ghost in the Shell is so boring, it looks like every other cyberpunk movie out there"
>>63831492
The one in Alita you're probably thinking of is Makaku and he's a cyborg maggot.
>>63828395
This has to be b8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BBAJdtPVnZc
>>63822876
>calling Akira edgy
I don't think you're old enough to be on this board, sonny.
>>63832288
>Akira matters as a film because it's retarded Japanese drawfags put a retarded amount of effort into a background drawing that the audience doesn't even see
Is this satire?
>>63832008
Akira is just flashy shit with no substance, kill yourself
>>63831672
>ballerina slippers
its normal for people in japanese culture to wear slippers.
>>63826248
>>>/tumblr/
>>63831672
they're gucci
>>63832384
>film puts in little effort into animation/art = labelled as trash
>film puts in immense effort into animation/art = labelled as trash
The guy in the video is saying its important from a visual perspective, not a narrative perspective. He's just talking about the cells and shit, calm down
>>63831672
>>63832288
>no name guy on youtube
>meme reaction image
Jesus you kids aren't even able to form your own opinion and can only regurgitate youtube links.
>>63832486
Yeah, like anyone on this board would be willing to have an actual conversation about anything. Fuck off back to /lit/ with your "superior to thou" attitude
>>63822876
>Why is it considered a masterpiece?
Cuz it looks good, and the manga is a masterpiece.
>shitty animation.
kill yourself tbqh familia
>>63832474
>important from a visual perspective
>can't even see a quarter of the image
His contradicting argument is pointless and says absolutely nothing about the quality of the film
>>63832122
Why would someone watch all that bullshit 90s filler when they can just watch some HD non-stop plot advancement?
>>63832288
Surely the most noteworthy thing in the scene is how they animated the side of the building to match the perspective of the scene, there's a scene when the gang all leave the police station that does a similar thing. It's simple 1-point perspective, sure, but it's more impressive than a background painting. There are studios they outsource to who do nothing but background paintings...
>>63832486
If you can't recognize 24 frame pr second detailed hand-drawn animation as good, you're fucking retarded or a child. Akira has some of the best.
>>63832122
>like CONGRATULATIONS over anything else
>>63832947
Which means nothing. Go to bed kid.
>>63832996
>Animation
>Means nothing in an animated movie.
This is worst bait.
>>63833058
So kid?
We already said that Akira is only noteworthy for the animation, you are not saying anything new.
Fuck off now.
>>63832947
Frame count doesn't mean anything in terms of the skill of the animator. It doesn't make the animation more "good".
Having every discussion whittle down to arguments about framecounts is tiring me out. It's not a CG realtime CG rendering, it's not whatever your videogame of the month is.
A ton of the animation in Akira is on twos anyway. That's 12fps.
>>63826586
Cool image
>>63833139
>this is considered good
>>63829154
>hair, clothing, mechanical parts, debris, even the fucking shadow all animated
>modern shows with giant budgets literally have a cgi model shrinking or enlarging depending on if it's coming or going
When faggots criticize akira's and the other GOATs animation I wonder if they come from an alternate universe of godlike animators where this stuff is actually subpar
>>63829447
*tips fedora*
>>63833139
This discussion is completely retarded.
What is good animation to you? Is it when things are consistently proportionate and realistic? Fluid and in constant movement? Detailed?
I find it hard to believe anyone can look at something like Akira and seriously claim it isn't well animated.
>>63828311
Fucking hell this.
Akira was a watershed moment for cyberpunk film, and for science fiction in general. Aesthetically and thematically it has influenced everyone from the Wachowskis to Neil Blomkamp, not to mention the lingering effects it had on manga/anime.
It's also a visionary masterpiece, and Otomo made some of the most prescient predictions about what life in 2010's cities would actually look like.
Just to name a few...
>Gleaming towers looming over slums? Check.
>Brewing social unrest amongst a swelling lower class with no jobs and no future?
Check.
>Corrupt, out of touch politicians accomplishing nothing amid their constant squabbling while society falls apart at the seams?
Check.
>Public works projects meant as a distraction from the baseline state of sociological discord embroiled in corruption and cost overruns?
Check.
>Vibrant commercial city centers filled with luxury shops getting overrun by rioters, gangs, and the growing homeless population?
Check.
>Hybrid electric sports cars/motorcycles?
Check.
>Directed-energy weapons?
Check.
I challenge you to find a sci-fi writer who had a better feel on the pulse of society and where it was headed. It's like the man could read the future.
So to me, people bitching about how unoriginal Akira is are just like people who complain about Seven Samurai being nothing but tropes.
>>63833766
I'm not even claiming it's badly animated, Akira is great, I'm just saying the metrics by which people are saying it's "well animated" are misplaced.
Good animation is in the detail for effects animation, in the acting for character animation, in the spacing and timing for both, the expressiveness is important, the designs, the storyboarding, the clarity. All of that is so much more important than the number of frames. But numbers are all you autists are able to ascribe a solid value to, so you go on and on about it being 24fps even when it's only like that in parts. The number of keyframes is far more noteworthy than the number of frames overall.
>>63834060
>le japanese are better than everyone else meme
>>63823186
>expecting to appreciate EoE without watching the show first
you might find
>>>/a/
more suitable to your tastes, they love pleb shit there just like you
>>63834239
Samefag here, saying that's horseshit.
Most manga/anime is derivative garbage.
But I'm also willing to recognize talent and give credit where it's due.
>>63834060
>I challenge you to find a sci-fi writer who had a better feel on the pulse of society and where it was headed. It's like the man could read the future.
Ever heard about William Gibson?
>>63834060
You forgot the schools that are nothing more than underfunded mindnumbing day cares
