That is a good question, hypothetical reader! “Surely,” I can imagine some readers pondering, “you’d be better off focusing on more recent trends and texts? What good will knowledge about Akira and Japan do me in trying to figure out the context and value of arguments surrounding new, modern cyberpunk textual objects, like Cyberpunk 2077.” In truth, I am not sure if I could reasonably even come close to touching on just the recent manifestations of cyberpunk that have taken off since 2010, so you might be asking why I want to start an exploration on this global aesthetic and political phenomena in … Japan … and through material that covers issues in time set between the 1960s and the 1980s. Second, I want to try and break the story of Akira open and reveal as much as I can about the historical and social influences which make it so meaningful. In light of trying to say something that has not already been said before by the likes of anime/manga scholars such as Lemarre, McCarthy, and Napier, I want to use long form focus piece on Akira to do two things.įirst, I want to try and introduce readers to the cyberpunk influences within Akira. Art by Katsuhiro Otomo from the 2000 Dark Horse release of Akira, Vol.
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