Akira Storyline Analysis and Explanation

First and foremost, the manga is different than the movie due to the movie coming out before the manga was finished. The following explanation will allude to the 1988 film Akira. Let's take a second to explain the backstory of Akira as his story is essential to understand the ending of the film. Akira, a boy, was a young boy originally recruited by the government for Parapsychology is a field of study concerned with the investigation of paranormal and psychic phenomena, which include telepathy, precognition, clairvoyance, psychokinesis, and other paranormal claims. The government project forced Akira to develop powerful psychic abilities. These abilities eventually grew beyond young Akira's control, and on July 16th, he destroyed Old Tokyo in a violent explosion. An explosion the rest of the world mistook for a nuclear detonation. This situational misinterpretation led to a chain of events that grew to what would be known as World War III. After the explosion, Akira was retrieved by scientists. These scientists dissected the boy in hopes of discovering the cause of his sudden psychic growth, but were unable to come to any conclusions. This is why his remains were sealed and cryogenically frozen. The existence of Akira and the aftermath of the original project became an ongoing problem within the upper reaches of Japan's political members. One can only assume that it would be incredibly difficult to hide Akira's almost divine power. This is the reason that the Japanese government worked so hard to keep Akira as one of the most highly guarded state secrets. However, leaks of information allowed Akira to become a messianic figure among cults throughout Neo Tokyo. Minister Nezu, a corrupt politician, views the power of Akira to be an opportunity to gain further political power, which is why he manipulates a dissident group known as the Resistance into freeing the child espers in an attempt to further his own ends. To further explain why Akira is seen as a god, and explain why Tetsuo is mistaken for Akira by the cultists near the end of the film, we must first explore the beginning of the end of the film. The beginning of the end first begins during the altercation between Tetsuo and a member of the clown gang. This encounter leads Tetsuo's direct contact with Takashi, one of the three child espers. This contact is the catalyst that triggers the awakening of his latent psychic abilities, abilities that spark the interest of government scientists and officials who immediately abduct and subjugate Tetsuo to a variety of tests and experiments. During this time, a scene can be found within the film where Dr. Onishi imposes Tetsuo's psychic pattern over that of Akira's. From this scene, it is important to note two things. Tetsuo's pattern is almost an exact match for that of Akira's, and the only difference between the two is that Tetsuo's pattern is the inverse of Akira's pattern, or the opposite of Akira's power. In my personal opinion, the inverse correlation between Akira and Tetsuo's power is explained by the child esper Kyoko. This can be found within the confines of the following line, Big people like you shouldn't have these powers. You see, Takashi, Kyoko, and Masaru are all in fear of Tetsuo, not because of his power, but because of the selfish and adult-like way he wields it. A deeper explanation of Kyoko's aforementioned line and the reasoning behind these sects of people viewing Akira as a god can be found in a conversation that takes place between Kai and Kaneda. Unfortunately, the quote can be hard to understand. Even Kaneda fails to correctly interpret the meaning behind the following lines. What if there was some mistake and the progression went wrong and something like an amoeba were given the power like a human's? Amoebas don't build their own houses and bridges, do they? They just devour all the food around them. From this brief and semi-informative conversation, we can come to some pretty powerful conclusions. If an amoeba or any type of simple bacteria were to gain the power of a man, this bacteria would then appear as a god to its own kind. If the power of a human were to be explained to an amoeba, it would not do as humans do, it would merely harness this new power to better do what an amoeba already does, consume and destroy. Basically, what Kai is saying is If you give the power of a god to a human, they will continue to act upon their set in desires, which alludes to the reason the espers agree that big people shouldn't have these powers, as big people are impure and are already devoted to their ways, unlike with the purity of mind found in a child. Akira and Tetsuo can harness a power of much higher magnitude than the average human. This power is the reason cults revere Akira as a god and mistake Tetsuo's sudden appearance for, what they perceive to be, Akira's much overdue second coming, one that will once more usher in a new world era. Speaking of Tetsuo's sudden appearance, it is time to dive into the last portion of the film. Beginning with Tetsuo's rampage, this destructive rampage can be found near the end of the film and is brought about by his lust for power. Once aware of his existence, the existence of Akira, Tetsuo becomes convinced that he can supplement his desires and control his new abilities only through finding Akira. This violent search only seems to feed into Tetsuo's self delusions and as a consequence leads to the death of countless innocent bystanders. After the aforementioned rampage, Tetsuo is being carried by Kaori within the confines of the Olympic Stadium. During this scene, Kaori asks Tetsuo to explain why everyone is calling him Akira, to which he responds, he never existed in the first place. This shows that Tetsuo has definitively given up on his search for Akira, concluding that he never existed. However, the child espers know the truth. Not only do they have full knowledge of Akira's existence, they know Tetsuo is about to bring upon the return of Akira. During this instance, Tetsuo begins to lose control of his powers. This is illustrated during the point where Kaori points out his metal arm, an arm that begins to cause Tetsuo great pain as its wires expand like sentient vines through the concrete of the stadium. This is when Tetsuo first becomes afraid of his own power. He demands the one thing he loves away from him, telling Kaori to get away out of fear that he might accidentally harm her. Shortly after this, Tetsuo is shot by Colonel Shikishima in the arm. Since Tetsuo's power is no longer inhibited by the drugs, he is unable to contain his power and loses control. Now this is where things really begin to heat up. Tetsuo begins to transform into a massive blob comprised of writhing assorted parts, parts that originate from the wound on his arm. This transformation begins from Tetsuo's arm, because he is acting as a sort of cage containing his power, and when his power springs out of control, it does so by bursting through his weakest point. This is where Tetsuo completely loses control. He envelops Kaori in his mass and inadvertently crushes her. Tetsuo begins to cry out for help, helpless against his own power. Afraid and alone, he takes the form of a baby. It is then that Akira appears and engulfs Tetsuo and Kaneda in an orb of light. During this time, Kaneda rushes into the light attempting to save his friend, despite the warnings from the children. After Kaneda enters the sphere, the Esper children begin to converse, stating that none of this is Kaneda's fault. They decide to go into the sphere of light in an attempt to save him, even though they know that once they are inside, they will never be able to return. Before Kaneda is telepathically warped out of the sphere of light, he notices that Tetsuo's memories can be seen along with glimpses of Akira. The Esper children then assure Kaneda that Akira will take care of Tetsuo as his arrival allowed Tetsuo to come to terms with himself, allowed him to understand his power and the components of himself that he originally did not understand. During this, Kyoko says, because one day, we ought to be able to, exclaiming that it might be possible for the Espers to eventually return to their original universe, while Masaru states, because it has already begun. He is explaining that the creation of a new universe is already underway. Let's allude back to the scene where Kai is imprisoned with Kaneda. During this time, she is being controlled by the child Esper Kyoko. Speaking through Kai, Kyoko explains that all knowledge in the universe comes from a single ultimate beginning. A beginning that is the result of an ultimate consciousness. The reason it is important to revisit the previously mentioned conversation is due to the fact that it explains where Tetsuo goes at the end of the film. The orb of light Akira created was in fact a pocket universe intended to contain the explosion that resulted from Tetsuo gaining his ultimate consciousness and transformation into a new universe, just as Akira did in the beginning of the film. You see, a universe consists of two components, space and time. Akira created his pocket universe by borrowing space from our universe. When his pocket universe disappears, it is because Tetsuo's universal time axis was established and his universe as a whole separated from our own. This is why Dr. Onishi sees a new big bang and asks, is this the birth of a new universe? After the new universe's departure, the space that was borrowed is returned and buildings begin to rain from the sky. This is where the final line of the movie can be heard, I am Tetsuo. This Old Testament style alludes to the fact that he has ascertained godlike power and understands how to use it. It is also important to note that Akira is a narration and debate regarding the morality of developing nuclear weapons and the corruption involved in wielding such a power. Let me know if you would be interested in a video explaining the effect of the atom bomb on anime as a whole.