We’re protesting in the streets, bracing for the next violent attack and debating how civil to be in confronting a government some say is wildly overreaching.
There’s a reason a Japanese animated film from 30 years ago still has resonance in America today.
Long before the Marvel Cinematic Universe gave the clearance for niche pop culture properties to enter the mainstream, Katsuhiro Otomo’s “Akira” served as an entry point for Westerners into the world of Japanese animation. The frenetic cyberpunk anime, released in Japan on July 15, 1988, showed that cartoons across cultures could address larger social issues. Its intricate, futuristic cityscapes and its evocative tale of telepathic power inspired a generation of works to come, including a Kanye West music video and “Stranger Things.”
