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Comparing The Atomic Bombs In Akira And Nausicaa

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The most popular genre of anime is science fiction, a genre that regularly explores futuristic apocalyptic scenarios. Apocalyptic anime has been influenced by several factors, such as Japanese environmental disasters like the contamination of Minamata Bay, aesthetic elements like mono no aware, religious imagery, and economic crises. In this essay, I will be focusing on how the dropping of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945 have influenced apocalyptic anime, specifically Akira and Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind. I will be analyzing this through the questions, "How do the films Akira and Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind portray the impact of the atomic bombs on Japanese culture and thought?" and "What messages are the films …show more content…

The two anime are directed by the original writers of the source manga, both of which were published in 1982. Both films were released in the mid-to-late 1980s, a time know as the "Golden Age of Anime" in which the science fiction genre was growing in both popularity and prestige. Additionally, both use visual nuclear symbolism to allude to the dropping of the atomic bombs and to convey certain messages. Akira and Nausicaa's post-apocalyptic worlds originate from the destruction caused by nuclear technology or similar weapons. In Nausicaa, the poisoning of the planet resulted from the Seven Days of Fire, a conflict fought by the giant nuclear God Warriors. Neo-Tokyo in Akira was built after the destruction of Tokyo by a psychic bomb that triggers the beginning of World War …show more content…

He states that Japanese audiences have continually had a "traumatic fascination" with images of destruction ever since the dropping of the atomic bombs (140). He proposes nuclear symbolism is so widespread in Japanese film because acting out destruction helps viewers come to terms with the trauma caused by it in reality (132). Japanese audiences want to draw near to and understand the destruction, just as how many characters in the film want to find the little boy Akira in order to have a grasp on his power (136). The repetition of acting out a historically traumatic event in media assists the audience in gaining an understanding of the actual event and its cultural impact (141). In doing so, filmmakers try to “make an incomprehensible event make sense” by working to deal with the consequences of destruction in their films (132). In Akira, director Katsuhiro Otomo uses the repetition of destruction to help strengthen the theme of the danger of playing with powerful forces because the audience witnesses the same consequences occurring again and again. The psychic bomb is a repetition of the atomic bomb, and the explosion at the end of the movie is a repetition of the psychic bomb (135). The repetition of the atomic bomb in the film brings the viewer "temporally close" to the destruction and allows them to study its effects in a more modern era,

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