FACE OFF: Ghost in the Shell vs. Akira

[elwood731]

So which is it folks? Two big name animes, but which is the king?

[videoworx]

oh please, Akira is by far the better of the two, in both scope and production value. The GitS story-line is not as strong, and I never cared about the characters. Besides, Akira has 2 city-destroying explosions, a kick-ass bike, and a giant teddy bear - what more could you ask for?

It's probably more fair to compare the lower-budget Spriggan to GitS, which have many similar action sequences.

[reapersaurus]

I haven't seen Ghost in the Shell yet, but if you can understand the story, than it is miles better than Akira - an incomprehensible mess of a story that's wonderful to look at.

[LeChuck]

Originally Posted by reapersaurus

I haven't seen Ghost in the Shell yet, but if you can understand the story, than it is miles better than Akira - an incomprehensible mess of a story that's wonderful to look at.

Read the manga. To make a 2 hour movie from a 6 book series is not the best idea. They lost so much. I read the manga and immediately rewatched the movie and realized why I didn't really get what the hell was going on. The cut out so much of the plot that major pieces of information was lost too. If you want the true story get the books. I still think Akira is a better movie that GitS, though.

[limacharliewhiskey]

I've read both manga and seen both movies.

Of the manga, Ghost in the Shell is the more interesting comic series to read, made up of 6 stories, I believe. The movie takes elements and stories from 2 of those 6 stories.

The Akira manga is one long-ass story with superb visual details almost unheard of for a comic book series. I've read the series translated by Marvel Epic comics, which separated the story into 39 chapters. The movie combines the story from chapters 1 thru 15, and then skips to the end, combining elements of chapters 37 thru 39. To be fair, the creator Katsuhiro Otomo was only halfway through the comic series when he got the offer to do the movie, so even he didn't know how the comic series would end.

That's why the ending of the Akira film seems so strange and Kubrick-2001-like, because Otomo wasn't sure of what the ending would be, and if he could explain it properly in the last half-hour of the movie.

If you were confused about the ending of Akira, the manga explains it more thoroughly, not entirely to my satisfaction, but making more sense than before reading the manga:

Spoiler (Highlight or Triple Click to Read):

Akira is not the equivalent of a thermonuclear bomb, which is the most obvious perception, but rather, Akira is the equivalent of the Big Bang that started the universe. Bringing in another sci-fi analogy, from Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, the Genesis device is used to create life. But what happens if it is used where life exists? There, life would cease to exist. The climax of Akira end with Akira transporting/teleporting Tetsuo away from Earth to create a new universe elsewhere, as Tetsuo loses control of his power and creates his own Big Bang explosion.

Having said all that, I think Akira makes for the better standalone movie, with more impressive visuals and better storytelling.

[SkottDMD]

Akira got me into anime. Everything about it is stunning, from the animation to the incredible score. While GITS may be pretty to look at I don't think it's anything more really. Good movie but nowhere near as good as Akira.

[reapersaurus]

Thank you for the info re: Akira manga.

Let me ask you guys something -

Given this information (about how the movie Akira is literally the first half of a story, and a horribly hacked-off ending to the story), how can people be so enamored of it?

My strong opinion all along (I saw it before almost all Americans saw it) is perfectly demonstrated by SkottDMD's post : most people's first anime experience was Akira, so it can do no wrong.

Looking at Akira objectively, it is not a complete movie in any way. The story is hopelessly incomprehensible, because they didn't film the whole story - only ~ half of it.
Great visuals - always was, always will be.... but how/why Akira has dodged criticism for a decade and a half just because it was first for most people is disappointing to me.

[SkottDMD]

Akira was far from the first anime I saw, it got me into anime but it wasn't the first one I ever saw. I honestly can't see why everyone finds it incomprehensible, I never found it that hard to understand.

[Sycowulf]

If we were going for visuals and overall coolness I would have to say GITS... But as a film I like Akira better.