Kiyoko / No. 25 from Akira

I felt like I wanted to draw her – she is an interesting character who is both childlike, wise, powerful with her abilities in contrast to her physically weak condition.

Goodness my Onward post at instagram got more attention than usual!💙 It’s probably an outlier haha! All the same, thank you so much for both new and especially long time readers for your kind support and joining me on my art journey in character illustration and sharing thoughts on what I’m watching, playing, learning and experiencing ❤️

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Leonie’s spoiler rambles!

I finally watched this classic movie, without reading much about it.

The animation, world building and setting are incredible, complex and engrossing. There were many moments of widespread destruction, violence, corruption, terrorism, despair, sexual harrassment, apathy and slow pacing. Others were intense, terrifying, overwhelming and disturbing. It sets the tone and mood of the world really well. I had no favourites because all the characters had their own struggles, flaws, horrible upbringing and did morally grey things – which is expected in such a dystopian, unstable society and world.

I guess the espers/psychics are alive and stuck in another dimension while the surviving humans have to pick themselves up to survive once again after this explosion :0

When I finished the movie, I was left with mixed, complicated feelings of emptiness, existentialism, confusion and depression. Wondering about humanity and not sure how to feel about it. Yes this movie admittedly isn’t really my cup of tea and I am probably looking for something more hopeful and positive. Tried to read the manga summary to understand the story better which turned out to be more complex, fleshed out and different, taking place over 10 years with a larger cast of characters. I probably won’t watch the movie again :<

I still do appreciate it as a movie! Super Eyepatch Wolf’s The Impact of Akira: The Film that Changed Everything video helped me understand the context and historical meaning (bombings from war) of this movie and manga better as it focuses on survival, how life just keeps moving on and the continued hope that people will keep living, even after experiencing disaster. The movie definitely pushed the boundaries of what movies usually do! Also noted how the movie didn’t have much room to deeply explore the themes from the manga. Plus the manga finished 2 years after the movie’s release too!

Shall keep having hope for humanity even through difficult, horrible, depressing, trying times 🖤

Overall I kept thinking during and after the movie…what did I just watch? :’)

If you watched it, what did you like about this movie? Why?

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