AKIRA Fan Questionnaire

my own Questionnaire for AKIRA fans [BLANK VERSION]

1. Introduce yourself.: i'm Tetsuo. i make art and write. i like motorcycles and loud music.
2. When/where did you first learn about AKIRA?: maybe in october of 2020 i watched a youtube video about the animation but i forgot about it. then in april 2021 i noticed the movie at a public library and rented it. i first watched it 2021, april 23.
3. Which came first for you, the movie or the manga?: the movie but i read the manga a week or two after watching it the first (and 2nd) time.
4. What were your first impressions of AKIRA?: i can't remember exactly what i thought. i was speechless after the movie ended. i felt drawn to AKIRA like i hadn't with anything else before. i couldn't stop thinking about it.
5. How much of a fan of AKIRA would you say you are? Obsessive, casual?: massive huge obsessive #1 fan.
6. When you saw the movie for the first time did you understand it? Or did you have to re-watch it?: i didn't feel confused at all. i only rewatched it because i really wanted to.
7. What about the manga? Did it confuse you?: sometimes when Lady Miyako was talking i got confused but that's not really "out of character" for me lol.
8. What version of the manga did you read the first time? (Dark Horse, Epic Comics, YOUNG, 35th box set, etc.): Volume 1-5 was the Dark Horse publication, from that same public library i rented the movie from. less than a week later, on may 8th, i got the 35th box set and read Volume 6 from that.
9. What is your opinion of the Epic Comics version of AKIRA; the 1990s American dialogue and coloring?: i don't like it. the coloring is bad majority of the time, feels and looks amateur despite how much work went into it. i think the translation is lacking, it's so 90s it's cliche sometimes. but i still appreciate that it exists because it did a lot of new things for AKIRA and the world of comics.
10. Have you played any of the video games based off the AKIRA film?: yeah the sega genesis prototype on my friend's phone. we got high and had drinks and it was hilarious.
11. How many times have you watched the movie?: at least 15 times.
12. How many times have you read the manga?: i've read the whole manga twice. but i've read Volume 1 five times, Volume 2-5 three times and Volume 6 twice.
13. Who voiced Kaneda best? Mitsuo Iwata, Cam Clarke, Johnny Yong Bosch, someone else?: this is a dumb question and i made it. Mitsuo Iwata.
14. Did you know about Otomo's work before you saw AKIRA?: i didn't.
15. Which of Otomo's other works do you like or is your favorite?: Fire-Ball or Dōmu. it's hard to choose. Dōmu is VERY good, it's a complete story. but Fire-Ball is so interesting, intriguing for where it wanted to go. i wish Otomo-san had got to finish it as he wanted.
16. Which do you like better, the movie or the manga? Why?: the manga. doesn't mean i hate the movie because it's my favorite movie of all time. but the manga is a whole story and for very specific reasons, that's something i like better.
17. Who is/are your favorite character(s)?: unfortunately Kaneda. my other favorite is Kaori.
18. What is your favorite volume?: Volume 2
19. What about your favorite volume cover?: Volume 2 and 5
20. Do you have a favorite title page?: right now i'm feeling this one but it changes all the time.
21. What's your favorite scene or part from the movie?: that shot in the beginning of the movie where Kaneda starts angrily revving his motorcycle and says "You bastard..." under his breath and he burns rubber into the camera.
22. What's your favorite scene or part from the manga?
23. How about the opposite: What's your least favorite part of the movie? Why?: well i'm not a big fan of the fact the movie condenses everything so much. i know why it happened though. the only thing i actually hate from the movie is the scene where Kaori gets assaulted by Clowns. i just don't like seeing her hurt like that.
24. And the manga? Why?: Kaneda and Kei's romantic relationship. their scene in Volume 5 is like getting a splinter hammered under your fingernail.
25. Who's your least favorite character(s)?: Doctor Onishi, the Colonel, Nezu, Miyako...
26. How about your least favorite AKIRA volume cover?: Volume 6. the concept sketches in AKIRA Club for that cover are better than the final outcome imo. i wish we got the one that was supposed to be Kaneda, Kaisuke and Akira together, referencing a moment in the book. this:
27. Do you think anyone in AKIRA is "good" or "evil"?: i think if anyone sees AKIRA as a story about "good" versus "evil" then they missed the point of the story entirely.
28. What is your opinion on the attempts to make a live action AKIRA?: no.
29. What do you think of the "AKIRA slide" meme?: reference/meme equivalent of beating a dead horse.
30. What do you think of other AKIRA memes? (e.g. "Leave me alone!" or "KANEDAAAA! TETSUOOOO!"): the "leave me alone" meme causes a visceral reaction in me. other ones are only overdone and annoying but i hate that one so much. the only good memes in my mind are the stupid ones full of references to things that only real fans will understand.
31. Do you own any merchandise (fanmade or official) related to AKIRA?: i think i do.
32. If not, do you want to? Or, if you do, is there anything you wish you had?: i wish i had YOUNG Magazine #25 1989 (episode 104) because i could have bought it years ago and didn't. i also wish i had a cel of course.
33. How about tattoos related to AKIRA, do you have any?: no.
34. Do you want any?: yes. i want my right arm done up and the number "41" on my palm like how it is on the other ESPers. i also want the moon somewhere.
35. Have you ever made fan works related to AKIRA? Art, writing, etc?: plenty of art and hundreds of thousands of words.
36. Do you have a favorite "AKIRA artist"? (Not just art, maybe a writer or something else): besides Otomo-san himself or my friends, a few Japanese artists who most of them have been inactive for years now.
37. What's the best opinion or "take" on AKIRA you've seen?: i think any time people talk about how AKIRA isn't one allegory for something or another and emphasize the interpersonal aspect of the story, i'm very impressed and happy with that.
38. What about the worst?: that Volume 2 is "filler." some people just get off on saying stupid shit.
39. Do you think AKIRA is underrated or overrated in any way?: i think it's underrated. it's popular but i think for a lot of superficial reasons these days. i guess its just how watching mainstream culture makes it seem, but people don't give a shit about AKIRA unless it's some stupid meme or same 5 shots turned into gifs in a #cyberpunk #tokyo #aesthetic #anime post.
40. If you had the chance to speak to Otomo or ask him any question about AKIRA, what would you say?: "thank you."
41. Last question: What is AKIRA to you?: everything.