nerd court round 1 : akira

Oh, I had alays heard that was about Japanese military bikers in WW2.

Sogo Ishii’s classic indie films like Burst City and Crazy Thunder Road are well worth checking out. While ostensibly they have fictional narratives, they’re really just celebrations of japan’s early 80s punk and biker cultures.

They do have a pretty distinct advantage in that they were made by a cultural insider

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Burst City feels like he shot a bunch of music videos than strung a loose narrative through them. Well worth it if you’re into the music.

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yeah that’s why I said ostensibly. Movie rules.

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the third is fine and even fun, its just a totally different thing. if youre not a square you can handle it.

i have seen AKIRA three times and fallen asleep each time.

the first was as a small child at my cousins house. he and my older brother would watch his pirated animé, i could join as long as i didnt get scared (well, as long as i didnt show it) and as long as i could stay up. i couldnt even read the subtitles fast enough so it was purely visual. also watched guyver, riding bean, the first episode of cowboy bebop, 3x3 eyes, nge: death & rebirth and more under these conditions. i fell asleep early enough in that i figured it was all very cool motorcycles. woke up toward the end with all the and just shut my eyes and rolled over because what the fuck was happening?

next time was on teletoon with all the commercial breaks and shit. i was into it but had already taken melatonin when i noticed it was on. oh well.

got it on vhs last year or before. obviously not the best way to watch it but for three bucks a piece i got it alongside GOLGO 13: THE PROFESSIONAL and PERFECT BLUE. this time i just fell asleep, i dont even have an excuse.

ill get it on Blu-ray sometime hush hush dont worry.

i wanna add to the aside about SUICIDE CLUB with my own aside about NORIKO’S DINNER TABLE which is to praise the way Sion Sono uses the events of the former as a sort of 9/11 in the latter. which is to say that its this thing which happened and will quietly stay true to the world thereafter. i love both those films so much.

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Next time watch it awake to get the intended experience™

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