ees

of course it is not “entirely true,” hence the inclusion of the word “likely” and the phrase “little to no violence.” one can certainly find exceptions to this rule. However, “typically,” shoujo does not feature violence––or at least not the same type of violence––that shounen offers.

as to your second comment, certainly one can draw parallels between the diclonius and disability. however, since research material concerning this particular fandom (elfen lied wiki, for example) refers to diclonius as a “race,” i chose this route instead. both are valid interpretations of the position the diclonious occupies within the manga and are worth exploring.

Mulan has always been my favorite Disney movie~ I really enjoyed your analysis of the film as well as what aspects of Mulan’s character make her so relatable and likable.

thank you for your comment! however, i don’t believe that i ever say that Grave of the Fireflies depicts the atomic bombs, nor do i claim that the children die in the bombings. what i hoped to illustrate by bringing in works like Fireflies and Barefoot Gen was that works like these share in a collective narrative and exploration of national trauma—at least, this is what many theorists claim. thanks for reading!

thank you! that means a lot~ it was a pleasure to be a part of revising your article and seeing it published!

very excited to see this article published! BNHA is an amazing show & I believe you really did justice to the depth of the characters and the pivotal role this fight plays both for the plot as well as character development. good work!

I would say that you’re definitely on to something there, and I think Freiberg’s theory of the post-nuclear sublime may play into that as well. As Bolton notes in his essay Akira’s premier in the United States had such an impact due to the innate qualities of dread and desire that the post-nuclear sublime incites. Being citizens of the nation that was responsible for so much destruction very likely plays a major role in this.

I think that there is a lot to be said for how reading the manga as well as watching the film can influence one’s understanding or interpretation of either medium. It’s very possible that reading the Akira manga could perhaps clear up a few things that are confusing about the anime, but ultimately I believe that each medium accomplishes very different things and in very different ways, stylistically speaking. Even the endings of each work are drastically different, and thus leave the viewer/reader with a very different message. Bolton delves further into the similarities and differences between the two in his own article, and I think there is so much more to be said/investigated in regard to the relationship between the manga and the anime!

Perhaps it could be argued that those more familiar with the manga can better grasp what’s going on in the film. However, I don’t think you should be too quick to dismiss the point of many theorists that the goal of Akira as a film goes beyond the plot of the original (I use this word tentatively) work of the manga. I would implore you to not be so quick to dismiss it as “muddled,” or only working to cater to people who are familiar with Akira’s broader context. Further into Bolton’s analysis of the film that I reference he brings in the manga and investigates it alongside the film, saying that “although the film was in some sense adapted from the manga, it is not my intent to treat the manga as a backstory or a better story that will answer all our questions about the anime. That would simply replace one origin with another, replacing genbaku (the nuclear bomb) with gensaku (the nucleus of the franchise, the original text).” I think such an approach is very interesting, and that upon further investigation this perspective undermines critiques like the one you give here that the film is completely based on the manga and that those more familiar with the broader body of work behind Akira have some sort of deeper insight.