I Watched Akira (1988) For The First Time. Was Tetsuo Tragic Villain Or ...

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I watched Akira (1988) for the first time. Was Tetsuo tragic villain or just straight up baddie?

• Thread starter Deleted member 8257
• Start date Jan 17, 2022

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Deleted member 8257

Oct 26, 2017 24,586 Lets get the jaw-dropping animation quality and the art-work out of the way. Neo-Tokyo is brimming with life and color. Just absolutely sublime. The story about Kaneda and Tetsuo's friendship and how it disintegrates completely at the end...I did not get why Tetsuo was being a shitbag most of the time, or why he hated Kaneda? Kaneda was his lifelong friend and I must have missed why he wanted revenge against his former friends so badly. But we're also supposed to feel sorry for Tetsuo, and his budding romance. Or did the experimentations made him emotionally unstable and a jerk? What do you feel? Is Tetsuo a good villain? Edit: I actually watched the movie a couple of months ago and am still thinking about it! Just goes to show how good it is.

PlanetSmasher

The Abominable Showman

Member Oct 25, 2017 143,835 He crushed his girlfriend like a blood blister. I really don't have much sympathy for him.

PinkSpider

Member Oct 27, 2017 6,432 I need to watch this again, maybe this week with a takeaway. I can't quite recall (Was my first anime) and hate to be that guy but if you loved it the books are awesome too; the first (Out of 4 and I only read one; someone pinched it at school) has probably as much story as the film and awesomely drawn

Raxus

Member Oct 26, 2017 12,607 Depends your take. I see him a bit more tragic. He is a hormone crazed teenager, growing up with delinquents given literal super power steroids. Kaneda and him both undergo similar arcs but wind up coming out opposite ends from what I remember.

ILikeFeet

DF Deet Master

Banned Oct 25, 2017 61,987 dude with an inferiority complex who let the power go to his head. I don't think he was a villain as far as having an outlook as to rule the world or anything. just some punk who had a chance to make all his dreams of being a leader come true while the military attempted to take him down after forcing him into the situation

JaseMath

Member Oct 27, 2017 12,585 Denver, CO I always assumed the experiments made him unstable and his being a guinea pig reinforced his global feelings of inferiority, especially toward Kaneda.

Fatoy

Member Mar 13, 2019 8,588 He didn't HATE Kaneda. Tetsuo is the archetypal "runt" character, who's part of a group that includes him, but - purposefully and accidentally - is always making him feel small and inadequate. He has a gigantic complex about this, and his major character trait is that he feels like he could do everything Kaneda and the others do if he only had the opportunity to shine. Even though the scene of his girlfriend being assaulted, and him being powerless to stop it, kind of proves that he couldn't. He later gets that opportunity, but in a way that corrupts him quickly in both mental and physical ways. But the crucial part to grasp is that the experiments didn't give Tetsuo any character traits he didn't already have. He just wound up a more potent and inflated - literally - version of himself. I don't believe you're supposed to feel "sorry" for Tetsuo. It's more complicated than that. He's not a great person to begin with, but his grievances with Kaneda and the rest of the gang are real enough, and they're things that anyone who's been bullied or made to feel little has probably also felt. He needed Kaneda, and he also hated that he needed him.

hjort

Member Nov 9, 2017 4,096

Raxus said: I see him a bit more tragic. He is a hormone crazed teenager, growing up with delinquents given literal super power steroids. Click to expand... Click to shrink...

This is pretty much my take. He's a small person given an enormous power, is corrupted by it and uses it the only way he knows how. It's very sad.

Siam Shade

Member Jun 1, 2018 1,004 I think it's way harder to understand him on Manga. One of the best stories/saga in any medium... ever (imo of course).

pbayne

Corrupted by Vengeance

Member Oct 27, 2017 13,969 a kid with a massive inferiority complex who gets in way over his head.

TissueBox

Member Oct 25, 2017 13,458 Urinated States of America Well, you know what they say when you give someone absolute power... At the end of the day he was a kid who was caught up in a nightmarish science experiment gone wrong. It's implied he was always a little emotionally liminal, ultimately a self-destructive, persistently angry young man who didn't have time to internalize his emotions. He was a victim of an oppressive community and socially dilapidated Japan, and was driven to alienation as a result. Like many in real life, it's the kind of recipe that tends to end tragically when left to fester.

Gustaf

Banned Oct 28, 2017 14,926

PlanetSmasher said: He crushed his girlfriend like a blood blister. I really don't have much sympathy for him. Click to expand... Click to shrink...

what? you say it like if it was intentionally, by that point he had no control over his own fucking body.

Squarehard

Member Oct 27, 2017 32,504 Both.

pillowtalk

Member Oct 10, 2018 2,686 Just a shithead from a fucked up childhood that got powers

bushmonkey

Member Oct 29, 2017 6,224

RustyNails said: Lets get the jaw-dropping animation quality and the art-work out of the way. Neo-Tokyo is brimming with life and color. Just absolutely sublime. The story about Kaneda and Tetsuo's friendship and how it disintegrates completely at the end...I did not get why Tetsuo was being a shitbag most of the time, or why he hated Kaneda? Kaneda was his lifelong friend and I must have missed why he wanted revenge against his former friends so badly. But we're also supposed to feel sorry for Tetsuo, and his budding romance. Or did the experimentations made him emotionally unstable and a jerk? What do you feel? Is Tetsuo a good villain? Edit: I actually watched the movie a couple of months ago and am still thinking about it! Just goes to show how good it is. Click to expand... Click to shrink...

He wants everyone to feel sorry for him but he's just entitled and not a good guy.

alexi52

Member Oct 28, 2017 22,341

PlanetSmasher said: He crushed his girlfriend like a blood blister. I really don't have much sympathy for him. Click to expand... Click to shrink...

He didn't have control of his body at that point

The Namekian

Member Nov 5, 2017 5,031 New York City I haven't watched Akira in a few years but it definitely deserves a rewatch. The characters were so complex and gray.

julia crawford

Took the red AND the blue pills

Member Oct 27, 2017 42,021 I think it's more tragic than not 🤔 but i have only watched the movie

L Thammy

Spacenoid

Member Oct 25, 2017 57,849 He's a petty hedonistic human being given too much power with which to be a petty, hedonistic human being.

GDGF

Member Oct 26, 2017 10,456 He was a super powered Incel.

SilkySm00th

Member Oct 31, 2017 5,336 I'd say tragic. He's basically living a hard life already - running with a gang and shit. Living in the shadow of all his friends, doing his absolute best to keep up and stand out and failing. It doesn't really change the fact that he's an asshole though. Like his end and the path his fate will have him walk is sad as hell and definitely a tragedy for him - but the moment he steps out of that shadow and has to interact with those he knows again he immediately becomes a complete fuckin monster. Kyrie's last like 4 hours of life are fuckin tragic, for example.

Chikor

Banned Oct 26, 2017 14,239

RustyNails said: Lets get the jaw-dropping animation quality and the art-work out of the way. Click to expand... Click to shrink...

No, I don't think I will. I honestly think Akira is just really really pretty movie, and the more I think about the plot and the characters the less I like it so I just won't.

brannigan

Member Nov 24, 2017 7,258 I felt bad for him

Deleted member 9241

Oct 26, 2017 10,416 The comic book explains it better than the cartoon

Deleted member 25606

User requested account closure

Banned Oct 29, 2017 8,973 As someone who read the manga no sympathy whatsoever. Most of that's not the anime so if you feel bad for him I will allow it, but I don't.

HStallion

Member Oct 25, 2017 75,576 The manga makes him a lot easier to see as a straight up villain.

GDGF said: He was a super powered Incel. Click to expand... Click to shrink...

He's got issues but he's not an incel.

LCGeek

Member Oct 28, 2017 6,553

Chikor said: No, I don't think I will. I honestly think Akira is just really really pretty movie, and the more I think about the plot and the characters the less I like it so I just won't. Click to expand... Click to shrink...

It's a dark subject and the movie doesn't give you the full scope of things and butchers some nuances compared to the book.

ezekial45

Member Oct 25, 2017 9,332 He certainly had a tragic life, but ultimately his massive inferiority complex and the choices he made once he got any semblance of power were all his own. It become difficult to see him have some sort of redemption once he went off the rails. His actions in the manga were way worse, btw. Spoiler: Manga spoiler, if you care Before Neo Tokyo went into ruin, he took over the Clown gang and popped pills relentlessly, killing anyone who got in his way. Once he established himself as the leader of the ruined Neo Tokyo, he took on a harem of sex slaves from the survivors of the city. So really, fuck Tetsuo.

Doomguy Fieri

Member Nov 3, 2017 6,412 He's a pitiable character thrust into an unwinnable situation who proceeds to make some very bad decisions. Some of those are beyond his understanding, some of them are very selfish. Kind of textbook tragic villain I think.

uncredited male mk2

Member Oct 29, 2017 4,269 He was in a murderous gang before he even got his powers so...

Kavalier_Clay

Alt-Account

Banned Nov 16, 2021 301 Tragic for sure. He didn't ask for the powers of a god, and he clearly did not know how to control it. It was also clearly fucking with his head. He was just a kid.

Dodongo

Member Oct 25, 2017 8,141 I feel sympathy for him. He was the victim of an incomprehensible freak accident. He was never a good person, but he didn't choose to become a monster.

Motorcycle Dork

Member Jun 24, 2019 8,773 No sympathy but he is an entertaining villain and his requiem rocks!

StarStorm

"This guy are sick"

Avenger Oct 25, 2017 9,103 He has an inferiority complex with the members of Kaneda's gang, especially Kaneda. He thinks he can do things as well as they can. The scene where his girlfriend gets assaulted proves otherwise. He blames them for his inadequacy. He wanted approval, maybe some recognition too. I say he's a tragic villain. Getting those powers already messed him up and he wasn't a good guy either. He was just an angry kid who had no control over his own powers.

Bold One

Banned Oct 30, 2017 18,911

GDGF said: He was a super powered Incel. Click to expand... Click to shrink...

Axon

Banned Mar 9, 2020 2,397 Saw only the movie. Definitely tragic - I didnt really read him as a villain, but rather a person who didnt have as much say in who he became as would have been fair.

Kabuki Waq

Member Oct 26, 2017 6,939 In the anime he came off as a angsty I hate the world teen. Sort of like the bad guy from chronicle. Also it's not very clear if the experiment messed with his mind or changed his personality.

Video Kojima

Banned Apr 5, 2020 2,541 He's a bad person.

Nappuccino

The Fallen Oct 25, 2017 15,534

Video Kojima said: He's a bad person. Click to expand... Click to shrink...

Mesoian

▲ Legend ▲

Member Oct 28, 2017 34,545 He was the kind of kid who had no problems beating someone to death with a pipe. He didn't do it, because he didn't get to, but everyone he liked did. He's pretty villainous.

Herr Starr

Member Oct 26, 2017 4,026 Norway Tetsuo isn't a good person in either the anime or the manga. A more interesting question might be whether or not that is his fault or if he was basically forced towards his fate by his upbringing, society, and the culture surrounding him. More than anything, Tetsuo feels like a person who desperately, so very desperately, wants to be in control of his own fate and make a name for himself but who is never given a chance to do so, not by his friends nor his enemies. It's also useful to remember that he's still a 15-year-old teenager when the story takes place.

Nappuccino

The Fallen Oct 25, 2017 15,534

Herr Starr said: Tetsuo isn't a good person in either the anime or the manga. A more interesting question might be whether or not that is his fault or if he was basically forced towards his fate by his upbringing, society, and the culture surrounding him. More than anything, Tetsuo feels like a person who desperately, so very desperately, wants to be in control of his own fate and make a name for himself but who is never given a chance to do so, not by his friends nor his enemies. It's also useful to remember that he's still a 15-year-old teenager when the story takes place. Click to expand... Click to shrink...

This is a great post on the matter. I agree with this very much.

Jakenbakin

"This guy are sick" and Corrupted by Vengeance

Member Jun 17, 2018 15,578 Kids in a violent gang in a post world war 3 militant Neo Tokyo. He's not meant to be seen as a good guy, but a tragic set of circumstances and definitely pitiable. Loser assholes like him just usually don't end up with godlike powers. I should really read Akira some day...

Diarrhea Day-Lewis

Member Oct 27, 2017 21,754

PlanetSmasher said: He crushed his girlfriend like a blood blister. I really don't have much sympathy for him. Click to expand... Click to shrink...

Yes this. also as much as I enjoyed watching it feels super disgusting that the girl's breasts are shown as she's getting attacked. Also, I'm pretty sure they're all children right? Oof props to what Akira did for the genre but watching it nowadays makes me feel gross

Deleted member 61531

Banned Nov 19, 2019 10,231 I think Tetsuo was in some way set on a predetermined course. IIRC it was made clear several times that he never really had strong control over these powers, and these powers also appeared to be inherently destructive. He was never not going to lean on that to solve his problems, as it was the only tool he had, and lethal consequences were kind of in the cards whether he wanted to initiate them or not. So in a way I do feel like Tetsuo is a tragic character, because the door is left open to what he might have done if he had different tools? There's some war allegory in there, but that might be stating the obvious.

rusty chrome

Banned Oct 25, 2017 8,640

GDGF said: He was a super powered Incel. Click to expand... Click to shrink...

Do you even know what incel means? Is this some new thing where the internet uses words they don't even know the meaning of?

collige

Member Oct 31, 2017 12,772 I feel like the true villain is toxic masculinity. this is just me going off the movie + some of what I know that got cut from the manga though.

Gustaf

Banned Oct 28, 2017 14,926

bonesawisready5 said: Yes this. also as much as I enjoyed watching it feels super disgusting that the girl's breasts are shown as she's getting attacked. Also, I'm pretty sure they're all children right? Oof props to what Akira did for the genre but watching it nowadays makes me feel gross Click to expand... Click to shrink...

i dont think you aren't supposed to feel any other way watching a woman getting sexually assaulted tho???? or are you meaning if she was 18 you wont felt gross?

Yautja_Warrior

Member Oct 25, 2017 14,370 United Kingdom Definitely tragic. He was just a kid with issues, who didn't understand what was happening to him. Obviously he had a bit of a power trip moment, suddenly having all that power and a lot of anger in him but he couldn't fully control it and it all went horribly wrong.

jwk94

Member Oct 25, 2017 14,088

PlanetSmasher said: He crushed his girlfriend like a blood blister. I really don't have much sympathy for him. Click to expand... Click to shrink...

He was possessed by that point.

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