Akira is full of the types of themes that Nolan would froth over like a rabid dog with a milk moustache. Without diving into the entire, lengthy story of Akira, because carpel tunnel syndrome is no joke and I need my hands, there is an abundance of ideologies and themes in the phenomenal narrative that are perfectly in tune with Nolans sensibilities. Akira contains self-deception, perpetrated by Tetsuo and equally explored in Nolans Memento, The Prestige and Inception. Theres the examination of the nature of heroism, shown in the growth of Kaneda and a large focus of Nolans well-known trilogy about a man who dresses like a bat and sounds like hes got a three pack-a-day habit. Finally, Akira is both ominously pessimistic and equally optimistic, kind of like saying that the glass is half full. Of urine. Nolans movies hold a similar sentiment. In The Dark Knight, Batman prevents the Joker from soiling Harvey Dents name but becomes a scapegoat for his actions. The Dark Knight Rises shows the solemn sacrifice of a hero, only to reveal that said hero is in Italy, eating gelato and banging Anne Hathaway, leaving the protection of a city he abandoned to a guy with absolutely no training and resources who will most certainly end up with more holes than Bin Laden. I mean, there is no chance in hell that anyone would recognise a world famous billionaire who was recently reported as dead, right?
