This document discusses several manga artists that serve as inspiration for the author's own project exploring themes of technology, connectivity, and escapism. It summarizes Yoshitoshi ABe's works Serial Experiments Lain and Texhnolyze, which incorporate cyberpunk and psychological thriller elements. It also discusses Katsuhiro Otomo's influential manga and film Akira, noting its themes of societal commentary and alienation of youth. The document aims to draw from these sources' artistic styles, literary themes, and depictions of technological futures to inform the development of the author's project.

1. FMP Contextual Research

2. Yoshitoshi ABe
• Yoshitoshi Abe (Stylized as ABe) is a manga artist from
Japan. He is most known for his work in the tv series
Serial Experiments Lain and Texhnolyze. Both of these
series are themed around cyberpunk and psychological
thrillers, which are genres I want to incorporate into
my project because I have a strong interest and love
for them.
• I want to draw inspiration from his works, such as
Serial Experiments Lain into my project, in terms of the
overall theme of technology and escapism through it.

3. ABe’s art style
Colour palettes will often utilize colours of
low saturation & muddy tones. This conveys
the dark and dystopian themes in his works.
This represents to the audience that the
worlds depicted in his art are ones that are
dark and depressing. The environments look
desolate, which makes us as the audience feel
that same emptiness the characters are
feeling
Common tropes and motifs of Yoshitoshi Abe’s art style consist of
industrial and mechanical surroundings, lots of wires, pipes, metal,
wire, and industrial looking buildings. The characters depicted in his
artwork always look somewhat solemn, with plain expressions, usually
staring right at you.
These artworks are inspiring to me, as I want my project to have the
same artistic feel, with industrial motifs representing the technological
future. I want to incorporate the interconnected-ness of the art, to
further convey the themes of technology and connectivity.

4. ABe’s Literary style and themes
ABe has created many works over the years, first beginning to publish his work in 1997. He is
most notably known for his work in Serial Experiments Lain, Texhnolyze, and Haibane Renmei.
He is also known for providing the character designs for Tatsuhiko Takimoto’s series, ‘Welcome
to the N.H.K’
In both Serial Experiments Lain and Texhnolyze, the main themes of the series are dystopian
takes on the digital future. They feature surrealist and psychological thriller elements, It delves
into the fears of our ever growing digital lives and futures. Serial Experiments Lain features the
story of a young girl named Lain, and her journey of escapism into a digital world named ‘The
Wired’ and how she becomes more and more sucked in to the online world – to the point
where she leaves behind her physical body to become immortalized in the online network of
The Wired. Throughout the show, many abstract philosophical topics are discussed and
portrayed as Lain tackles with concepts of reality, theology and what it means to truly ‘connect’
with other people.
In my own work, I want to incorporate these ideas of reality and connectivity. I want to explore
the means of escapism through technology. I want to explore the surrealist nature of what it
would be like to travel through a tangible depiction of a worldwide network.

5. Katsuhiro Otomo
• Katsuhiro Otomo is a manga artist from Japan who is most
notable for his manga series ‘Akira’ which gained worldwide
popularity in 1988 when the series was adapted into an animated
film.
• Over the years he has received many awards for his work, and is
considered one of the godfathers of the cyberpunk genre due to
the animated Akira film being widely regarded as one of the
greatest animated movies of all time, alongside one of the
greatest science fiction movies of all time. Akira was the catalyst
for the genre of Japanese Cyberpunk, serving as direct inspiration
for many works, such as Battle Angel Alita, Ghost In The Shell, &
Serial Experiments Lain. Even in the western world, Akira has had
a large influence, such as Kanye West directly referencing the
series in his “Stronger” music video, and tv shows such as
Stranger Things and Batman Beyond. Akira has even been
credited as inspiration for the Star Wars prequel movies.

6. Katsuhiro Omoto’s art style
Main aspects of Omoto’s art style is the thin
linework, allowing for extensive detailing, and
small faces. The way he illustrates people is easily
recognizable from his signature way of drawing
faces – Large foreheads with a small face, small
nose, and big eyes. In manga, he primarily shades
and creates depth with hatching and varying
linework volume. The large eyes in his artwork
give way for more expressive faces, allowing the
audience to clearly understand what a character
is feeling.
I’m deeply inspired by the way Otomo illustrates
scenery in Akira, such as the bustling city of Neo-Tokyo
and its ruinous counterpart, Old Tokyo, which is
commonly depicted as a large crater surrounded by
ruin and rubble. Storytelling is easily conveyed through
his extensively detailed scenes of bustling cityscapes
and metal structures covered in wiring and technology.
The way everything is interconnected and flows
together is so visually pleasing, and the detail of his
work makes every part of the piece incredibly

7. Themes in Katsuhiro Otomo’s Akira
Akira follows many of the typical themes a cyberpunk series has. A deep political overtone with commentary
of society, this manifests in the youth in the Akira universe feeling alienated, and feeling the need to rebel
against authority. The authority in this world is deeply corrupted.
Societal issues are tackled in the series, directly taking inspiration from real life events such as the atomic
bombings Japan endured during World War 2, and their economic boom in the 80s which led to a large
overpopulation problem. The series explores these issues with a nihilistic tone, with the events of the series
being depicted as what the worst possible outcome of these real life problems could’ve been. The cityscapes
and towns are ruinous and crumbling, with huge neon skyscrapers built on top of the rubble. The characters
are wandering aimlessly for meaning, helpless and lost in a huge city that has forgotten about them.
The characters in Akira are a direct response to the societal issues that inspired the series. All of the main
characters in the series are orphans, due to the large scale of overpopulation in Neo-Tokyo. Society has left
them behind, and they rebel against this society via biker gangs. Through these biker gangs they also grow
their own communities, their own found families.
The art style of Akira is one that is relatively mature, especially for the time it was published. Normally in
manga art styles, faces will be hugely distorted with enormous eyes and accentuated features. In Akira, it is
still recognizably ‘Manga’, but the characters look less like cartoon characters and more like real people that
you can relate and connect with.
The narrative of Akira follows the story of two boys named Kaneda and Tetsuo. In the city that has left them
behind, filled to the brim with corruption, they try their best to find themselves. They struggle and fight and
receive tragedy after tragedy because of the world that has alienated them and forgotten about them.
In my own work, I want to follow similar themes of societal commentary like Otomo does in Akira. I want to
incorporate the nihilism and despair of living in a cyberpunk hyper-technological future. As much as I want to
world build in my project, I also want to focus largely on the character, as Otomo does.

8. Sources
Nakamura, R. (1998) Serial Experiments Lain. Triangle Staff, Japan
Hamasaki, H. (2003) Texhnolyze. Madhouse, Japan
Otomo, K (1982) Akira. Kodansha, Japan
Otomo, K (1991) Akira. Tokyo Movie Shinsha, Japan
Young, B (2015) THE CINEMA BEHIND STAR WARS: AKIRA, StarWars [Online] Available at https://www.starwars.com/news/cinema-behind-star-wars-akira
Spencer, A (2018) What is cyberpunk?, Polygon [Online] Available at https://www.polygon.com/features/2018/8/30/17796680/cyberpunk-2077-history-blade-runner-neuromancer
Leon, M (2016) Inside ‘Stranger Things’: The Duffer Bros. on How They Made the TV Hit of the Summer, The Daily Beast [Online] Available at (archived)
https://web.archive.org/web/20161012001214if_/http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/08/07/inside-stranger-things-the-duffer-bros-on-how-they-made-the-tv-hit-of-the-
summer.html
Usher, T (2016) How 'Akira' Has Influenced All Your Favourite TV, Film and Music, Vice [Online] Available at https://www.vice.com/en/article/kwk55w/how-akira-has-influenced-
modern-culture
Kwok Wah Lau, J (2003) Multiple Modernities. Temple University Press, United States
Jolliffe Napier, S. (1996) The Fantastic in Modern Japanese Literature. Psychology Press, United States