a Retrospective: 

Tetsuo Shima 

(Of 1982's  by Katsuhiro Otomo)

Tetsuo Shima is a 15 year old delinquent with a huge chip on his shoulder and a lot to prove. The way he chooses to act upon these fears spells destruction for himself and for everyone he has ever known. 

Tetsuo is the primary antagonist in Katsuhiro Otomo's 1982 post-apocolyptic graphic novel “Akira”. Tetsuo, who begins the work as a quiet, reserved individual, has long nursed a grudge towards his best friend Kaneda. When they were children, Kaneda protected Tetsuo from bullies, Kaneda is the number one in their motorcycle gang, and overall, Tetsuo feels like Kaneda is constantly showing him up. A chance encounter with the paranormal grants Tetsuo incredible power. It also sets off a series of psychological and physical changes that change the lives of him, his friends, and the city of Neo-Tokyo irreparably. I found the sudden change in Tetsuo's personality fascinating, as he takes advantage of his powers to inflict pain against a world he feels slighted by. Thematically, Otomo uses Tetsuo's fragile mental state to explore the pain of identity loss and social alienation. As Neo-Tokyo is destroyed again and again, Otomo explores the meaninglessness of war, and the dangers of a military bent on achieving power by any means necessary. 

An Interactive Sound Sculpture titled “Aerofona” 

“Aerofona”, the recording of a performance art piece, features a machine filling a balloon with air, a woman playing cello, and a man creating feedback loops with sound equipment. Much of the recording is silent, and the intermittent sounds of the cello punctuate a sound dominated by tonal dissonance. The aesthetic produced by this unconventional mix of instruments and objects is foreboding, telling of the coming tragedies to come for Tetsuo, Kaneda, and for Neo-Tokyo.

The sounds of “Aerofona” evoke images of fragility and tension; feelings Tetsuo knows well. Tetsuo has been living under the shadow of his friend Kaneda since they were children, and the strain has left it's mark on his psyche. He's long suffered a grudge for taking orders, feeling inferior, and for never performing quite as well as Kaneda. Tetsuo is like the balloon filling with air in “Aerofona”, on the verge of his breaking point. Riding in Kanede'a motorbike gang may be good enough for the rest of their friends, but Tetsuo needs something more. When the balloon pops in “Aerofona”, Tetsuo will set off a spree of destruction. 

The Mars Volta - Vedamalady

And I'm alone, I'm alone in flight,

I am free of equity.

Where did I go wrong?

I've got a sneaking suspicion that I'm under …

Tetsuo, fed up with playing second fiddle to Kaneda, breaks away from his former friends. Tetsuo indulges in his baser instincts, reveling in meaningless gang violence and destruction. His sudden spurning of his friends and life is not a clean break, it leaves a mental scar in Tetsuo that he is unable to fix. Images of Tetsuo riding his stolen motorbike aimlessly through the deserted streets of Neo-Tokyo give off a sense of loneliness and alienation, a recurring theme present throughout the work.

These themes of social isolation and melancholy are reflected in The Mars Volta's song “Vedmalady”. Like the narrator of “Vedamalady”, Tetsuo is now isolated, and finds himself unable to return to his former life. He has a “sneaking suspicion” that he may have made a wrong decision somewhere, but he does not vocalize these doubts. The song's muffled downbeat, combined with the plaintive guitar, and the muted sounds of static fit the novel's images of Tetsuo, a lone figure in a sprawling, empty city. The use of ambient noises further lend the song a contemplative and melancholic feeling, matching his mental state.

'Factory Machine Noise and Hum Sounds'

The unfiltered sounds of a machine room speak to the overarching themes of “Akira”, a work concerned with constant technological progress, and the effects technology has upon humanity. Tetsuo is a very real embodiment of disastrous consequences caused by reckless technological development. Tetsuo's left arm is destroyed in a failed assassination attempt by the government, and he replaces his arm with a metal prosthetic limb. Tetsuo is ashamed of his artificial arm, evidenced by the way he conceals it from view underneath his clothing. I see these sounds functioning as a reminder to Tetsuo of what he's lost; the whirring, tapping, and clicking machinery must be thrumming incessantly inside his head. The novel also concerns itself with the individual faced with rapid technological growth, and the pain this can cause. I find myself questioning how “human” Tetsuo is, after replacing bits and pieces of himself with artificial limbs. Does he lose pieces of his humanity when he replaces losts limbs with machinery? And does a collection of sounds like this have any “humanity” in it? I believe Tetsuo lost his humanity long ago, and this recording is a audio affirmation attesting Tetsuo's loss of human nature. There is nothing human inside him left, only a looping sequence of metallic hums. 

Stronger – Kanye West

Na-na-na that that don't kill me

Can only make me stronger

I need you to hurry up now

'Cause I can't wait much longer

Tetsuo is in state of perpetual physical evolution, adapting to and growing past his limits as he faces each attack the military throws at him. Tetsuo revels in the challenge each new assault poses, and is eager to test himself as well as his adversaries as he pushes himself past his physical limits. Kanye's lyrics in “Stronger” are cocky and self-assured, which reflects Tetsuo's mindset as he confronts the people and forces assembled against him. Kanye and Tetsuo are eager to face new challenges, because they know they can overcome them and gain knowledge and power from the experience. Kanye's lyrics lend a sense of urgency to the song, a relentless insistence bordering on anxiety. Kanye's uneasy persistence is a dead ringer for Tetsuo: his bravado and anger function to mask his underlying need to prove his self-worth.

Kanye's use of sampling in “Stronger” makes this track connect on another level to the novel. Kanye sampled the song “Harder, Better, Faster” from “Daft Punk”, an electronic band that exclusively uses computers to compose. A human artist blends musically with computer generated music to create a new song tied inextricably to both. Tetsuo, like “Stronger”, is the physical embodiment of man and technology.

Celer – Anticline Rests; Inertia Brace Yourself 

Eventually, Tetsuo is unable to contain his powers, and as his identity and physical body spiral out of control, he vanishes into nothingness. But Tetsuo reappears, “reborn”, and apparently able to keep his abilities under control. However, this moment of calm is short-lived. “Anticline Rests; Inertia Brace Yourself”, a drone piece without lyrics, personifies Tetsuo's state of mental peace; fragile and short lived. The song leaves me with an impression of the kind of eerie, unnatural stillness that comes before a storm. When he reappears after being “reborn”, Tetsuo's language is sparse and empty. His volatile outbursts of the past seem like a half-forgotten memory or a scattered dream. The “new” Tetsuo is despondent, if not apathetic to the wasteland of Neo-Tokyo around him. I could see Anticline Rests as a sound piece accompanying Tetsuo drifting through the broken city, an ode of emptiness and despair. The track's dissonant, building tones speak of the coming danger to Tetsuo, to Tetsuo's former friends, and to Neo-Tokyo.

L ' Dopa – Big Black 

I got a headache  - like a pillow

Called me Daisy, called me Daisy, called me Daisy, that one

I am a sweetheart

I am a prom queen

I am some puppies

Are we here now?

I am a horror ... 

I found the story told through L Dopa's lyrics remarkably similar to what Tetsuo is going through just before his death. L Dopa tells a story about a woman, Daisy, who has been under a comatose state since she was fifteen years old. She is awoken decades later to her confusion and horror. She can not remember who she is, where she is, or any details of her previous life. Daisy believes herself a “prom queen” one day, and “some puppies” the next.

Tetsuo may be experiencing a different kind of living nightmare than Daisy, but their rejections of their respective realities are exactly the same. Tetsuo's body is “slipping”, merging into the ground, into pieces of machinery, into airplanes, and even into other people. I imagine Tetsuo's mind to be equally slippery, drifting between consciousness and a kind of unified singularity with the environment around him. When Tetsuo is able to have brief moments of mental clarity, he can't remember who he is, or what is happening to him. Like Daisy in “L Dopa”, Tetsuo is unable to come to grips with the living nightmare of his life. Unable to accept his fate, he lashes out violently to anything and everyone around him. Aesthetically, the song is dark, fast, and grinding, with aggressive vocals and a syncopated drum beat. The guttural vocals, more screamed than sung, mirror Tetsuo's fears, as he evolves and devolves over and over again. Tetsuo complains of constant headaches, and I imagine L'Dopa's frantic drumbeat to sound like the pain reverberating inside his head.