Akira was produced in 1988, over 40 years after the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in WWII. Like other popular anime films at the time, such as Grave of the Fireflies,  Akira focuses on a post-war society, after some form of nuclear apocalypse. The characters in Akira grew up in an emasculated Japan without fathers, emblematic of the state of Japan after the war's end. Akira deals with Japanese disillusionment with technology that caused its downfall [1], while themes of rebirth provide some hope. At the time of release, Japan was just starting to re-emerge on a global stage. Japan in had become a center of technological innovation, having developed technologies such as the bullet train, Walkman, and pocket calculator by 1988 [2]. Throughout the film, technology is continually used irresponsibly. Fast motorbikes are used to commit gang violence, advancements in medicine are used to develop people into supersoldiers. Tetsuo in particular is emblematic of this new Japan. Incredibly powerful for the first time as a result of breakthroughs in technology, but deeply afraid and unable to comprehend that power. Akira serves as a warning to the people of Japan to not repeat the mistakes of their past, and to use their newfound resources and power responsibly.