Kanye West is a well-established artist in the music industry. His music has resonated with millions, many of whom overlap with another interest of the Runaway artist. Many of his friends and fans are aware of the fact that West enjoys anime too.
One of the anime that has always been a mainstay on the singer/rapper’s feed has been the breathtaking cyberpunk anime movie, Akira, directed by industry legend Katsuhiro Otomo. West has repeatedly talked about his love for the film. However, fans might have overlooked the connection between the critically acclaimed anima property and Kanye’s discography.
Akira explores some interesting ideas, that might interest Kanye West
There are some key themes that Akira explores throughout its runtime. The story takes place in Neo Tokyo, after a nuclear blast levels the city in the year 1988. The story is set in an alternate 2019, following a bōsōzoku gang leader, Kaneda. The film takes a deep dive into themes like religion, the evolution of human beings, politics, and government propaganda.
These are closely related to ideas that Kanye explores in his discography. Both pieces of media seemed to be concerned with the youth, and how they see themselves. Kanye also specifically rights and sings about the Christian faith, and faith in god, which is also a theme explored in Akira.
West has gone on record to say that Akira is his biggest creative inspiration. This inspiration has also bled into the set design of his music videos,
Kanye West’s Stronger takes direct inspiration from Akira
West’s collaboration with Daft Punk yielded Stronger, which was accompanied by a high-tech music video. What was interesting about the 2007 hit was that it took very clear inspiration from one of West’s all-time favorites: Akira
The video for the music was shot in Japan. West picked frames and scenes directly from the movie as a way of paying homage to the critically acclaimed anime film. In particular, the opening sequence of the music video has West being examined in a machine quite similar to the one that was used by the government to study Tetsuo, Kaneda’s rival and the film’s main antagonist. Later, we see another shot of bikes in the Tokyo nightscape. picked directly from the film’s opening sequence.
West has made his love for anime known via his social media. He clearly understands the art form, enough to appreciate it through his own art, referencing and using the themes in the stories to write about issues that plague the people who listen to his music.
