Comrade Kaneda

The Akira manga is not just an extended version of the movie but a wholly different and more radical story altogether. [Spoilers ahead.]

This is Kaneda and his fellow anti-imperialists addressing the US military and the UN. They're tagging "A" onto their tanks and choppers.

The rebels have formed their own government. (Where the movie was a sci-fi classic, the manga was a geopolitical epic.)

And like any small country under the threat of Western Empire, they need the threat of nukes to maintain sovereignty and prevent occupation. Akira is their way of saying: "Leave us alone."

This band of anti-imperial communists ("This is a commune. We're communists.") pretending to worship the all-powerful (and unpredictable) great leader Akira and that he's still alive is a powerful bluff, but the only card they have. Kaneda and his biker gang understand geopolitics better than most US voters.

✊✊✊

(I write daily about martial arts and other topics from a liberatory perspective. If you like my work, upgrade your subscription. You can also support me on Patreon or make a one-time donation on Ko-fi. Find Southpaw at its website. Get the swag on Spring. Also check out Liberation Martial Arts Online.)