Kanye West Proclaims ‘Akira’ As The ‘Greatest Animation Achievement In History’
In a series of tweets, Kanye West has expressed his admiration for Katsuhiro Otomo’s animated feature Akira, calling it “the greatest animation achievement in history.”
West goes on to say that the 1988 film’s “subject matter is so relevant to the current state of the world.”
He acknowledges the influence that Otomo’s film has had on his own career, saying that it is “his biggest creative inspiration,” and that, “Every stage show I’ve ever worked on, every video, not just ‘Stronger,’ every product, even when I was in the hospital, I would think… oh shit this is like Akira.”
This is not only the greatest animation achievement in history the subject matter is so relevant to the current state of the world
— KANYE WEST (@kanyewest) August 27, 2018
Every stage show I’ve ever worked on Every video not just Stronger every product even when I was in the hospital I would think… oh shit this is like Akira
— KANYE WEST (@kanyewest) August 27, 2018
West also included a photo of Otomo standing in front of panels from his Akira manga while holding a pair of Yeezys:
Katsuhiro Otomo the creator of Akira This movie is my biggest creative inspiration pic.twitter.com/mbOK9u8u23
— KANYE WEST (@kanyewest) August 27, 2018
It’s nice to see a major creative figure outside of the animation industry talking about how animation has affected their creative trajectory. One of the only other times we can recall this happening in recent memory is when “Hamilton” creator Lin-Manuel Miranda credited Chuck Jones’ autobiography Chuck Amuck for teaching him about the creative process.
West’s affection for Akira has been known for a long time. Back in 2011, he wrote in a now-deleted tweet, “No way Spirited Away is better than Akira…NOOO WAAAY…sorry was just looking at ayoutube of top 10 anime films.”
