Kanye West Praises 'Akira' In New Twitterstorm

Kanye West is an inspiration to rappers around the world, but the artist has his own role models. [...]

By Megan Peters

Kanye West is an inspiration to rappers around the world, but the artist has his own role models. So, if you want to tap into the star's state of mind, it may be time you gave Akira another run.

Over on Twitter, West went on a post spree where he shared a slew of messages with fans. It was there the rapper gave props to Akira as went so far as to call the movie "my biggest creative inspiration."

As you can see below, the spree began when West posted a photo of Katsuhiro Otomo, the creator behind Akira. The rapper didn't hold back with his praise of the film, and West continued to say every stage of his career has been touched by Akira.

"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," West wrote.

"This is not only the greatest animation achievement in history… the subject matter is so relevant to the current state of the world."

Of course, West isn't the only one putting their weight behind Akira; In fact, the anime film is considered to be the best of the medium. The movie's post-apocalyptic aesthetic helped popularize the genre, and Otomo rocketed to international fame after the animated feature scored rave critical reviews.

As for West, his work has made direct allusions to Akira in the past. Most notably, the rapper's music video for his single "Stronger" was shot in Japan and geared around the anime. The video recreated select scenes from Otomo's film, and the song's electronic beat only elevated the clever homage.

So far, Akira has retained its iconic status, and Hollywood is eager to explore what makes its story so potent. The industry has tried to make a live-action adaptation of the anime for years, but each attempt has stalled. Most recently, director Taika Waititi was rumored to be attached to the project, and the man told Dazed Digital how he would approach the classic.

"I haven't really started to get my head around it yet. What I wanted to do was an adaptation of the books, 'cos a lot of people are like, 'Don't touch that film!' and I'm like, 'I'm not remaking the film, I want to go back to the book.' A lot of the people freaking out haven't even read the books, and there are six gigantic books to go through," the director teased.

"It's so rich. But (the anime) Akira is one of my favourite films; my mum took me to see it when I was 13 and it changed my life."

Do you see the connection between West and Akira? Let me know in the comments or hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB to talk all things comics and anime!

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