Coats; Ninja Scroll

Ninja Scroll, the 1994 feature anime movie, takes place during the time of feudal Japan, where the samurai and ninja warrior reined supreme. The story follows the adventures of a wandering ninja named Jubei Kibagami, and a female ninja counterpart, Kagero. Not long into the film, Jubei is poisoned by, and therefore forced into helping, a small, crazed Buddhist monk named Dakuan (later we learn he is actually a government spy). Basically, the story boils down to Jubei and Kagero helping this crazy little monk fellow hunt out and kill the Devils of Kimon so that they may find the gold mines the Tokugawa are searching for. Dakuan, being a spy for the Tokugawa shogunate, uses Jubei and Kagero to fight off the Devils of Kimon while he conducts the main investigation on his own. However, during these battles with the Devils, Kagero is abducted by the Devil, Shijima. Shijima posses Kagero, and forces her to fight Jubei when he arrives to rescue her. Jubei, however, quickly disposes of Shijima. Once the group is reunited, they attempt to stop the remaining Devils of Kimon from transporting the gold via ship to the Shogun of the Dark, but in their attempts Kagero is fatally wounded. (oh no!) Jubei quickly rushes to her side to hold her in her last moments of life. Kagero, in her few final moments, confesses her love to Jubei, the two kiss (curing Jubei’s poison), and she then passes away. Enraged, Jubei hacks and slashes through the enemy forces, boarding the ship before it departs. Dakuan also makes it on to the ship, and overhears Toyotomi retainer and Gemma discussing their true intentions for the gold. The Toyotomi explains the plans to use the gold to purchase advanced weapons from Spain, while Gemma on the other hand, plans to use the gold for himself to raise the ultimate ninja army. Gemma then kills the Toyotami retainer, and takes control of the ship. Meanwhile, Jubei and Dakuan are in the hold of the ship, and in a battle with Zakuro, set the ship aflame. Gemma confronts Jubei, and the two have a final clash. In an ironic turn of events (as it so commonly happens in anime), Gemma falls into a pool of molten gold, and dies. Jubei and Dakuan manage to escape the ship before it sinks completely, thus ending their epic journey.

Coats - Akira

The story takes place in a post-WWIII, post-apocalyptic, city called Neo Tokyo, in the year 2019 AD (not to far off from our own time). The city of Neo Tokyo seems to be a place of violence and struggle between citizens, the police and military force, government, and terrorist organizations. However, it seems as though there’s an overlying struggle for power that drives the story.

As the story progresses, it uses very fast-paced and intricate animation as well as quick scene changes to emphasize the fast-paces, and almost anxious, living conditions of New Tokyo. Not too far into the movie, we are introduced to two of our main characters, Tetsuo and Kaneda. Both of these boys belong to a nameless bosozuko, in which, Kaneda is the leader. Because of his role as the gang leader, Kaneda looks to protect his fellow members from harms way, but Tetsuo feels as though his sheltering only holds him back from being the best biker he can be. This conflict of interest between Kaneda and Tetsuo only progresses as the movie continues. We also learn early on that Tetsuo fills the role of a sort of “runt” or weak-link of the gang, which explains his character’s lust for power and control (which we’ll get into in a moment).

After running into an opposing bosozuko called the “Clowns”, Tetsuo becomes victim of a nearly fatal crash that lands him in an experimental facility, run by the Neo Tokyo government. They conduct experiments on Tetsuo, and this is where we first learn of the all-powerful “Akira”. Not much is explained right away, except that if Tetsuo shared the same qualities as Akira, he could have endless, boundless power: the power of a god.

When Tetsuo is released from the experimental facility, he rejoins the gang, at first oblivious of his new power. Over time, he experiences horrible flash backs, alluding to the destructive force he was bound to become. Once Tetsuo realizes his new power, he rebels against his former leader, Kaneda, and begins to lay waste to a city that is already a wasteland. Tetsuo becomes lost within his power, corrupted by his constant lust for power, and is eventually consumed within himself. Towards the end of the movie, Tetsuo begins to realize the error of his ways, realizing that the power he longed for so badly would be the end of him and his loved ones. Kaneda, in a last desperate attempt, tries to save Tetsuo, but they both slowly come to terms with their inevitable fate. But at that same moment, a blinding light consumes both Tetsuo and the other telepathic children, saving Kaneda, and revealing Akira for the first and only time. Once the light fades, only a shell of the city is left, but by some miracle, Kaneda, Kei, Kaisuke, and Colonel survive. As they ride their bikes away to the city, you can hear Tetsuo’s voice say, “I am Tetsuo.” This leaves a lot up in the air as far as the fate of Tetsuo. Is he truly gone? Is he now a god-like entity, watching over the rest of his friends? The only thing for certain is that the physical end of Tetsuo means a new beginning for the rest of the world.

Coats; Introduction

Hello, my name is Austin. I'm currently posting this VERY exciting editorial about myself for a homework assignment, in which I get to state various facts that I think you may find interesting (but I’m not holding my breath). Let's begin, shall we? I was born and raised in New Orleans until the age of 8, when my family and I relocated to North Carolina. After living the farm life and spending lots of quality time with trees, we eventually decided to move back to our home town and return to city living. Fast forward a few years, and you'd find me at Thomas Jefferson Senior High School for Advanced Studies, at which I spent my entire high school career. I feel I had an interesting high school experience due to the fact that we were a very small and very new high school with no sense of tradition or seniority (which I thought was wonderful). During my high school career, I was made captain of my school’s soccer team, was made our band leader, was voted best dancer and most musically inclined, and was also given the privilege of composing our schools first Alma Mater.  I didn't participate in many extracurricular activities because I was more interested in spending my spare time playing music outside of school. I was part of various bands and projects that covered an array of different genres, including jazz, progressive-rock, punk/pop punk, electronic, metal/metal-core, etc. In addition to playing music outside of school, I was also involved in various stage-play productions with the help and guidance from my theatre teacher and fellow actor, Jerry Lee Leighton. A few of the productions we were both involved in includes Joey and Mary’s Wedding, The Sicilian Bachelor, and The Rocky Horror Show. Although I enjoyed the experience and involvement in theatre, it just was never really “my thing”. As I’m writing this, I am in the beginning weeks of my second semester as a freshman at Loyola University. I major in Music Industry Studies with a minor in business, and through this course program, I intend on expanding my creative and musical mind, as well as furthering my general and musical education. I also like moon-lit walks on the beach, candle-lit dinners, drinkin’ piña coladas, and getting caught in the rain.