MIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIL​​HOUSSSSE - BAAAAAAAAAA​AAAAAAAAAAART
April 4, 2013 5:35 PM   Subscribe

Bartkira is a collaborative effort of several cartoonists to adapt the manga Akira in to the world of The Simpsons. Here are a few panels from artist Cameron Stewart.
posted by codacorolla (40 comments total) 27 users marked this as a favorite
 
Words cannot describe how much I approve.
posted by Joakim Ziegler at 5:38 PM on April 4, 2013 [2 favorites]


Other panels are available through this Tumblr search. Examples: posted by codacorolla at 5:41 PM on April 4, 2013 [1 favorite]


Ralph Wiggum as Akira is a stroke of brilliance.
posted by sparklemotion at 5:45 PM on April 4, 2013 [3 favorites]


What is this thing called Ralph?
posted by Mister Moofoo at 5:54 PM on April 4, 2013


This is so so good.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 5:56 PM on April 4, 2013


Holy WTF.
posted by KokuRyu at 6:05 PM on April 4, 2013


The choice of Ralph Wiggum as Akira is sublime.
posted by KokuRyu at 6:05 PM on April 4, 2013


BAMMMHHH...BAAMMMHHHH......bamh bamba-badam bamba-badambadadam....
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 6:09 PM on April 4, 2013




Sometimes people on the internet bring me to such an unfathomable level of baffled excitement that I can't even begin to understand the feelings I'm experiencing. All I can say is I'm in love with this.
posted by azarbayejani at 6:25 PM on April 4, 2013 [2 favorites]


It's just so very very perfect a concept. The rules are laid out clearly, and the resulting pages I have seen have all been great.

How will this all be gathered together as it develops? Will there be a one-stop shop to read these, or will I have to do my own searching and assemble a zillion links? That would annoy.
posted by hippybear at 6:29 PM on April 4, 2013


I set this picture as my desktop background and spent a full minute staring at my empty desktop laughing.
posted by azarbayejani at 6:29 PM on April 4, 2013 [2 favorites]


I don't understand this. That's a good thing.
posted by solarion at 6:38 PM on April 4, 2013


I find Simpsons characters in non Simpsons contexts deeply disturbing for some reason.
posted by The Whelk at 6:39 PM on April 4, 2013


I love you, Internet.
posted by sparkletone at 6:40 PM on April 4, 2013


I find Simpsons characters in non Simpsons contexts deeply disturbing for some reason.

Then you'll hate this.
posted by codacorolla at 6:43 PM on April 4, 2013 [4 favorites]


Then You'll hate this
posted by The Whelk at 6:45 PM on April 4, 2013 [1 favorite]


Bartkira is a collaborative effort of several cartoonists to adapt the manga Akira in to the world of The Simpsons.

Of course it is. And why not?
posted by Tell Me No Lies at 6:50 PM on April 4, 2013


Is Ralph a viking here too?
posted by JHarris at 7:32 PM on April 4, 2013


What I love about the comics community that has formed on Tumblr is that you'll have a fun little idea floating around that gets the right reblogs and then suddenly a pro like Cameron Stewart (who is fantastic and has worked on Batman comics with Grant Morrison among other things) is suddenly joining in the fun.
posted by thecjm at 7:38 PM on April 4, 2013


I find Simpsons characters in non Simpsons contexts deeply disturbing for some reason.

Then you'll hate this.


and thus.
posted by sebastienbailard at 7:48 PM on April 4, 2013 [1 favorite]


The art quality is very variable, but the examples in the FFP's "here" link really nail Otomo's style. I'm less thrilled about the stuff that's not on the Simpsons-Akira art style continuum, but try to impose some third, unrelated style, like the Martyn Jasinski stuff.

The doesn't make sense, though, since Bart is Kaneda, not Akira. This should clearly have been called AKIRALPH.

Also, obligatory "Oh boy, manga! That's where I'm an unstoppable telepathic mutant force of nature!"
posted by Joakim Ziegler at 8:33 PM on April 4, 2013 [2 favorites]


The doesn't make sense, though, since Bart is Kaneda, not Akira. This should clearly have been called AKIRALPH.

From the man of twist and turns' link: "(Also, I think it’s important to point out that yes, Ralph is Akira, so why is it called Bartkira? Well, Akiralph doesn’t do a good job of communicating what the project is about. Before you read this post you instantly knew that this was about Bart Simspon and Akira.)"
posted by kenko at 9:03 PM on April 4, 2013


I know next to nothing about manga, but this is amazing. Reiterating hippybear, will this be assembled somewhere that's chronological and convenient?
posted by sensate at 9:03 PM on April 4, 2013


That was supposed to be "The title doesn't make sense", I have no idea why that came out wrong.
posted by Joakim Ziegler at 9:04 PM on April 4, 2013


I find Simpsons characters in non Simpsons contexts deeply disturbing for some reason.

Then you'll loooooove this.
posted by to sir with millipedes at 9:20 PM on April 4, 2013 [2 favorites]


No matter how Akira is reimagined, I'll only ever want to watch it on a 12" laserdisc, in Japanese w/ English subtitles. Sorry, but I'm just not going to surrender to any other intrepretation.
posted by Lukenlogs at 11:10 PM on April 4, 2013


Remember when the Internets was up in arms over the proposed American remake? :)
posted by fallingbadgers at 11:23 PM on April 4, 2013


Somebody do this with Krusty and Sideshow Bob.
posted by obiwanwasabi at 12:07 AM on April 5, 2013


Remember when the Internets was up in arms over the proposed American remake? :)

Yeah, then I saw Chronicle and thought they did as best of a job as anyone could do, which was pretty damn good.
posted by P.o.B. at 12:48 AM on April 5, 2013


Now I want to hear Geinō Yamashirogumi do the Simpsons theme song.
posted by ardgedee at 3:56 AM on April 5, 2013 [2 favorites]


These pages from Cameron Stewart in fine form. Loving this project :).
posted by invisible_al at 5:40 AM on April 5, 2013 [1 favorite]


hippybear and sensate: James Harvey may be the one to ask - he appears to be the one organizing this.
posted by BiggerJ at 4:38 PM on April 5, 2013


I am wondering where the line on white-washing is in relation to this.
posted by P.o.B. at 10:10 AM on April 6, 2013


I don't think it's like the Akira movie where they were so phobic of a Japanese leading man that they decided to cast Leonardo Dicaprio. Putting the Simpsons in to these roles isn't an effort to make the source material more palatable for a mass market, but rather a humorous re-imagining of two classic texts.

Also, I didn't notice it until recently, but Sam Cookson making Mr. Sparkle into Kaneda's pill jacket emblem is my favorite thing about the project I've seen so far.
posted by codacorolla at 11:41 AM on April 6, 2013


I wouldn't say phobia, which is an outdated way of talking about plain old hate, has as much to do with it as compared to profit motives. This doesn't capitalize on profits so I'm not making a case here, but I also don't think because someone makes it a humorous re-imagining is actually in the clear.
posted by P.o.B. at 12:02 PM on April 6, 2013


POB, I think it is the primary distinction that this is deliberately incongruous. Bartkira feels targeted at an audience that is already familiar with the source material, while the point of a "white-washing" recast would be to reach an audience that was not familiar with other versions of Akira.

The two takes are very different in terms of which audience they are trying to cater to and which one can be dismissed as unimportant. And since people unfamiliar with Akira aren't going to feel any attachment to the source material, you're not going to see them getting upset at being dismissed.
posted by RobotHero at 7:42 PM on April 7, 2013


Since it isn't incongruous as westerns made out of samurai flicks, I disagree that incongruity is the defining aspect.
posted by P.o.B. at 1:02 PM on April 8, 2013


Then I guess I've got nothing. Bartkira and Fistful of Dollars are exactly the same.
posted by RobotHero at 2:55 PM on April 8, 2013


I feel like worrying that doing a Simpsons/Akira mashup is somehow whitewashing is awfully close to concern trolling.

Anyway, it's the Simpsons. It would be yellowwashing, at best. Which then gets all kinds of problematic when it comes to Asian stereotyping in western cultures.

Best to just set this down and back away slowly. It's just a fun thing.
posted by hippybear at 6:44 PM on April 9, 2013


« Older I said Goddamn!!!   |   Playing With Food Newer »


This thread has been archived and is closed to new comments