Reference6, AKIRA

Akira (アキラ, Akira) is a 1988 Japanese animated film co-written and directed by Katsuhiro Otomo based on his manga of the same name. The film is set in a neon-lit futuristic post-apocalyptic Tokyo in 2019. While most of the character designs and basic settings were directly adapted from the original 2,182 page manga epic, the restructured plot of the movie differs considerably from the print version, pruning much of the last half of the book. Akira is regarded by critics as one of the greatest animated films ever made.

The story begins in 1988 in Tokyo, just as the city is destroyed by what seems to be a nuclear explosion. Presumably due to international confusion following the incident, the explosion leads to the start of World War III.

Thirty-one years later, in the year 2019, the futuristic metropolis of Neo-Tokyo stands on an artificial island in Tokyo Bay. A gang of teenage bikers, led by smug 16-year-old delinquent Shotaro Kaneda, find themselves involved in a street fight with a rival gang called the Clowns. Tetsuo Shima, Kaneda's best friend, having chased two Clown members into the abandoned Tokyo, finds a child with wizened features blocking his path. The boy, Takashi, had been previously set free from a government facility by a member of the terrorist Resistance, but teleported to the highway after the rescuer was killed by soldiers during a riot. As Tetsuo tries to avoid Takashi, his bike inexplicably explodes. When the gang reaches the scene, several military helicopters also arrive. Led by Colonel Shikishima, armed soldiers take Takashi and the injured Tetsuo away while Kaneda and his friends are arrested.

The gang is brought in for questioning, but the interrogators are soon convinced the boys are not members of the Resistance. Among the other detainees, Kaneda recognizes a female Resistance member named Kei from an earlier-spied mugshot and, finding her attractive, gets the soldiers to release her by convincing them she is part of their gang. Kei abruptly leaves the scene, leaving a spurned Kaneda behind. When the boys are returned to their vocational training school, they are harshly disciplined by the school administration.

Meanwhile, Colonel Shikishima, engaged in discussion of a Supreme Executive Council inquiry into Takashi's escape, is summoned by Doctor Onishi, who is monitoring Tetsuo at the government lab. Tetsuo is displaying strong mental frequencies that are reminiscent of something called "Akira," which apparently had something to do with the explosion that destroyed Tokyo thirty-one years earlier. The Colonel orders the Doctor to kill Tetsuo without hesitation should his power grow beyond control.

Tetsuo escapes and meets up with his girlfriend, Kaori. Deciding to run away together, they steal Kaneda's bike, which stalls just as the two are leaving the city. They are immediately attacked by Clown members, who are about to destroy the bike when Kaneda and his gang show up and defeat them. Tetsuo and Kaneda then enter a confrontation during which Tetsuo declares his longstanding resentment for Kaneda. Tetsuo then has a painful headache accompanied by disturbing hallucinations. Scientists and bodyguards, acting on orders of the Doctor, sweep in to recapture Tetsuo and take him away.

That night, as the gang hangs out in the city, they are interrupted by a terrorist attack. Kaneda glimpses Kei and Ryu, and follows as they flee the scene. Kei separates from Ryu and enters the sewers, but is spotted by soldiers; In the scuffle, Kei shoots and kills a soldier. Kei and Kaneda flee the scene.

Meanwhile, Tetsuo remains hospitalized, dreaming of his childhood and having violent hallucinations. He suddenly wakes, his headache causing a nearby light to shatter.

At the government nursery, Kiyoko, a psionically gifted yet wizened child (an Esper), tells the Colonel that she dreamt of Akira and Neo-Tokyo's destruction. The Colonel and the Doctor agree that it might be Kiyoko's precognition at work, and the Doctor notes that the Supreme Executive Council will want to hear about it. The Colonel travels to Akira's underground cryonic storage chamber, finding all of its systems to be operating normally.

Kaneda and Kei make their way to the hideout of the Resistance. The group privately reviews their next assignment: to gain access to a government facility to rescue a new test subject named Tetsuo Shima. After being discovered eavesdropping, Kaneda explains to the suspicious group that he and Tetsuo are friends, and that he can help. After Ryu meets with the Resistance leader Nezu, and they both agree to use Kaneda as a decoy should there be any trouble, the group later decides to bring him along.

Appearing before the Supreme Executive Council, the Colonel is angered when the Council members scoff at his requests for further funding for the project, and question his sense of duty as a soldier. The Resistance leader Nezu is revealed to be a Council member and a government mole mentioned earlier in the story. Frustrated by the Council's arguing on better ways to spend the project's budget, the Colonel abruptly leaves the meeting.

In his hospital room at the government facility that night, Tetsuo is attacked by the Espers -- Takashi, Kiyoko, and a third child, Masaru -- who pose as gigantic toys and destroy the room, leaking milk the whole time. Tetsuo steps on a glass and cuts his foot which scares away the Espers, who are apparently frightened at the sight of blood. Tetsuo then discovers the location of their nursery nearby. After breaking out of his room, Tetsuo begins traveling to the nursery, killing soldiers and wreaking destruction.

Meanwhile, the Resistance group, having made it into the facility disguised as cable workers, is spotted sneaking in the sewers and a chase ensues. During the violent shootout, Kaneda manages to hijack a "flying platform" -- a small aerial vehicle flown by soldiers -- and takes Kei as they flee the scene. Kiyoko possesses Kei and leads Kaneda to the government nursery, where Tetsuo has already arrived. Tetsuo has begun using his mind to attack both the Colonel's army and the Espers. He has learned about Akira and is eager to find out what it is, hoping to make his headaches stop. Using his new powers, Tetsuo escapes and heads for Akira's location beneath the city's Olympic Stadium, currently under construction.

Kei and Kaneda are locked in a holding cell. Kiyoko speaks through Kei once again, warning of Tetsuo's immense power. The cell door becomes unlocked and the two escape.

The Colonel, having initiated a coup d'etat, mobilizes his men to the stadium, and also has the members of the Supreme Executive Council arrested. Upon hearing this at his home, the mole Nezu murders his staff. When Ryu arrives to inform him of the mission's failure, Nezu shoots him and leaves with a briefcase full of money. In an alley, Nezu later dies of a heart attack. Ryu, having followed Nezu, also dies from his wounds.

Tetsuo is now wreaking havoc across Neo-Tokyo on his way to the Olympic Stadium, destroying tanks and helicopters. Kei, again possessed by Kiyoko, attempts to fight him but is soon thrown aside. When Tetsuo tears Akira's entire cryonic chamber from underground and opens it, he finds nothing left of except dissected body parts housed in canisters.

Making his way though wreckage of the scene, Kaneda, now armed with a laser cannon, confronts Tetsuo, and they begin to fight. In the middle of the skirmish, the Colonel activates an orbital weapon called SOL, and its beam severs Tetsuo's right arm in the process. An enraged Tetsuo flies into space and pulls SOL out of orbit, causing it to disintegrate in the atmosphere.

That night, Tetsuo hides out at the Olympic Stadium, where Kaori finds him screaming in pain. He has fashioned a new, apparently mechanical arm, which seems to throb with a life of its own. The Colonel soon appears, asking Tetsuo to come back to the lab with him, but Tetsuo attacks him. When the Colonel shoots back, Tetsuo's arm transforms into a horrific blob that attempts to swallow the Colonel. Kaneda arrives and shoots the monstrous appendage, causing it to recede. Meanwhile, the Espers have arrived at the stadium and seem to be communicating with the canisters that Tetsuo took from the cryonic chamber.

As Tetsuo and Kaneda fight again, Tetsuo's body swells into a huge protoplasmic mutation. Tetsuo's gruesome form grabs and kills Kaori, and nearly kills Kaneda before he can escape.

Akira suddenly appears, revealed to be a young boy without a physical body. His arrival triggers another explosion. Kiyoko touches the Colonel, instantly teleporting him to safety. The explosive energy sphere starts to absorb Tetsuo, who pleads for Kaneda's help. Kaneda, desperate to save his friend in need, follows Tetsuo into the energy sphere. In an effort to save Kaneda, the Espers decide to enter as well, intending to use their combined powers to free him. The Espers tell Tetsuo that Akira will be sending him "away" (to an undisclosed destination). Kaneda then seems to be ejected from the inside of Akira's onslaught, awakening outside the explosion upon hearing Kei's voice calling his name, perhaps telepathically communicated by the Espers.

Neo-Tokyo is destroyed by the violently expanding sphere; streets are gutted and flooded by the event, and Doctor Onishi is killed when his laboratory collapses. Kaneda survives, as do Kei, Kaisuke (one of Kaneda's gang), and the Colonel. The former three meet up at the ruins of the Olympic Stadium, wondering if Tetsuo is truly dead. They then ride their damaged bikes across a bridge into the ruined city to start a new beginning.

Somewhere, a stylized "big bang" breaches the cosmic darkness and Tetsuo's voice says "I am Tetsuo." This may imply that Tetsuo is now a god-like entity residing in his own universe.

Mood collector - final consideration

Story's name is "Mood Collector".
In the future, the top headquater of the army always using artificial made of flesh blood and machines, they calling them "senshi(worriers)". For the course of making the most useful and strongest "senshi", they need to take the "mood" from the battlefield, to improve the experiences of "senshi". The winner from the battlefield always having this kind of experience, so must be the third person to take the experience out and save it as data. But there's one kind of people collecting the "mood" as their career. Different from the others, they will kill the winner and save the "mood" database in their bodys, also have been called as "mood collectors"...

Reference5, Naruto

Twelve years before the events at the focus of the series, the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox attacked Konohagakure. Powerful enough to raise tsunamis and flatten mountains with a swish of one of its tails, it raised chaos and slaughtered many people, until the leader of the Leaf Village – the Fourth Hokage – sacrificed his own life to seal the demon inside Naruto when he was a newborn. The Fourth Hokage, who was celebrated as a hero for sealing the demon fox away, wanted Naruto to be respected in a similar light by being the containment vessel for the demon fox.

The Leaf Village, however, shunned him, regarding Naruto as if he were the demon fox itself and mistreated him throughout most of his childhood. A decree made by the Third Hokage forbade anyone to discuss or mention the attack of the demon fox to anyone, even their own children. However, this did not stop them from treating him like an outcast and as a result he grew up an orphan without friends, family, or acknowledgment. He could not force people to befriend him, so he sought acknowledgment and attention the only way he knew – through pranks and mischief.

However, that soon changed after Naruto graduated from the Ninja Academy by using his Shadow Clone Technique, a technique from a forbidden scroll that he was tricked into stealing, to save his teacher, Iruka Umino, from the renegade ninja Mizuki. That encounter gave Naruto two insights: that he was the container of the demon fox, and that there was someone besides the Third Hokage who actually cared for and acknowledged him. His graduation from the academy opened a gateway to the events and people that would change and define his world, including his way of the ninja for the rest of his life.^[5]

The main story follows Naruto and his friends' personal growth and development as ninja, and emphasizes their interactions with each other and the influence of their backgrounds on their personalities. Naruto finds two friends and comrades in Sasuke Uchiha and Sakura Haruno, two fellow young ninja who are assigned with him to form a three-person team under an experienced sensei named Kakashi Hatake.^[6] Naruto also confides in other characters that he meets throughout the series as well. They learn new abilities, get to know each other and other villagers better, and experience a coming-of-age journey as Naruto dreams of becoming the Hokage of the Leaf Village.

Throughout all of the Naruto plot, strong emphasis on character development changes the plot, with very few things happening because of chance. At first, emphasis is placed on Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura, who are the members of Team 7. However, other characters are developed, such as Kakashi, Tsunade, and Jiraiya, as well as Naruto's peers in the other teams and villages. Several major villains come into play as well, the first being Zabuza Momochi, a missing-nin from Kirigakure, and his partner, Haku. Later, in the Chunin Exams arc, Orochimaru is introduced as an S-Class missing-nin at the top of Konoha's most wanted list. During this arc, three ninjas known as the Sand Siblings are introduced. These siblings are from Sunagakure and include Temari, Kankuro and Gaara. Later still, a mysterious organization called Akatsuki begins to pursue Naruto for the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox inside him.

In the original one shot of "Naruto," Naruto Uzumaki is the son of a powerful fox demon, whose spirit was sealed away by nine powerful warriors. Only one person, the current chief of the village of the demon fox spirits on Mt. Oinari with a large resemblance to the Third Hokage from the current series, survived, and he took on the duty of raising Naruto. Naruto, however, is mischievous and a trouble maker, pulling multiple pranks on others with each passing day. The village chief, angry, sends Naruto on special training to the human world to find a human friend he can trust, otherwise he would not be welcome to the village any longer.

While in the human world, Naruto meets the artist Kuroda, who trusted no one after his father's death, struggling to finish an important painting. After Kuroda's assistant, Takashi, is killed and the painting is stolen, Naruto is framed and arrested. Kuroda, however, sympathizes with Naruto enough to legally take all punishments that would have been given to Naruto. Naruto, attempting to repay Kuroda, searches for Takashi's murderer, eventually finding out that Matsushima, who hired Kuroda to make the painting, and his body guard plotted the whole affair and framed Naruto. Naruto defeats both of them with ease, and the two get arrested, with no one believing their stories about Naruto's abilities. Although Naruto befriends Kuroda, however, Kuroda is too busy to follow Naruto to Mt. Oinari, and thus Naruto leaves to continue his quest.

The original Naruto had a significant theming on friendship and trust. At the beginning of the story, neither Naruto or Kuroda trusted anyone, but by the end both befriended and trusted each other. Despite its high results in the reader poll after getting released, Kishimoto thought "[the] art stinks and the story's a mess!" Kishimoto also revealed that he was originally working on Karakuri for the Hop Step Award when, unsatisfied by the rough drafts, decided to work on something different instead, which later formed into Naruto.

Noticeably, in the original Naruto, scrolls and stickers are used for the lesser jutsu, rather than using hand signs to initiate jutsu.

When an interviewer asked Kishimoto if he had any message for his Anglophone audience, Kishimoto said "I feel sometimes that Naruto is too Japanese, with all the chakra and hand signs, but as you read it you'll find that it's fun."

Reference4, Fullmetal Alchemist

Fullmetal Alchemist is a science fantasy manga set in the early 20th century in a country called Amestris in an alternate-historical Earth with technology dating from early 20th century Europe. In this alternate world, the exaggerated science of alchemy is heavily used in conjunction with acretian soul wanderers, but takes on a further fantastic element not seen in real-life alchemy. In the fictional world of the series, alchemy is the science of transmuting matter into a different form of that same matter (following the law of equivalent exchange) through the use of transmutation circles—based on real-world science, yet also magical, with seemingly infinite uses. Talented alchemists may apply to take a State Alchemist test to join the Amestris military's State Alchemists.

Edward and Alphonse Elric were brothers living in the village of Resembool in the country of Amestris. Their father Hohenheim (Hohenheim of Light in the anime, Van Hohenheim in the manga) left home when Edward and Alphonse were still very young. Years later, their mother, Trisha Elric, died of a terminal illness. After their mother's death, Edward becomes determined to bring her back through the use of alchemy. However, this attempt failed, ultimately resulting in the loss of Edward's left leg and Alphonse's entire body. In a desperate effort to save his brother, Edward sacrificed his right arm to affix his brother's soul to a suit of armor. After that, Edward's left leg and right arm were fitted with two sets of automail, a type of advanced prosthetic limb.

A State Alchemist named Roy Mustang arrives during the failed human transmutation. After seeing their skill at alchemy, Mustang suggested that the way for the two boys to achieve their goals would be to become State Alchemists and work for him. Spurred on by the man's proposal, Edward set out to become a State Alchemist, enabling him to use the resources available to State Alchemists to discover a way to restore what he and Alphonse had lost. The brothers eventually learn of the Philosopher's Stone and set off in search of it as a means to restore their bodies. Along the way they discover secrets about the Philosopher's Stone they never wanted to know, and find others who seek it as well, doing almost whatever they can to get their hands on it.

The stories of the manga and anime separate soon after the encounter with Greed, and weave vastly different tales. The most prominent of the differences is the primary antagonist. In the manga, this is a man known simply as "Father". Father is the creator of all the homunculi in the manga series and commands them from behind the curtains of the High Command of the country Amestris, which, King Bradley (the homunculus Pride in the anime and Wrath in the manga^[4]) later reveals to Roy Mustang, was created by Father as well. It is suspected that Father plans to use Amestris as a gigantic transmutation circle to create a Philosopher's Stone, but the homunculus Envy hints that, although close, this is not the whole truth. Regardless, Edward and Alphonse become mixed up in Father's plans and end up becoming prime "human sacrifices" for whatever he has in store.

The main antagonist of the anime series is a woman known as Dante. A previous lover of Hohenheim, Dante and he were masterful alchemists and perfected methods for making the Philosopher's Stone and a form of immortality in which their souls jump to a new host body every time their current vessel began to age. However, Hohenheim soon fell in love with another and left Dante, taking with him the perfected Philosopher's Stone formula. Although Dante is still able to jump from body to body to preserve her youth, she is able to spend less and less time in each body as it decays faster with each jump, so she seeks the stone's formula to sustain her power. Dante is the leader of the homunculi, and though she did not create all of them, she sustains them by feeding them imperfect shards of the Philosopher's Stone. She uses them to spur Edward and Alphonse into finding the complete Philosopher's Stone formula for her.

Reference3, Pluto

Pluto is an on-going manga serial by Naoki Urasawa published in Big Comic Original starting in 2003. It is based upon events from the classic series by Osamu Tezuka, Tetsuwan Atom (a.k.a Astro Boy, literally Iron-Arm Atom). Specifically, the series uses the characters and original story from the popular "Chijou saidai no ROBOTTO" ("The World's Strongest Robot", Dark Horse's version: "The Greatest Robot on Earth") storyline from the 3rd volume of the manga (as well as a few elements from the 2003 anime series version of the storyline with bits and pieces added from other stories by Tezuka) and reinterprets the plot as a murder mystery and noirish suspense thriller. In terms of both tone and visual style, the series is a complete and modern re-envisioning of the Astro Boy universe dissimilar to the original manga.

The main character of the series, rather than being Atom, is the Europol robot detective Gesicht (German for face) and his attempts to capture a powerful killer in Germany who is attacking both humans and robot with no apparent motives. The case becomes much more puzzling when evidence leans toward the murders being the work of a robot, which is something that hasn't happened for eight years.

Despite the manga not starring Atom, he and most of the characters from Tezuka's original story show up, with Atom himself becoming a recurring character after meeting Gesicht in Chapter Seven. So far, the manga has run for 50 chapters, and has had 5 collected volumes published.

Reference2, Appleseed

Set in 2131 AD, Appleseed stars Deunan Knute, a young, legendary female soldier and a survivor of the Third World War, which brought Earth to the brink of destruction. While fighting a number of unknown figures, a platoon of tall white soldiers come up and shoot them. As she tries to run away, they tranquilize her. Deunan later wakes up attached to a scanning device. Alarmed, she breaks free and takes a woman hostage while she attempts to escape, only to be stopped by the voice of her former lover and comrade Briareos, who is now a cyborg. Deunan soon learns that there was no nuclear war, and she is now in a Utopian city called Olympus. Its population is half human and half clone, a genetically-engineered species called Bioroids made from the best technical components. Olympus is governed by three factions: Prime Minister Athena, who Deunan seems to know; General Edward Uranus III, head of the Olympus Regular Army; and the Council of Elders -- seven old men hooked up to life support and anti-gravity chairs. Yet everything in the city is observed by an artificial intelligence named Gaia, which resides in a building called Tartarus. Here, Deunan integrates into the prestigious ESWAT organization to serve as the city's guardian and becomes friends with a Bioroid named Hitomi.

Bioroids are created from the DNA of Deunan's father, Carl, making the Bioroids her brothers and sisters, genetically speaking. Unfortunately, they have a lifespan much shorter than those of humans due to the suppression of their reproductive capabilities. When the facilities that were used in the Bioroid's life extension processes are destroyed by a secret faction of the Olympus Regular Army in a terrorist attack as part of its demonstration of fear and hatred for the Bioroids, a crisis which requires immediate resolution is formed, and the Appleseed data is revealed to still exist, even though most thought it destroyed.

Under the surface, Olympus is plagued by conflicting factions. Some believe that Bioroids are a threat to the future advancement of mankind, whilst others believe that humans themselves are the threat. The ultimate question is over everyone's right to life, and whether or not one group deserves life more than the other. At the center of this battle is Appleseed, the data that is able to extend Bioroid life.

Along with a top secret strike force, Deunan and Briareos head for the building where the Bioroids were originally created. With a disk given to her from Athena, she activates a holographic recording of where the Appleseed went. Dr. Gilliam, who created the Bioroids, entrusted the Appleseed to her daughter, Deunan. But she was killed by the military. And then coincidentally, the military had also arrived, thanks to a spy on their team. Colonel Hades, the anti-Bioroid activist who destroyed the Bioroid care facilities, reveals to Deunan that Briareos had intentionally allowed his Landmate to escape. They run to the rooftop with their team killed and get cornered by the Regular Army. Worse, Uranus had also came. He tries to convince Deunan that Bioroids seek to control humans, so he plans to blow up the D-Tank on Tartarus. Briareos tries to plea to the General that the Elders were the ones who planned this; the D-tank, which controls a virus that was originally meant to keep Bioroids in line, was reworked to sterilize humanity. Hades convinces Uranus that trying to negotiate is pointless. He reveals to Deunan that he blames her father for all that has happened. "If there's any one to blame, blame your father" and starts shooting. Briareos acts as a shield and Deunan shoots Hades directly in the brow and was barely able to escape.

When she returned to Olympus, the Council of Elders were able to save the Bioroids. However, she confronts them that they sent the military after them. The Elders confessed and reveal that they intend to unleash the deadly D-tank virus onto Olympus, sterilizing the human race, leaving the Bioroids the new rulers of Earth, claiming it is the will of Gaia. They required the Appleseed in order to keep the Bioroids alive, but Gilliam found out and hid the data so their plan could never come. However, both the military and Bioroids catch on and disable the button that'll unleash the virus. Athena tells Deunan that the Elders had been acting on their own and shut down Gaia once it realized humanity has lessened its hatred towards Bioroids. As a result, the Elders will soon die because Gaia regulates their life support systems. Unfortunately, the elders had a contingency plan; several mobile fortresses activate and began marching towards their location, to destroy Tartarus at point-blank range. Hitomi reveals to everyone assembled that her name can shut down the fortresses on the number 7. ESWAT begins mobilizing their forces to try to slow down the towers, with heavy casualties. Deunan and Briareos reach number 7 and managed to shut them down at the last second.

Director Shinji Aramaki also directed the sequel to the 2004 movie, titled Appleseed EX Machina, which was released in fall 2007 in Japan. The movie once again featured animated computer-generated imagery and John Woo was fully involved in the production.

Reference1, Ghost in the shell

Ghost in the Shell is a futuristic police thriller dealing with the exploits of Motoko Kusanagi, a member of the covert operations section of the Japanese National Public Safety Commission, Section 9, which specializes in fighting technology-related crime. She may be named after one of the three Imperial Regalia of Japan and Shirow makes reference to them at the end of the second manga. Although supposedly equal to all other members, Kusanagi fills the leadership role in the team, and is usually referred to as "the Major" due to her past rank in the armed forces. She is capable of superhuman feats, and cybernetically specialized for her job — her body is almost completely mechanized; only her brain and a segment of her spinal cord are organic.

The setting of Ghost in the Shell is cyberpunk or postcyberpunk, similar to that of William Gibson's Sprawl trilogy. More than other cyberpunk authors, however, Shirow focuses more on the ethical and philosophical ramifications of the widespread merging of humanity and technology, the development of artificial intelligence and an omnipresent computer network set the stage for a reevaluation of human identity and uniqueness. More so than the films, the manga tackles these questions head on: Kusanagi and her colleagues face external threats and also suffer internal conflict over their own natures.