Ever wondered what goes on during the making of an anime? How hard do the animators slog to create every single detail of your favourite series? Well, a recent discovery of an Akira Easter egg by an eagle-eyed anime fan gave us an insight into the workload of an animator.
Japanese Twitter user @HikozaTwi spotted an Easter egg hidden in the scene in Akira where the 25th ESPer predicts impending doom for the city. The background of the scene featured a caution sign, which hid a secret message from an Akira animator who was clearly suffering from overwork.
Image adapted from: @HikozaTwi
Although the seemingly innocuous caution sign is written in English letters, it’s actually romanised Japanese. The sign says, “Do shite conna to coma deka ka na kiyanan naino! Ikagen nisei! Mou.”
Although it reads like gibberish at first glance, this is what it actually means: “Why do I have to even draw this part! Give me a break! Geez.”
The poor animator was clearly so frustrated by their workload that they decided to vent their feelings through a secret message in the very work they were venting about.
Akira fans across the internet were tickled by the discovery of this relatable display of passive-aggressiveness. Some even praised the animator’s ingenious way of disguising the message as English.
Image adapted from: @nanofura
In reply to @HikozaTwi, Twitter user @nanofura tweeted, “This is amazing!”
Image adapted from: @Kiyopy56
User @Kiyopy56 said, “It’s so clever to camouflage the message in English. The animator has a good sense of humour.”
Netizens also expressed concern for the well-being of the overworked animators. This was apparently a common state of being for animators of that era. Similar secret messages were also found in other popular anime series.
Twitter user @haru_G7 provided an incriminating screenshot of a hidden message in Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam. The screenshot depicts a chalkboard full of science-y text, but it actually translates to “Hooray! I’m done. Now I can move onto something else.”
Image adapted from: @haru_G7
It’s a feat that an Akira Easter egg took 34 years to be found, considering its popularity. Perhaps it is time for us to rewatch Akira to see if there are any more of such hidden messages waiting to be discovered?
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Cover image adapted from: @04kakeru25
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