We’ve all seen Akira 『AKIRA』（アキラ）, yes?

The manga and anime versions of this story are enormously popular, so I’m surprised that I can’t find anyone online asking the question, “where did the explosion start in Akira?” You know, THIS explosion, the one that started WW3, and which the government probably claimed was a nuclear attack by a foreign country:

Below is (1) a composite of stills from the opening scene, and (2) an aerial view from today, per Google Earth:

Watch the opening here:

Here is a closer look from Google Earth. Based on my analysis of the Akira stills, the bomb detonates at approximately the following coordinates: 35.669409, 139.644459 (map).

This happens to be a large cemetery just to the west of the Izumi campus 和泉キャンパス of Meiji University (Meiji daigaku) 明治大学.

In the manga version, the location of the explosion appears much closer to the center of Shinjuku:

LINKS:

• (not) like a cancer grows: artistic expression as alternative success narrative 芸術表現
• “The deep influence of the A-bomb on anime and manga” (Frank Fuller, The Conversation)
• EDITORIAL: On Akira and Its Existence in Japanese Cinema (JARED CYHOWSKI)

See also:

• Bombing Nagasaki: the scrapbook