AkiraAnime is a genre of animation with a distinct style hailing from Japan. Previously referred to as "japanimation", the genre is easily identified by a high level of detail and mature subject matter, as opposed to the characteristically youth-oriented "Disney" fare. Thirty years ago, if you had asked basically anyone what "anime" or "japanimation" was, you would have been greeted with blank stares, unless you were a part of a very select underground circuit. While anime is still somewhat niche, if you make even a passing search for it in stores--or online--you will have little trouble finding it. And it all changed...because of Akira.
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Akira is set in a dystopian future, thirty-one years after "World War III", after a triggering event we later learn is tied to the psionic awakening of a young Japanese boy named Akira. But this is the story of the virtual end of recognizable society in Japan, the resurgence of that dangerous psychic power and experimentation, set against the backdrop of political and social turmoil. This is the story of a group of young motorbike punks and how they get caught up in the revolution, and the trials of friendship between gang leader Kaneda and the oft-berated whelp of the gang, Tetsuo. When Tetsuo is captured to research (and experiment on) after his exposure to one of a few gifted children who is like what he will become, it becomes apparent that Tetsuo is imbued with a natural talent on par with his precursor, Akira, and becomes a force of destruction that carves a path of ruin through Neo-Tokyo on a mission to understand this new godlike power. Following Tetsuo's rampage, Kaneda feels obligated to rescue (or put down) his friend, and the two confront one another, desperately trying to make the other understand what their friendship really means. To say Akira is masterfully crafted feels like an understatement; the film is the condensation of an epic graphic novel eclipsing two thousand pages, and defying conventions previously associated with Japanese animation--which had been limited animation and cheaper production values. Akira boasts gorgeous, lush, hand-drawn animation, a richly detailed depiction of a fully-realized futuristic city that is compellingly convincing as the rotting carcass of a megalopolis, the 21st century politicians scurrying across it are portrayed as proverbial maggots, thus justifying the military coup by "The Colonel" in his attempt to rein in the chaos propagated by revolutionaries and zealots, not to mention Tetsuo and the catastrophic threat he represents.
It's almost impossible to think now that Akira was once thought of as unmarketable--rumor has it that this was a sentiment shared by the likes of Steven Spielberg and George Lucas. The film was one of the choicest picks of a small release company called Streamline Pictures, headed up by the late Carl Macek, who could be regarded as the "godfather of anime". Carl Macek had previously been responsible for the production of an animated series called Robotech (a personal favorite), representing one of the earliest examples of a Japanese animated program that in and of itself created fans of "Japanese animation". While contemporary anime maintains that his earlier localizations were not as faithful to the source material as later adaptations have been, this claim has the benefit of having been made in a culture where anime is far more predominant and prevalent as a direct result of his efforts to localize previously "unmarketable" content...and again, Akira was the true catalyst. Akira deals with big themes--freedom, social welfare, and friendship just to name a few--but conveys these themes through scenes that usually represent how those themes, when not acted upon with responsibility, often end in violent tragedy. Tetsuo lashes out violently when he is empowered to do so, because he has been bullied all his life, and feels that now it's his right to bully others since he's top dog. Conversely, Kaneda is unable to commiserate with Tetsuo's apparent evil, because he's always been used to protecting/bossing Tetsuo around prior to the events of the film. Even Neo-Tokyo itself is a "character", wounded and scarred, unable to even rebuild over the devastation inflicted upon it thirty-one years ago, piled up and fat like the Yebisu god of fortune, bloated on materialism, covered in garbage. In the end, the cataclysm inflicted upon the city, the destruction that pours through the streets is a divine wind, clearing away the dead flesh, a cleansing force of nature. We don't know what will happen to the young generation represented by Kaneda, Kei, and Kai--now wiser after their harrowing witness to the apocalypse--but we can hope that their future will be brighter and more pure than the preceding one, as they rise up like a phoenix from the ashes of old.
Recommended for: Fans of dazzling animation targeted for mature audiences who don't want to be patronized by silly animation targeted for children, craving a sophisticated and technically beautiful story of a society in its death throes.
It's almost impossible to think now that Akira was once thought of as unmarketable--rumor has it that this was a sentiment shared by the likes of Steven Spielberg and George Lucas. The film was one of the choicest picks of a small release company called Streamline Pictures, headed up by the late Carl Macek, who could be regarded as the "godfather of anime". Carl Macek had previously been responsible for the production of an animated series called Robotech (a personal favorite), representing one of the earliest examples of a Japanese animated program that in and of itself created fans of "Japanese animation". While contemporary anime maintains that his earlier localizations were not as faithful to the source material as later adaptations have been, this claim has the benefit of having been made in a culture where anime is far more predominant and prevalent as a direct result of his efforts to localize previously "unmarketable" content...and again, Akira was the true catalyst. Akira deals with big themes--freedom, social welfare, and friendship just to name a few--but conveys these themes through scenes that usually represent how those themes, when not acted upon with responsibility, often end in violent tragedy. Tetsuo lashes out violently when he is empowered to do so, because he has been bullied all his life, and feels that now it's his right to bully others since he's top dog. Conversely, Kaneda is unable to commiserate with Tetsuo's apparent evil, because he's always been used to protecting/bossing Tetsuo around prior to the events of the film. Even Neo-Tokyo itself is a "character", wounded and scarred, unable to even rebuild over the devastation inflicted upon it thirty-one years ago, piled up and fat like the Yebisu god of fortune, bloated on materialism, covered in garbage. In the end, the cataclysm inflicted upon the city, the destruction that pours through the streets is a divine wind, clearing away the dead flesh, a cleansing force of nature. We don't know what will happen to the young generation represented by Kaneda, Kei, and Kai--now wiser after their harrowing witness to the apocalypse--but we can hope that their future will be brighter and more pure than the preceding one, as they rise up like a phoenix from the ashes of old.
Recommended for: Fans of dazzling animation targeted for mature audiences who don't want to be patronized by silly animation targeted for children, craving a sophisticated and technically beautiful story of a society in its death throes.