Akira

2019 AD.  Thirty One Years after WWIII, Neo Tokyo stands just beyond the ruins of the old world.  On a seemingly average night, a team of bikers encoutners a young boy who looks like an old man.  When one of their most reckless member, Tetsuo, is injured by the boy, a chain of events is set into motion that threatens to turn Neo Tokyo into a crater just like its predecessor.  As psychic powers long dormant within him awaken, Tetsuo becomes a walking weapon of mass destruction tearing down the world that has shunned and belittled him all of his life.  But power like this cant be simply controlled.  And if he is not stopped, the fall of Neo Tokyo could only be the beginning.

Akira.  For a long, long time, you couldn’t talk about Anime without bringing this title up.  Released back in 1988, Akira came along at a time when the world wasn’t taking Anime seriously and when Disney ruled the animation kingdom.  Akira did away with the notion that “cartoons are just for kids” and introduced the world to a hard hitting, almost unforgiving and unapologetic look at hard animation for a scifi audience.  It’s acclaim was instantaneous and for a long time, the title was considered the King of Anime.  But does it really live up to all that acclaim and all that hype?

Yes, yes it does.  For a film released in the late 80’s Akira holds up surprisingly well.  The first five minutes alone are a perfect set up for the ride you’re about to have: Tokyo explodes, the foreboading drum beats of the main theme, the ridiculously cool biker battle, all of it combines to let you know that this movie is the reason Anime is on the map today.  People may be talking about other popular modern titles now.  But if Akira hadn’t broken ground when it came out, we wouldn’t have those titles to discuss.

Akira is often hailed as, if nothing else, one of the greatest animated movies of all time.  Yeah it’s definitely that.  All of the detail in each shot of this movie is worthy of pause and analysis.  Not saying it has the “real world” aesthetic that Jin Roh had but for a scifi film, Akira nails the dystopian landscape like no other…animation wise anyway.  Even the characters themselves benefit from a drawing style that few Anime today still have.  Those moving mouths are voicing dialogue like an actual person, astounding stuff.  Of course, there’s the violence which makes me go “Owwww” every time someone gets mushed or loses a limb.  Akira has oodles of blood and gore.  I dare someone who thinks Anime is a kids past time to still say that if they ever watch Akira.

The story and screenplay are written by Katsuhiro Otomo, author of the original Akira manga.  What’s interesting is that the manga was not finished when this film came out (it wouldn’t be for another year or so I think).  So it’s fun to see Otomo play around with events and even give fans a small glimpse at what the “true” conclusion would be to his manga.  On it’s own, Akira still manages to tell a tightknit story filled with action, philosophical and ethical debates and even some political intrigue.  The political elements kind of get jettisoned in favor of an action heavy third acts and I don’t think they ever got a full resolution.  Which is a bit of a shame because the social commentary on how a city should be run in the wake of an event as devastating as a World War was actually pretty fascinating (something I hardly ever say since im not the most politically savvy person in the world).  However, by that point, this has become Tetsuo’s show and he still remains one of the most compelling characters in all of Anime.  He’s a kid who’s had a crappy existence and feels like the world has never been on his side.  Even his friendship with his “best friend”, Kaneda, is pretty strained, to the point where Tetsuo’s inferiority complex has become immense.  So when he gets crazy psychic powers, yeah you can bet he’s gonna do some damage in excessive (and yet kind of cool) over the top ways.  And yet, Tetsuo still maintains a very sympathetic vibe that I couldn’t help but admire…even at his most crazy.  He’s by far the most interesting character in the film.  The second most would be The Colonel (who has a name, it’s just never spoken in the movie).  He’s probably the most heroic character in the movie, even more so that the 80’s action type that is Kaneda.  The Colonel sees the true nature of Neo Tokyo and knows it’s only getting worse by the day.  Yet he still strives to save it, no matter the cost and he isn’t afraid to get his own hands dirty, especially in the films epic final scene.

It wouldn’t be a full review if I didn’t mention the musical score of Akira.  Before we had the uniqueness of Cowboy Bebop by Yoko Kanno or FLCL by The Pillows, we had Akira by  Geinō Yamashirogumi.  For a film set in a neon lit futuristic city, the music of Akira doesn’t have a very futuristic sound, not totally anyway.  It feels like there are almost dozens of instruments at work during each number.  Both Kaneda and Tetsuo’s themes steal the show.  Kaneda’s Theme plays during the opening fight sequence and helps sell the majesty and awesomness of this film in a nutshell, a true adrenaline pumping track.  Tetsuo’s theme is the stuff of nightmares, a theme the devil himself would use as an entrance.  It’s a stark contrast to Kaneda’s theme, maleficent, demonic and terrifying.  There were a couple of times when even a small portion of the chanting played on screen and I felt goosebumps.

 

While the story might lose a couple of plot points in the shuffle to get to the action heavy sequences, Akira never loses its confidence nor feels like it isn’t up to the task of being an engaging, challenging and fun Anime film.  It’s one of those movies that, by credits end, proves that it deserves to be remembered so long as the Anime medium exists.  This isn’t googly eyed chibi characters in a Looney Tunes short.  This is a dark, gritty and very mature tale that dares to break boundaries and push Anime to its limits.  Many films have followed Akira that can easily be placed on a Top 10 Best Anime of All Time list.  Few can match its overall power and effect on the world at large, especially since it hasn’t just inspired other Anime but also live action filmmaking like The Matrix and Dark City.

When I first got into Anime, Akira was a title spoken of as a legend…and a legend is what this film will always remain to me.

9.5/10

Hope you all enjoyed this last minute review and I’ll see you all in 2018…which kicks off tomorrow with the start of ONE PUNCH MAN, right here on the Gundam Anime Corner.