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.
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