Akira (1988)
Akira (アキラ) is a Japanese animated cyberpunk action film directed by Katsuhiro Otomo. It was based on Otomo’s 1982 manga of the same name.
Plot
Set in a dystopian 2019, it tells the story of Shōtarō Kaneda, a leader of a biker gang whose childhood friend, Tetsuo Shima, acquires incredible telekinetic abilities after a motorcycle accident.
He eventually threatens an entire military complex amid chaos and rebellion in the sprawling futuristic metropolis of Neo-Tokyo.
Making of Akira
This was one of the first Japanese anime films to have the characters’ voices recorded before they were animated.
The movie consists of 2,212 shots and 160,000 single pictures, 2-3 times more than usual, using 327 different colors (another record in animation film), 50 of which were exclusively created for the film.
The film is widely credited with breaking anime into mainstream Western audiences.
“Akira” means “Bright, intelligent, clear” in Japanese.
While most of the character designs and settings were adapted from the manga, the plot differs considerably and does not include much of the last half of the manga, which continued publication for two years after the film’s release. The soundtrack, which draws heavily from traditional Indonesian gamelan as well as Japanese noh music, was composed by Shōji Yamashiro and performed by Geinoh Yamashirogumi.
The music for the film was completed before any of the composers the film or read the script. The music did have to be edited to fit some scenes though.
The shot of Kaneda’s bike sliding to a stop away from the camera in the opening bike chase sequence is considered to be the most referenced shot in animation. Homages appear in such shows as Teen Titans, Genndy Tartakovsky’s Star Wars: Clone Wars, Samurai Jack, Batman: The Animated Series, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Adventure Time, The Simpsons, and even Pokémon.
Notable scenes
the motor racing scene in the beginning through Neo Tokyo.
Our view on Akira
Akira is a Japanese animated film, an adaptation of 2,000 pages graphic novel by Katsuhiro Otomo set in the futuristic world of Neo-Tokyo. Add to this the rise of a powerful breed ‘psionics’ capable of various degrees of telepathy and telekinesis, and somehow linked to a top secret military project known as Akira in Neo-Tokyo. Exploitflix recommended!
Trailer
Where to buy
DVD/VHS/Betamax/VCC
Watch on Tubi
Details
Genre: Manga
Released in: 1988
Era: Eighties
Actors: Nozomu Sasaki, Mitsuo Iwata
Director: Katsuhiro Otomo
Poster artist: Otomo
