Akira (1988)

 

Akira

Ever since my son learned “Akira” is on the List, he has impatiently been asking me when it is coming up. He has watched it several times and tells me this is one of the best and most important anime out there. Finally watching it with me was a big thing.

The story takes place in 2019, 31 years after a disaster destroyed much of Tokyo. Life in Neo-Tokyo is on the brink of chaos with a tenuous balance between a rumbling populace and an increasingly fascistic government. It is a nihilistic world where youth gangs are rampaging and the future looks bleak. Taneka belongs to such a biker gang, driving an awesome, red monstrosity of a bike. When his friend and fellow gang member Tetsuo gets involved in an accident, something strange happens.

Tetsuo is taken away by the military, and we learn they hold a number of oddly gifted children in a research facility. They possess a curious telepathic power and are part of a defence against a mystic entity called Akira, who, we learn, was the cause of the 1988 disaster. Tetsuo, it turns out, also have these powers, except he cannot control them at all.

Kaneda joins a rebellious group, mostly because of a girl, who wants to penetrate the military research facility to challenge the government, but it develops into a struggle to contain Tetsuo before he as well will destroy the city.

It is a wild story like all manga and anime and, frankly, I had some problems following it. In fairness though, I have trouble following most of the anime my son is showing me and this is not the worst. What they all have in common is the intensity. All emotions are 100%, dialogue is either screaming or sinister serious, there is no middle ground. The stakes are as high as possible, the end of the world or unbearable personal humiliation. “Akira” is all of that and for two hours straight, this is an exhausting affair.

Fortunately, there is also something glorious in all this extreme. It is dark and big, machines and technology are massive, explosions are world shattering and everything happens so fast, although there is always time for the characters to cry their heart out or predict the end of the world. This makes it a visual rollercoaster ride through some extraordinary animations and details in drawing. My son dabbles in drawing himself and he tells me that the level of detail in the scenes in “Akira” is among the best ever. It is truly detailed and what impresses me the most is the amount of world building that has gone into this. Sure, it is largely based on Japanese culture, but there is an extrapolation here that resembles “Bladerunner” and with a strong internal logic.

Two years ago, my family spent our summer vacation in Japan and experienced first hand how big manga and anime is there. This is not just a marginal entertainment genre, but something that seems to penetrate everything. I do not remember if we saw anything particularly referring to “Akira”, but given this movie’s celebrated status, it is difficult not to think it had a major influence on how this scene has developed since.

Although there is a conception that anime is mainly for children, “Akira” is not an easy movie to watch. The themes are adult or at least adolescent and the complexity of what is happening on the screen requires both attention and some maturity from the audience. But then again, my old brain may have atrophied, and a younger head is needed. I had to get the ending explained by my son. In the riot of colours and sound I lost track of what happened there in the conclusion.

“Akira” is an impressive movie, but probably not an obvious starter movie in the anime genre. It is adrenaline and high octane, but also surprisingly complex. And, as I am told, an early high point in the genre. That makes it a recommendation.

There are two more anime coming up for 1988.