1988 ‘アキラ’ Directed by Katsuhiro Ōtomo
Childhood friends Tetsuo and Kaneda are pulled into the post-apocalyptic underworld of Neo-Tokyo and forced to fight for their very survival. Kaneda is a bike gang leader, and Tetsuo is a member of a tough motorcycle crew who becomes involved in a covert government project called Akira. But a bloody battle ensues when Kaneda sets out to save his friend.
Haruyo Kanesaku Shunzo Kato Yutaka Maseba Ryôhei Suzuki Hiroe Tsukamoto Yoshimasa Mizuo James Yosuke Kobayashi Sawako Noma
Bandai Visual Company Toho Company Mainichi Broadcasting System (MBS) Kodansha Tokyo Movie Shinsha (TMS) TMS Entertainment Akira Committee Company Ltd. Sumitomo Corporation
Man, I watched this film so many times when I was younger.
In fact, you could say I watched A Keira Knightley.......
I'm sorry.
Thirteenth watch of Japanese July. A brief synopsis of Akira. It's 1988 and Tokio is destroyed. It’s 2019 and Neo-Tokyo is awesome. Kaneda yells: “Tetsuo!” Tetsuo yells: “Kaneda!” *Explosion* Tetsuo yells: “Kaneda!!” Kaneda yells: “Tetsuo!!” Some more beautiful animation. *Explosion* Kaneda yells: “Tetsuo!!!” Tetsuo yells: “Kaneda!!!” MIND BATTLE. Bodily mutations, so many bodily mutations. “Kaneda…” “Tetsuo!” *EXPLOSIONS* “Tetsuooooooooooooo!” MIND BATTLE. More stellar animation, yet another explosion, another mind battle and some more explosions. “Kanedaaaaaaaaaaaaa!”
94/100
An aggressive tour de force of influential animation, tangible world-building, inferiority complexes, biker gangs, giant teddy bears, and overwhelming sequences of violence. It stays burrowed in your psyche, ruining a certain, seemingly simple nerve and, in the blink of an eye, shifting perspective and rendering previous knowledge meaningless. Strangely enough, this is only the second time I've seen Akira, with the first being my "initiation" (age 11) via a dubbed VHS copy, but I can't imagine spending more than a year away from this film ever again. It's a horrifyingly grandiose tragedy piece, melding flesh and metal, revolutions and minuscule angst, mind and body, rubber and pavement into a Nuclear aftermath of neon and rubble. In spite of its countless influences (Metropolis, 2001, A Clockwork Orange to name a few), there's nothing quite like it.
Neo-Tokyo. A giant-ass explosion. A crotch-rocket battle with the Insane Clown Posse. Suicide by cop. Ryu without Ken. Weird looking kids with cool powers. Student riots. Fuck is fuck in any language. Super-powers that make Carrie look like a Telekinesis Smurf. Oh Kaneda. Anime boobs. A barkeep's last pour. A determined general. Blowing a lot of shit up. Showdown at the Olympic Stadium with your best friend. A huge fuckin teddy bear. Attack of the giant arm. Becoming something you sure as fuck never dreamed of. A wild-ass visual adventure that is a must see for anyone who is Anime-curious.
"The future is not a straight line. It is filled with many crossroads. There must be a future that we can choose for ourselves."
Akira is one of the most important Japanese animated films of all time, and not simply because of the technical landmark it achieved in hand-drawn animation. It is an attempt to speak about one of the most unspeakable tragedies in human history, and to deal with the nature of atomic power and with historical change as such. The narrative begins with an image of a massive explosion devastating the city of Tokyo, but while the location is different and a title card claims that this is the beginning of World War III, there's no mistaking the…
The future is not a straight line. It is filled with many crossroads.
-Kiyoko
Can't believe it, but Akira is creeping up on being 25 years old. The only thing I remember from my first viewing, which was over a decade ago at minimum estimate, is that I was blown away by something I didn't fully understand. While it's based off of a 2182 page manga, I'm guessing the plot was tinkered with, some things were condensed while others were completely cut. Watching it tonight, while the plot is dense, I would have never come to the conclusion on my own that it was based on such a large work.
I can't honestly say how many times I've viewed the…
Wow, that's literally all I can say to explain this movie. That and just watch it, seriously it's incredible and just....wow.
2017 Goal : Critically Acclaimed Movies I've Yet to See #77
Akira, that timeless, legendary work of art. Somewhere in the back of my mind , I thought: "I've seen Akira". But maybe I was too young? Maybe I saw bits and pieces? Maybe I was drunk? Whatever the reason, today was the day I 'saw' Akira. I praised 'Your Name'' a while back. Due to its detail. I'ts all in the detail. With Akira it's sometething else. You know when you feel attracted to someone and say he/she has a certain 'je ne sais quoi'. Its animation is something you see nowadays in movies like 'Paprika'' and think: Wow! That's way ahead of its time!
Well...Akira was released in 1988. This means ahead of its time in a supernatural way the movie is in itself. I shouldn't even be comparing Akira at all. 1988 animation simply does not have THIS effect in 2017. It shouldn't. Yet Akira will have 'this' forever.
What's 'this'?
Je ne sais quoi.
This movie just hits all the right notes for me. Awesome cyberpunk mixed with power-tripping telekinetics... It just feels so good. The animation is great and that score is just so distinct and evocative.
As a personal aside, I first saw this movie one night as a kid when I couldn't sleep and happened to channel surf to it (though I can't fathom what basic cable channel would've been running an uncensored version of this movie in the mid-90's). It was so bizarre and intriguing that it left and indelible mark on me. It wasn't until some years later that I fully understood what I had seen, but that first late night, insomniac impression still remains, and I think it colors my opinion in the best possible way.
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