Review of Akira

Does not contain spoilers. It was the 60's and Japan was having a surge in leftist movements; with this new flourishing of the left in Japan came organizations that sought to do whatever it took to make communism emerge in Japan and take over the reins of the asian country. Violent protests and terrorism were some of their tools to sow discontent in the territory they wanted to control and many of these events were broadcasted live on the televisions of millions of japanese citizens; death was a common thing and violence was spread in every corner of the hectic Japan of the 60s. Inspired bythe political movements, the bustling and lively Japanese urbanity, the crime, poverty, the riots and more, Katsuhiro Ôtomo created his work called “Akira”. This manga quickly became a success in Japan due to its violence and unique visuals compared to other works of its time, so much so that Ôtomo was soon offered an animated adaptation of his magnum opus.

The untouchable classic from the land of the rising sun, Akira, is a product of its time. The cyberpunk themed Neo-Tokyo present in this creation is clearly a striking and highly stylized representation of the Japan of the 60s-90s and the whole zeitgeist that dominated the country at that time. A dense urbanity filled with questionable people, bikers, stressed out workers, criminals, sketchy politicians and so much more; with the vast humanity present in Akira's cities one could say that these are ecosystems made up of countless tons of concrete, iron, lights and people. This film begins with an iconic scene of Kaneda and his motorcycle gang chasing a group loosely referred to as “The Clowns” through various Japanese districts; the viewer will quickly notice something that is highly praised in this work, that is of course its sublime animation and the incredible soundtrack that makes up this film.

Akira's impeccable, handdrawn animation to this day stands up gloriously and looks newer than even recently made works. The tremendously fluid movements of each character, the dazzling lights contrasting divinely with the dreary constructions, watching a character move while everything in the background also possesses a dynamic and fluidity, a color palette uniquely created for filming Akira, the grotesque violence expressed in an incredible way and much more creates a tremendously admirable, charismatic and technically impressive composition. The immense ambition of Akira, the technical leap it made in its creation, the resonance viewers had in relating the events of Akira to real life, the influence it had on various works, artists, writers, directors and the enormous box-office success it was—even surpassing such animated giants as Tomb of the Fireflies—makes Akira perhaps one of the most influential and visionary films of all time.

The cast of characters is very simple, they are not particularly sophisticated or special but they have some growth throughout the play and they fulfill their role, reflecting the criminal reality of Japan in those times; a conflictive youth already altered by their time and which is not supported by the institutions that should be at their sides. Shima Tetsuo is a boy who is part of Kaneda's gang, from the first minutes he is seen carrying an obsession towards his friend's motorcycle and the ability he has to master it, his growth as a character throughout the film is notable. Kaneda Shoutarou is a carefree boy, Tetsuo's childhood friend, who lives a daily life of juvenile crime and vigorous adolescence with his gang and group of friends, soon to have his whole world turned upside down. Shikishima is the colonel of the Japanese army at the time and his ideals are constantly challenged in the film.

Besides the incredible animation, Akira has a stupendously unique and incredible soundtrack that accompanies the film perfectly and gives it unique tinges of tremendous spirituality and deep metaphysics that accompany the dense Japan of that era. Religious and spiritual aspects are not uncommon in this work, on several occasions you can see references to religious idols, Buddhist symbols, spiritual worship towards the possessors of psychic abilities and more; it is not surprising, because in a place ruined by crime and despair many seek hope in religion or spirituality, often than not their vulnerability being monetized by malicious people. The music in this work represents these aspects, somehow dystopian but spiritual, with incomprehensible chants, traditional instrumentation with intense percussion, electronic notes and more. It is a soundtrack that truly elevates this film and makes it even better.

Akira is not only a technical tour de force, it clearly denotes a symbolic representation of the nuclear power that Japan had to experience in the years prior to the creation of this work; from the first second the film begins with an explosion that destroys an entire city, with an extreme resemblance to the impact of a nuclear bomb, devastating everything that was old Tokyo. The scientists in the film play and experiment with a power of which they do not know the limit and that is capable of a highly destructive force. It is a fitting representation of the devastating potential that mankind manufactured and what it caused in civilization by its use, a complete destruction of cities, human loss, adverse effects on the survivors and the emergence of a dystopia.

NEO-TOKYO IS ABOUT TO E X P L O D E
Certainly, not only Neo-Tokyo exploded, but also all of popular culture and entertainment as a whole.