Akira

Release Date: 1988.
Rating: Cultural Masterpiece.
Akira (Japanese: アキラ) is a 1988 Japanese animated post-apocalyptic cyberpunk action film directed by Katsuhiro Otomo, produced by Ryōhei Suzuki and Shunzō Katō, and written by Otomo and Izo Hashimoto, based on Otomo’s 1982 manga of the same name. The film had a production budget of ¥700 million ($5.5 million), making it the most expensive anime film at the time (until it was surpassed a year later by Kiki’s Delivery Service).

Set in a dystopian 2019, Akira 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, eventually threatening an entire military complex amidst chaos and rebellion in the sprawling futuristic metropolis of Neo-Tokyo. 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. 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.

Akira premiered in Japan on July 16, 1988 by Toho. It was released the following year in the United States by pioneering animation distributor Streamline Pictures. It garnered an international cult following after various theatrical and VHS releases, eventually earning over $80 million worldwide in home video sales. It is widely regarded by critics as one of the greatest animated and science fiction films ever made, as well as a landmark in Japanese animation. It is also a pivotal film in the cyberpunk genre, particularly the Japanese cyberpunk subgenre, as well as adult animation. The film had a significant impact on popular culture worldwide, paving the way for the growth of anime and Japanese popular culture in the Western world as well as influencing numerous works in animation, comics, film, music, television and video games.

In 1992, Akira won the Silver Scream Award at the Amsterdam Fantastic Film Festival, was one of the four nominees for the 2007 American Anime Awards “Best Anime Feature”, voice actor Johnny Yong Bosch who played Kaneda in the Pioneer English dub, was nominated for Best Actor at American Anime Awards.

Cast & Credits:
Director: Katsuhiro Otomo.
Writer: Katsuhiro Otomo, Izo Hashimoto.
Stars: Mitsuo Iwata, Nozomu Sasaki, Mami Koyama, Taro Ishida, Mizuho Suzuki, Tetsusho Genda.
Music: Shōji Yamashiro.

Cultural Impact
Akira is regarded by many critics as a landmark anime film, one that influenced much of the art in the anime world that followed its release with many illustrators in the manga industry citing the film as an important influence. Manga author Masashi Kishimoto, for example, recalls becoming fascinated with the way the poster was made and wished to imitate the series’ creator Katsuhiro Otomo’s style. The film had a significant impact on popular culture worldwide. The film led the way for the growth in popularity of anime outside Japan as well as Japanese popular culture in the Western world. Akira is considered a forerunner of the second wave of anime fandom that began in the early 1990s and has gained a massive cult following since then. It is credited with setting the scene for anime franchises such as Pokémon, Dragon Ball and Naruto to become global cultural phenomena. According to The Guardian, the “cult 1988 anime taught western film-makers new ideas in storytelling, and helped cartoons grow up”.

Akira has influenced numerous works in animation, comics, film, music, television and video games. It inspired a wave of Japanese cyberpunk works, including manga and anime series such as Ghost in the Shell, Battle Angel Alita, Cowboy Bebop, Serial Experiments Lain, live-action Japanese films such as Tetsuo: The Iron Man, and video games such as Hideo Kojima’s Snatcher and Metal Gear Solid, and Squaresoft’s Final Fantasy VII. Outside of Japan, Akira has been cited as a major influence on Hollywood films such as The Matrix, Dark City, Kill Bill, Chronicle, The Dark Knight, Midnight Special, Inception, and Godzilla, television shows such as Batman Beyond and Stranger Things, and video games such as Core Design’s Switchblade, Valve’s Half-Life series and Dontnod Entertainment’s Remember Me. John Gaeta cited Akira as artistic inspiration for the bullet time effect in The Matrix films. Akira has also been credited with influencing the Star Wars franchise, including the prequel film trilogy and the Clone Wars film and television series. Todd McFarlane cited Akira as an influence on HBO animated television series Spawn.

Akira has also influenced the work of musicians. The music video for the Michael Jackson and Janet Jackson song “Scream” (1995) features clips from Akira. Kanye West cited Akira as a major influence on his work, and he paid homage to the film in the “Stronger” (2007) music video. Lupe Fiasco’s album Tetsuo & Youth (2015) is named after Tetsuo Shima. The popular bike from the film, Kaneda’s Motorbike, appears in Steven Spielberg’s film Ready Player One,[142][143] and CD Projekt’s video game Cyberpunk 2077. Deus Ex: Mankind Divided video game developer Eidos Montréal also paid homage to the film’s poster.[145] The season four premiere of Rick and Morty (“Edge of Tomorty: Rick Die Rickpeat”) features a scene in which Morty, and then Rick, are transformed into a giant tendrilled monster that Jerry and Beth later refer to as “an Akira”.

When Tokyo was chosen to host the 2020 Summer Olympics in the 2013 bidding process, several commentators claimed that Akira predicted the future event. In 2017, Akira was referenced in several Tokyo Olympic promotions. In February 2020, during the coronavirus pandemic and 147 days before the Olympics, a scene in Akira which calls for the cancellation of the 2020 Olympics (147 days before the event) led to a social media trend calling for the cancellation of the 2020 Olympics. The Summer Olympics were eventually postponed to 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic.