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Akira

One of the classics of 1980's anime, and on nearly everyone's recommended list (although later programs are arguably better), Akira is finally reawakening on DVD with a cleaner-than-video print. My fandom of this began with a not-so-legal video copy of the original Japanese laser disk, which had no English subtitles. Needless to say, the ending was truly strange until I was able to read the manga it was based upon (with the differences caused by the film being made before the books were finished).

Story Intro

In the late 1990's, a strange explosion destroys downtown Tokyo and prompts the beginning of World War III, after which the major metropolitan cities begin rebuilding. Thirty-some years later, in 2019, Neo-Tokyo is still a dystopia, but is getting ready to host the summer Olympic games.

Among the youth growing up in this desolate world are Kaneda and his motorcycle gang, out for a spin and a rumble against a rival gang. During one chase sequence, Tetsuo, a young member of Kaneda's gang, runs straight into a child on the street -- this "child" looks old, has the number "26" tatooed on his palm, and survives the explosion of Tetsuo's bike without a single scratch. The same can't be said of Tetsuo, as he's taken to the hospital -- or so the rest of the gang assumes.

There are forces at bay in the world -- some call them "Psi" abilities, some "telekenesis", others simply "powers" -- and there are those that try to bring them out in people for their own power trips. Most people have very limited powers, if any at all, and those who possess greater abilities find them sometimes harder to control. One such person with hightened power in the 1990's lost that control and caused a particular city-wide explosion. His name was Akira, number "28".

Tetsuo escapes from his military-run hospital room to find that he, too, has these powers, and they're growing out of control. Can the scientists, Kaneda, a group of politcal radicals, and the other powerful "children" find the strength to stop Tetsuo from a quest to reawaken the legendary Akira himself?

My Thoughts

I've always enjoyed the detailed art in this movie. I believe it was one of the few that recorded the voice tracks before finishing the animation, so the sometimes-typical "mouth-flapping" isn't anywhere to be seen. There are quite a few places were viewers can forget they're watching animation.

The music is also a favorite of mine, a driving-beat of drums, chimes, choruses, and other sounds (the 2-disk black-cover DVD set that Pioneer released also has making of featurettes that detail which instruments did which scenes).

Check out the original manga as well for a more detailed story. As I menionted earlier, they were finished after the movie was made and released, so in a sense, the movie can be seen as a side-story. After all, Akira himself only makes the briefest of appearances in the film.

Other Notes

Images can be found at the official Pioneer Entertainment site for the recent restoration: Akira2001.com.

Akira
Distributed by Pioneer Entertainment

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