‘The future is not a straight line. It is filled with many crossroads…’
Aside from the output of Studio Ghibli and a handful of other films, my knowledge of anime (a distinctive style of Japanese animation films) is pretty much non-existent. I know enough, however, to know that Akira, Katsuhiro Otomo’s much lauded 1988 release, is considered a landmark of the genre. And it’s easy to see why…
Akira presents us with a nightmarish future vision of Tokyo all but destroyed by a theoretical third world war. Think cyber punk, Blade Runner, Metropolis, etc. Tetsuo, our protagonist, takes his friend’s motorbike, crashes it, and ends up in the hospital, where he discovers that he has powerful psychic abilities. That brief description really doesn’t do the labyinthine plot justice but none of us has all day.
Let me start with the positives. Despite being nearly forty years old, Akira still looks breathtaking. And I do mean breathtaking. This is one of the most gorgeous and ambitious animated films ever made. Of that there can be no doubt. Shōji Yamashiro’s jarring and discordant score provides the perfect soundscape for the bombastic visuals. The themes of youth alienation, government control and the fear of large-scale destruction in post WWII Japan are as powerful and prescient as ever. The problem, and I think this is only a problem for newcomers to Akira and to anime in general, is that the plot is simply too dense. Otomo adapted his own 2000-page manga graphic novel for this film, and, as a result, it feels like far too much stuff is packed into the film’s two hours and change running time. There are too many characters and too many of them are too thinly drawn. This is a film I admired but never really connected with on an emotional level. Perhaps this would become less of an issue with repeated viewings, but I imagine this is a much more enjoyable cinematic experience for viewers more familiar with the source material.
Akira is essential viewing for anyone with an interest in animation or Japanese culture more generally – just don’t expect to understand all of it.
