April 27, 2014
So it’s me Raymond again with yet another anime film review. This time the anime film I have chosen is quite different from the previous ones I reviewed as it is more action orientated with some cyberpunk and science fiction elements.
Akira is a 1988 Japanese animated cyberpunk action film directed by Katsuhiro Otomo, written by Otomo and Izo Hashimoto which is based on Otomo’s manga of the same name. While most of the characters and the setting were adapted from the original manga, the restructured plot of the film differs considerably from the manga and as such, I feel that the last half of the manga was rushed into the film.
On July 16, 1988, World War III began as Tokyo was destroyed by a massive explosion. 31 years later, in the year 2019, Tokyo is rebuilt as Neo-Tokyo and this is where the story begins with Shotaro Kaneda and his best friend Shima Tetsuo who gets captured by the Japanese military and later becomes involved with the secret government project known as Akira which results in Tetsuo developing psychic abilities. Eventually Tetsuo begins to lose control of his powers and on his journey to save Tetsuo, Kaneda runs into an anti-government terrorist group who is also after Tetsuo for his abilities. What will the outcome be and will history repeat itself with the outbreak of Tetsuo’s powers?
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The setting of Tokyo in a dystopian state in the future with cyberpunk elements where protesters express their views with violent methods and the authorities struggling to cope with the situation at hand establishes a dark and rather unnerving mood. As such, I feel connected with Neo-Tokyo in Akira due to the level of bizarre savagery.
Even though it’s pretty old (even before I was born lol), the hand-drawn images are quite well drawn in details and with high quality concept such as the colour scheme, motion etc. that it is actually better than I expected for films produced in the 1980s. In addition, the details of the city environments are remarkable; from the use of the shadows to the weird skin tones in neon lighting gives a depressive feel to the film as well.
The soundtracks used throughout the movie mostly consist of percussion music and eerie chanting which I find complements the twisted, unnerving mood of the film.
Overall, it is something interesting to watch to kill time and I have watched this countless times in the past when I was a kid despite the negative points such as the plot progression being rushed with an unexpected philosophical and sociological depth that leaves many questions unanswered.
Ratings:
Story: 9/10
Characters: 8/10
Animation: 9/10
Music: 8/10
