Director: Katsuhiro Otomo
Cast: (English Dub) Cam Clarke, Jan Rabson, Lara Cody, Tony Pope, Lewis Lemay, Steve Kramer
Plot: A secret military project endangers Neo-Tokyo when it turns biker gang member, Tetsuo, into a rampaging psionic psychopath that only fellow gang member Kaneda and a group of psionics can stop.
I know nothing about Japanese animation. Absolutely nothing. I have an idea of what films are supposed to be good and I know Studio Ghibli are pioneers of the industry but that's about it. So when my friend lent me his copy of 'Akira' to watch I had no idea what to expect. And let me tell you I was surprised. As I sat down to watch 'Akira' I thought this was going to be the Japanese equivalent of a Pixar film - then in the opening few minutes Tokyo blew up, a dog got shot in the face and a man is massacred Sonny Corleone style. Pixar this was not.
I could not believe how different this was to what I pictured in my head - but that was a very very good thing. 'Akira' stunned me. It is is brutal...really brutal. There's violence and blood everywhere, motorbike gangs and a even bit of nudity (although it's in a particularly unsettling scene). 'Akira' is an insane film and I'm sure it is one of least insane Japanese animations, but to me this was unlike anything I have ever seen.
The film revolves around biker gang member Tetsuo who is transformed into a psionic psychopath who wreaks havoc on Neo Tokyo and threatens to unleash the dangerous Akira on the world, who years earlier started WW3 and destroyed Tokyo. Kaneda, the gang leader tries to save his friend with the help of 3 more stable psionics as Tetsuo's powers grow and grow. The plot is very complicated and at times I was struggling to follow, but something really cool would happen that'd bring me straight back into the story. As for the psionics, they are very powerful beings that are able to control and manipulate people aswell as read minds. Tetsuo is one of these but his powers are out of control and he struggles to contain them.
The only real fault I have with the film is that at time I didn't understand what was actually going on. This may seem ridiculously stupid on my part - because it is - but there were so many lines of dialogue that was completely lost on me that I kind of gave up on looking for a deeping meaning to the story. Instead I enjoyed it on a superficial and basic level, like the average moviegoer, and I had a hell of time. The animation is just so incredible and the action is so fantastic that you could watch the film on mute and still have a great experience.
Speaking of the action, this film has it in abundance and it was badass. The powers are that Tetsuo possesses are so frightenly dangerous, yet cool, and provide some truly mesmerising action sequences. A more disturbing aspect to his powers are the visions the other psionics impose on him that are both horrifying and mesmerising. The thought and creativity on display in certain sequences verges on genius as there are few that could create something so hauntingly beautiful.
The characters are also very interesting. We have Kaneda, Tetsuo and Kai who is a member of a terrorist resistance group as the main trio and each are deep intriguing characters who have fascinating story arcs - Tetsuo most of all. It is rare in animation that we see so many risks taken with characters that aren't afraid to be brutal and don't always make the heroic choice, which makes it clear why this film has become such a cult hit.
This movie is so obviously filled with deeper meanings that I missed completely, which means I have to go back and rewatch it. On an entertainment level this was incredible to watch with so many amazing action sequences, haunting imagery and intrigiung characters there was more than enought to feast the eyes on. As a narrative I wasn't always with it as it left me behind at so many different stages - but importantly it won me back in usually emphatic fashion. Although I must admit I had to pull Wikipedia out to suss out parts of the ending.
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