what is akira anime about

Is Akira worth a watch?

the pacing in Akira is way faster then typical slow old anime were. the story is truly "show, don't tell" so it doesn't patronize you like modern anime. It is most definitely worth watching. It revolutionized anime back in the day. What to Watch?

How good is Akira?

Akira is simply a wonderful and entertaining sci-fi movie. It was what introduced me to anime, and innovation in a hole new way. If you want to start watching anime or see, what all the fuss is about, then Akira is a good place to start. Even though it's over 17 years old today, it is still a fantastic and visually stunning animation.

What the hell does the ending of Akira mean?

When Akira’s light proceeds to envelope all of Tetsuo and reverts Tetsuo back to a human form, it could indicate that Tetsuo is returning to his former non-psychotic, power hungry self thanks to Akira’s help.

What to read if you love Akira Kurosawa?

If you are a fan of Kurosawa and want to know more about the life and mind of this genius director, then this is a wonderful book to read. If you are expecting a point by point synopsis of his films, there are better texts out there (often much more expensive), such as 'The Films of Kurosawa' by Donald Richie (which is excellent by the way!).

What is the message of Akira?

Set in a then-distant 2019, following Tokyo's forced rebuilding to the dystopian, military-complex-controlled Neo-Tokyo, Akira explores themes of disaffected youth, corruption in government, rampant religious zealotry, nuclear-energy-caused telekinesis, destruction, and rebirth.

What is the storyline of Akira?

In 1988 the Japanese government drops an atomic bomb on Tokyo after ESP experiments on children go awry. In 2019, 31 years after the nuking of the city, Kaneda, a bike gang leader, tries to save his friend Tetsuo from a secret government project. He battles anti-government activists, greedy politicians, irresponsible scientists and a powerful military leader until Tetsuo's supernatural powers suddenly manifest. A final battle is fought in Tokyo Olympiad exposing the experiment's secrets.Akira / Film synopsis

Is Akira anime worth watching?

Overall: While, a live-action film adaptation version might or might come, one day to renew fans, for the most part, this movie will be best known for its sharp animation. Still, the confusing plot and downer feel of the movie, doesn't make it, a great watch. It's still one of the most memorable anime of all time.

Why is Akira so important?

Not only did Akira help shape some of our music and comic books, but its effect can also still be felt in current films as well. Feature films such as Midnight Special, Chronicle, and Looper were all directly influenced. Rian Johnson said as much in a Reddit AMA, saying that the manga was a huge inspiration.

Is Akira a real story?

Akira is an anime inspired by a real-life catastrophe, but it's not the only anime that based its plot on true events. Fact is usually stranger than fiction, but in the case of anime, the truth led to things wilder than ever imagined.

Is Akira a horror?

Tetsuo experiences body horror in Akira. Being a huge fan of horror films, I appreciated the large elements of horror that were contributed to the plot of this movie. Although it could be argued by another critic that Akira should labeled more as science fiction, than anything.

Is Akira R rated?

The movie is rated R for christ sake.

Is Akira a good first anime?

Akira and GITS are both great anime's and great to start with. An anime I'd highly recommend also is Grave of the Fireflies, it's not like either of those movies and it's quite an emotional movie.

What inspired Akira?

'Akira' Took Inspiration From Western Works As Well As fate would have it, Steven Spielberg and George Lucas - who created E.T. and Star Wars - were offered the chance to release Akira in the US in 1987.

What are the pills in Akira?

"The Capsules" was a non-canon name given to the teenage vigilante bōsōzoku gang that resided in Neo-Tokyo. Both founded and led by Shotaro Kaneda, the Capsules consisted of a loose group of friends including Kaneda himself, Tetsuo Shima, Yamagata, Kaisuke, Kuwata, Watanabe and Takeyama.

Why is Akira so smooth?

Since the animation was done frame by frame, all the dialogue had to be pre-recorded, and the movement for mouth and facial expressions had to be accurately animated around the voice acting. This creates a really smooth animation style where every single detail of the world beautifully comes to life.

Is Akira a religious movie?

The animated Akira movie (not the manga) contains a number of explicit Judeo-Christian religious terms, in addition to the overall apocalyptic themes.

A Fever Dream Rabbit Hole To Hell

Akira is a seinen (18+) manga that ran from 1982-1990, set in the fictional city of Neo-Tokyo in 2019 where, 37 years previously, a mysterious explosion destroyed the original Tokyo, leading to an alternate history in which World War III occurred in the 1980s.

An Apocalyptic Post-Apocalypse

At core to understanding Akira is appreciating the apocalyptic undercurrent of Japanese culture leading up to the manga’s 1982 debut, perhaps no more prevalent than in the manga’s persistent imagery of mass explosions and toppled buildings reminiscent of the 1945 nuclear bomb attacks that ended World War II.

The Stuff That Dreams Are Made Of

Akira arrived at the height of the cyberpunk movement in international science fiction, with the manga debuting alongside films like Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior and Blade Runner along with seminal literature such as William Gibson’s Neuromancer.

What is the Akira movie?

Enjoyment. 3. Akira is a film adapted from the manga series of the same name by Katsuhiro Otomo. The film was a huge success, even outside its native Japan, and is often heralded as one of the all-time greatest anime ever produced.

When did Akira win the Silver Scream Award?

Akira won the Silver Scream Award, the audience award of the Amsterdam-based Imagine Film Festival, in 1992 and was nominated for the American Anime Awards' Best Anime Feature award in 2007.

What happened in Japan in 1988?

Synopsis. Japan, 1988. An explosion caused by a young boy with psychic powers tears through the city of Tokyo and ignites the fuse that leads to World War III. In order to prevent any further destruction, he is captured and taken into custody, never to be heard from again. Now, in the year 2019, a restored version of the city known as Neo-Tokyo—an ...

Is Akira's facial variety Otomo's strongest suit?

But if I were to name an actual problem with Akira's designs in particular, it's that facial variety isn't Otomo's strongest suit, leading to a lot of similarity between characters' faces across Akira's cast as well as Otomo's other works. Then again, the same could be said about Hayao Miyazaki.

Did Akira lip sync?

Also of note is the fact that Akira pioneered lip-syncing character dialogue —typically characters are animated first; then voices are recorded, which often results in audiovisual incongruity. But Otomo was intent on using the high budget he was provided with to do things right even if it broke the industry conventions.

What is the plot of Akira?

Bolton’s analysis of Akira shows how the various political movements that undergird the film’s plot– a coup led by Colonel Shikishima, the Resistance movement, and the cult which worships Akira– all harken back to various political movements of Japan’s past.

What is the opening sequence of Akira?

The opening sequence of Akira is subtle yet powerful. The camera angle travels down the streets of a city before the date– July 18, 1989– is superimposed across the screen. A bright white light suddenly fills the screen as an enormous explosion, illustrated by a semi-transparent black dome, engulfs the city and leaves only a black crater in its ...

What is the most famous work of Keiji Nakazawa?

A few of the most notable works of these include Keiji Nakazawa’s Barefoot Gen (1983) and Isao Takahata’s Grave of the Fireflies (1988). As scholar Susan J. Napier notes in her book Anime from Akira to Princess Mononoke, works like Gen and Fireflies “share in the collectivity of the Japanese memory as well as individual autobiographical accounts ...

What is the scene from the Grave of the Fireflies?

Scene from The Grave of the Fireflies (1988). Contrary to more traditional works inspired by the suffering and social upheaval left behind in the wake of Hiroshima and Nagasaki are the apocalyptic narratives of works such as Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind , Princess Mononoke, and Neon Genesis Evangelion.

What is Shikishima's role in the movie?

Shikishima is depicted in the film as a tyrannical figure, one who is not only disillusioned by Neo-Tokyo– which he so lovingly refers to as “a garbage heap made up of hedonistic fools”– but is also determined to protect it out of an obligation that he feels because he is a soldier.

Why is Shikishima so symbolic?

The most obvious reason for the pervasiveness of this particular symbolic mode, especially in postwar Japan, is that many citizens actually did lose their fathers, either in the line of duty or during the bombings from allied forces.

What is Akira's influence on Napier?

The far-reaching influence of Akira can be most clearly illustrated through an anecdote related in Napier’s work concerning Japanese critic Toshiya Ueno’s visit to Sarajevo . As Ueno wandered through a war-torn Serbia he encountered a crumbling wall of a building which had a striking display of graffiti.

Who is the artist of Akira?

The manga release of Akira, featuring the artwork of writer/artist Katsuhiro Otomo, who also directed the film, is a staple of the genre. Without its influence, the manga industry in America would certainly not exist in the fashion it does today. Manga wasn’t the only form of comic books to be influenced by Akira.

What movies did Akira influence?

Feature films such as Midnight Special, Chronicle, and Looper were all directly influenced. Rian Johnson said as much in a Reddit AMA, saying that the manga was a huge inspiration.

Is light a character in Akira?

Light could be considered a character of the film as it even devours Neo Tokyo during the finale. Nerdwriter has a terrific video going into even more detail of how the lighting in Akira is a step above other efforts. Even audiences in the West could feel the earth-shattering reverberations of Akira.

Is Neo Tokyo live action?

Countless artists from movies, music, and comics have all been taken in by the neon glow of Neo Tokyo. Whether or not the film does get a live-action adaptation, there is something about Otomo’s creation that has revolutionized anime and manga since its creation.

What is the purpose of Akira's all-consuming flesh-like being?

However, "Akira" uses said all-consuming, flesh-like being as a way to illustrate how becoming too powerful too quickly can be dangerous.

What is the movie Little White Lies about?

As outlined by writer Joe Marcynzki at Little White Lies, the film explores the morality of nuclear weapons through the lens of the children that are secretly being subjected to parapsychological tests by Tokyo's government.

Why does Kiyoko say "big people" shouldn't possess such powerful abilities?

Kiyoko, one of the few children to survive the government's secret testing, expresses to Tetsuo that "big people" shouldn't possess such powerful abilities because they are impure and will only act out of self-interest. Tetsuo, unable to control the powers he has unwillingly received, sets off on a violent rampage.

What is Neo Tokyo?

Set in a post-war futuristic 2019, Neo-Tokyo is a self-imploding city laden with street gangs, terrorist attacks, and violent protests. The government is corrupt and refuses to inform its citizens what is going on, which has led to the formation of resistance groups and fanatical cults.

Who saved Kaneda from the espers?

He re-enters reality back in Neo-Tokyo, where he mourns his friend and leaves the city. Tetsuo, on the other hand, is saved by Akira himself.

Is there a film that ends with Akira?

We Finally Understand The Ending Of Akira. There has likely been no film more influ ential for the cyberpunk genre than Katsuhiro Otomo's iconic 1988 science-fiction anime "Akira.". Yet, after more than three decades, the film's philosophical finale still has viewers questioning what all of the chaos and destruction means.