I don't feel this film needs much introduction. Akira is a phenomenal movie that was one of the first anime to really break into the U.S. conscious since Astro Boy in the 60s. The film is a loose adaption of the manga from the same name, but unlike a lot of adaptions, the author, Katsuhiro Otomo insisted on writing both the screenplay and directing the film. Which probably explains why Akira is one of the best film adaptions of a manga in the medium. Despite this, I implore people to check the manga out because it's a very different beast than the film.
Akira begins with the destruction of Tokyo sometime during the 80s by a mysterious explosion which sets off World War III. Jumping to 2019, Neo Tokyo has been built from the ashes and is getting ready to host the 2020 Olympics the following year despite massive public protests, a corrupt government, terrorist groups, and biker gangs roaming the streets. Wee meet Kaneda and Tetsuo, two kids who grew up together and became a gang. Kaneda leads the group against the rival Clown gang through the streets of Tokyo where his friend Tetsuo tries to prove himself by fighting one of the members only to come afoul of a strange grey skinned child who blows up his bike. When the others catch up to them, they are surrounded by the military who take the child and Tetsuo with them and hand the others over to the police.
Tetsuo becomes part of a secret government experiment to try and replicate the power of Akira, a psychic child who was the cause of Tokyo's destruction in the distant past. Tetsuo escapes but begins to exhibit strange psychic powers which warp his mind and escalate his inferiority complex against Kaneda. Kaneda for his part, tried to rescue his friend by tagging along with the terrorist group which is trying to turn the people against the government, and not just because he found Kei super hot. Eventually the whole film escalates into Tetsuo's one man war to find Akira as he battles the army, the other psychic kids and Kaneda himself. Ultimately the film ends with one of the most graphic and memorable;e sequences that will make your stomach churn just thinking about it.
Having recently watched this film, I must say that Akira still holds up as a visual tour de force. It's actually mind boggling to think this film is over thirty years old with how fluid the animation is and how clean it looks. It was one of the most expensive films of its time and I'm sure with inflation, it's still one of the most expensive films of all time. Otomo also does a great job of really transforming his complex story into a film adaption. One of the biggest changes is that the manga is more of an ensemble piece with several plot threads involving the military, the psychic kids, and the resistance groups but here, Otomo ties everythign together by just focusing primarily on Kaneda and Tetsuo as the point of view characters that the film is seen through. While several plot threads are lost from the manga, the ones that were kept are still largely well told.
For me, it's no surprise this film has remained in the public conscious for so long, I'm even surprised by how much it's influenced my own works. If you have not seen this movie yet, you owe it to yourself to check it out.
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