AKIRA REVIEW
To talk about a titan of a movie in anime history like this one has proved to be a difficult task. Not because I didn't have anything to say about it, but because I had A LOT to analyze here, but an analysis that ended up being a paper of more than 3k words made me wonder, "Where is this brain of mine when I need it?"
So, without further ado, in this post, we will go back to one of the fundamental pillars of Japanese animation with one of this genre’s iconic films. We will have a review of an anime classic: Akira by Katsuhiro Otomo (1988). One of the movies that could be said marked a before and after in anime and cinematography in general—a cinema where geniality hasn't grown old and still catches new audiences’ fascination.
WHAT IS AKIRA ABOUT?
According to film affinity, we have the following synopsis:
“Neo-Tokyo has risen from the ashes of World War III to become a dark and dangerous megalopolis infested with gangs and terrorists. The government seethes with corruption and only maintains a token control over the powerful military that prevents total chaos and hides the secrets of the past. Childhood friends Tetsuo and Kaneda plunge into Neo-Tokyo's darkest secret when their motorcycle gang encounters a military operation to retrieve an escaped experimental subject. Tetsuo, captured by the military, is subjected to experiments that make him a powerful psychic, but, unfortunately for Neo-Tokyo, Tetsuo's powers rage out of control and he lashes out at the world that has oppressed him! Nothing can stop the destructive forces that Tetsuo wields except possibly the last boy to destroy Tokyo.”
Without a doubt, at first glance, it seems that we have the typical post-apocalyptic movie in a devastated and rebuilt Japan. But boy, this did not become a classic just for that, so let's analyze the other attributes that gave it its place in history.
ANIMATION
One of the great strengths of this Japanese animated film, and it is no wonder, is its year of release. 1988 where there were few great works of animation, or at least they were not so well known in the West because, unlike today, where we can have everything through the internet, everything was more limited in crossing borders.
That's when Akira arrives with its incredible animation. Despite other films with good animation existing around, it managed to stand out above the others in the details that it puts on the characters, clothes, machines, and backgrounds. Everything is highly detailed, which creates the film’s atmosphere and makes it futuristic science fiction at the same time that gives a punk touch.
All this generates a visual impact that is a delight for all our senses. For example, the scene where Tetsuo hallucinates (or maybe not) while in the hospital and is attacked by stuffed animals that change shape, undoubtedly a scene endowed with surrealism that remains etched in our memory.
All these thanks to the TMS Entertainment studio, known as Tokyo Movie Shinsha, in conjunction with Katsuhiro Ôtomo, since this result may be due to having the original creator of the manga supervising said project. It should be noted that this same studio would also later animate series such as Shin Megami Tensei (2001) or Saint Seiya: The Lost Canvas - Hades Mythology (2011).
A great animation that, although it may have some not so brilliant moments, its quality is still appreciated today.
The person in charge of bringing the music for the project was Shoji Yamashiro, together with the musical collective Geinoh Yamashirogumi. They are a group of people of different professional backgrounds but with music in common. The result of this is music attached to the rhythm of the film, perhaps in some moments a little accelerated but necessary for the impact it causes in conjunction with what is happening on screen.
We can appreciate a little more folkloric themes if you want to call them that way because of the type of instruments used in Kaneda's Theme, to more aggressive and accelerated tones as in Battle Against Clown as the background to the battle between biker gangs.
There are even moments where the music is simply muted to give way to the images, which in some way is appreciated.
EVOLUTION OF THE CHARACTERS AND RHYTHM OF THE FILM
The characters’ construction is not left behind the other aspects of the film since all the characters are well defined, and their evolution is noticeable through the film's footage. The motivation of some of these resonates a bit more, especially those above in terms of our protagonists’ power.
Regarding the rhythm of the film, we can say that it is made not to give the viewer a lot of moments to breathe since it keeps being in constant movement, passing from one plot to another. This, of course, although it could be a good thing in the first instance, ends up leaving things unresolved on the way, since characters are presented, but it is not very clear how the connection between each of them and their plots or why they are there.
The story, despite seeming to have a sound basis for its development, is not entirely clear, this may be the result of having to adapt more than six manga volumes of about three hundred pages each to a single work, which results in the condensation of the most relevant facts of the same, but that can forget small facts that help to understand the story much better in general. Which perhaps detracts some good points from the film as an individual project.
FINAL WORDS
Akira by Katsuhiro Otomo has gone down in history as a cult work by the time it was released, a post-world war era, for being one of the first works of animation with excellent animation for its time, laying the foundations for future projects that would serve as inspiration for many others.
And it is that to enjoy Akira. It is necessary to let yourself be carried away by the images and concentrate on the film’s feelings to convey much beyond its plot. That is why it has been so popular, especially after reaching the West, where they did not have access to anime of such magnitude.
That is why even today, the motorcycle that accompanies Kaneda ande film itself has become an undisputed icon of Japanese animation in recent years. Therefore, it is almost obligatory viewing for anime lovers and those who aren't as well.
