Akira (film)
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| Akira | |
 Japanese promotional poster |
|
| Kanji | アキラ |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Katsuhiro Otomo |
| Produced by | Ryōhei Suzuki Shunzō Katō |
| Written by | Katsuhiro Otomo Izō Hashimoto |
| Starring | Mitsuo Iwata Nozomu Sasaki Mami Koyama |
| Music by | Shoji Yamashiro |
| Cinematography | Katsuji Misawa |
| Editing by | Takeshi Seyama |
| Studio | Tokyo Movie Shinsha |
| Distributed by | Toho (Japan) Orion Pictures (U.S.) Geneon (U.S., current) Bandai Entertainment (Blu-ray) Manga Entertainment (Australia, UK) |
| Release date(s) | July 16, 1988 (Japan) December 25, 1988 (US) January 25, 1991 (UK) May 8, 1991 (Australia) |
| Running time | 125 min. (Theatrical) 130 min. (Blu-Ray) |
| Country |  Japan |
| Language | Japanese |
| Budget | US$ 11 million |
| Gross revenue | US$ 450,000,000 |
Akira (アキラ) is a 1988 anime film co-written and directed by Katsuhiro Otomo based on his hit manga. The film is set in a futuristic and post-war city, Neo-Tokyo, in 2019. While most of the character designs and basic settings were adapted from the original 2,182-page manga epic, the restructured plot of the movie differs considerably from the print version, pruning much of the last half of the manga.
Contents |
[edit] Plot summary
In 1988, Tokyo is destroyed by an apparent nuclear explosion that leads to the start of World War III. Thirty-one years later, the new city, Neo-Tokyo, a megalopolis built on an artificial island in Tokyo Bay, and its leaders in the Supreme Executive Council, are hampered to the breaking point by political strife, anti-government terrorism, and gang violence. Shotaro Kaneda leads his motorcycle gang, including Yamagata, Kaneda's right-hand man, Kai, and Tetsuo Shima, Kaneda's best friend, in a gang war with another biker gang called the Clowns. As Kaneda and Tetsuo battle a pair of Clowns on a highway, Tetsuo almost runs into a child with wizened features (Takashi) and is injured when his bike suddenly explodes. Tetsuo and the child are taken away by armed soldiers. Kaneda and his gang are taken in for questioning, where Kaneda unsuccessfully flirts with a young girl named Kei, and Kaneda, Kei, and the remaining Capsules are later released.
Tetsuo, under watch by Colonel Shikishima and Doctor Onishi, is discovered to have mental frequencies similar to Akira, a boy with enormous, even monstrous, and essentially god-like, mental abilities. Akira was the cause of the explosion that started World War III thirty-one years earlier, in 1988. Aware that another gifted child, Kiyoko, has had visions of Neo-Tokyo's destruction in the same horrific manner, the Colonel orders the doctor to kill Tetsuo should he run amok with his own ever-growing powers. Tetsuo escapes and meets up with his girlfriend Kaori and steals Kaneda's motorcycle. They are attacked by Clowns who attempt to rape Kaori, but Kaneda and the gang show up and defeat the Clowns. As Kaneda tries helps Tetsuo and Kaori recover, and Tetsuo is attempting to beat a Clown left behind to death, Tetsuo begins to suffer a very painful migraine and experience terrifying hallucinations of falling and of his organs falling out. A government van monitoring him arrives to take him away, refusing to answer Kaneda's questions. Later that evening, Kaneda sees Kei, helps her avoid arrest, and goes with her to the Resistance headquarters. Kaneda offers to help after they unintentionally reveal their plan to him to infiltrate the hospital that Tetsuo was taken to.
That night, Tetsuo is attacked by the three Espers, Takashi, Kiyoko and Masaru, who are trying to kill him before he grows accustomed to his new powers. However, this only makes his powers manifest further, and he uses it to kill a doctor and damage the hospital in his attempts to find them. In the Espers' room, Tetsuo learns that Akira was a young boy with similar powers, now in cryogenic storage below the new Stadium being built for the upcoming 2020 Olympics, and that he may be able to help Tetsuo remove his pain. The Colonel, Kei, and Kaneda, converging on the Espers' room, learn that Tetsuo is heading for the Stadium to meet Akira. Kei and Kaneda are detained, but Kiyoko, speaking through Kei, explains that Tetsuo must be stopped, and helps them escape. That night, Tetsuo attacks his fellow gang members, killing Yamagata for whom he harbored a bitter hatred. He then departs for the stadium. Tetsuo fends off attacks by the army, including a helicopter, a tank, and soldiers using laser rifles, on his way to the Olympic Stadium. At the Stadium, Tetsuo unearths the Akira chamber during a fight with Kei, who's secretly being controlled by the Espers, and after winning the fight and knocking her out, finds it empty except for Akira's organs stored in glass jars. Kaneda, having learned of Yamagata's death from Kai, uses Tetsuo's moment of confusion to fight him with a laser rifle, but Tetsuo is able to block the attacks. The Colonel tries to shoot Tetsuo using an orbital laser weapon called SOL-740 (Satellite Orbiting Laser), but manages only to sever his right arm. Tetsuo takes off into orbit and destroys the weapon, then spends the night recovering at the Stadium, psychically forging himself a new arm from inorganic material. His girlfriend Kaori arrives and tries to calm him down as his powers create immense physical pain.
The Colonel pleads with Tetsuo to return to the lab, but Tetsuo, remembering the Espers, horrified at how they had changed and been crippled, and frightened of the same thing happening to him, attacks the Colonel. When the Colonel fires back, with Kaneda (protected by the Espers) joining the fray, Tetsuo is unable to keep control any longer, and his body begins to transform into a gigantic mass that crushes and kills Kaori. The Espers, watching from afar, realize the only way to stop Tetsuo is to call forth Akira, his life force contained in the body parts in the chamber under the stadium. Akira's manifestation causes another explosion, and the Espers teleport the Colonel to safety. Studying the wavelengths of the explosion, Doctor Ōnishi concludes that it is the beginning of the universe and shortly after dies when the explosion vanishes and the inrush of air destroys his van and crushes him to death. In spite of Kiyoko and Masaru's insistence that trying to save Kaneda alone would be futile, Takashi jumps into the ever-expanding psychic field. Despite the danger of not being able to return, Kiyoko and Masaru agree to join Takashi and sacrifice themselves to save Kaneda, and also enter the field. Kaneda experiences Tetsuo's and the Espers' memories, including how much Tetsuo trusted Kaneda as a friend and how the children obtained their powers. The Espers remove Kaneda from the field and tell him that Akira will be taking Tetsuo "away" and to find somewhere safe to ride out the explosion. The explosion engulfs nearly the whole of Neo-Tokyo, and when it shrinks and, finally, vanishes, leaves a void that is quickly filled by the nearby ocean. Kaneda wakes up to find that Kei and Kai are safe, and they drive away from the ruined stadium and the dead city. The credits begin with a Big Bang and Tetsuo saying three last words, "I am Tetsuo".
[edit] Characters
- Akira (アキラ), codename #28) – The eponymous, principal subject of the story. Akira was a young boy who developed transcendent psionic, god- like abilities when serving as a test subject for secret government ESP experiments in the 1980s. He subsequently lost control of this power and was killed in the ensuing blast which completely annihilated Tokyo in a horrifying explosion of that monstrous power in 1988. After the apocalyptic event which brought the world first to its knees, and then into World War III, Akira's corpse was recovered and subjected to every test known to modern science, which proved unable to solve the mystery. His remains were placed within a cryogenic chamber underneath the Neo-Tokyo Olympic Stadium, to be entrusted to the study of future generations.
In 2019, Akira's friends, Kiyoko, Takashi, and Masaru, reawaken Akira to take Tetsuo away from the world as Tetsuo's powers are mutating him into a gigantic blob. Akira ends up taking the Espers along with Tetsuo away to his own dimension, as Tetsuo had dragged Kaneda into the blast and the Espers went in to try and save him. Some beleive that Akira is not simply a normal boy who received a strong, and horrifyingly destructive, gift, but his powers have reached a supreme level where he no longer needs a human body. They also beleive that Akira is still alive and somehow connected, even synchronized, with Tetsuo. This connection and/or synchrony is partially down to a flow of energy throughout the entire universe that Akira has become part of, and that Tetsuo has tapped into. Everything in the universe is connected to this energy, but only gifted people can gain special abilities, allowing them to control this universal stream of energy. Many children gained these powers, but Akira was the only one who could tap into the power at such a level that he actually became part of the energy. It is also beleived that Akira has a divine purpose in the grand scheme of the universe, one of destruction and cleansing. Akira destroyed Tokyo and Neo-Tokyo in succession, but neither time was it intentional. Instead, that's the nature of the tremendous power he is forever producing.
- Shotaro Kaneda (金田 正太郎 Kaneda Shōtarō) – The anthology's main protagonist, Kaneda is a carefree gang-leader who boasts a custom-modified motorcycle. He and Tetsuo have been best friends since early childhood. He is brash and not above teasing Tetsuo despite feeling affection for him as a younger brother. Upon rescuing Kei, Kaneda becomes involved in the activities of her group of anti-government guerrillas in hopes of locating Tetsuo.
- Tetsuo Shima (島 鉄雄 Shima Tetsuo) – Kaneda's best friend since preschool and the second principal subject of the story's theme. Tetsuo is shown as a black sheep in the gang he and Kaneda are part of, and quietly suffers from a deeply rooted inferiority complex. He admires his friend yet at the same time strongly resents his own reliance upon him. After his psychokinetic abilities manifest, Tetsuo quickly becomes Kaneda's nemesis; he desires Kaneda's motorcycle (a symbol of status and power), and seeks to prove himself supremely powerful, without need of protection. Eventually, his power overwhelms him and the Espers are forced to awaken Akira to stop him.
- Kei (ケイ) – A young female revolutionary whom Kaneda meets and becomes enamoured with on his quest to find Tetsuo. She is a member of an anti-government faction that Ryu and Nezu are also involved in. Although she does not possess preternatural abilities, Kei is employed by the espers as a type of medium on several occasions.
- Colonel Shikishima (敷島大佐), also known as simply The Colonel – The head of the ongoing government project which was responsible for inadvertently unleashing Akira's power thirty years earlier. Appearing tough and ruthless, he is nevertheless pragmatic enough to recognize the danger Tetsuo's fledging powers pose and cares for the three Epsers under his supervision.
- The Espers – Masaru (マサル, codename #27), Takashi (タカシ, codename #26) and Kiyoko (キヨコ, codename #25) – Akira's fellow psychic test subjects kept in a perpetual yet aging childhood, with dead-white hair and green-grey skin, although Masaru's skin is actually a purplish shade. They exhibit a variety of paranormal powers which they use to influence the course of events to the best of their ability. While individually of lesser strength than Akira or Tetsuo, their combined effort proves decisive in the story's final confrontation.
- Nezu (根津) – A mole in the government, who is responsible for Takashi/#26's kidnapping.
- Yamagata (山形) – One of the most prominent members of Kaneda's gang. He often derides Tetsuo, which leads to harsh feelings between them that will ultimately lead to his murder.
- Kai (甲斐) – Another member of Kaneda's gang, Kai plays an important supporting role in the eventual battle against Tetsuo. He appears to be close friends with Yamagata given that they remain together when the gang breaks up.
- Kaori (カオリ) – Tetsuo's girlfriend. She stands by Tetsuo even though he treats her rather harshly sometimes, which ultimately leads to her death.
[edit] Voice cast
- Nurse: Steven Blum (Animaze Version)
- Animaze's additional voices by William H. Bassett, Josil Ferhardt, Rebecca Forstadt, Jessica Gee, Dougary Grant, W.T. Hatch, Matthew Hustin, Christopher Joyce, Lee Kelson, William Frederick Knight, Lex Lang, Patricia Ja Lee, Peter Lee, Mike Lembaw, Detroit Louie, Cody MacKenzie, Mona Marshall, Dan Martin, Michael McConnohie, Steve McGowan, Derek Stephen Prince, Ted Rae, Joe Romersa, Tony Sarducci, Adam Sholder, Michael Sorich, Skip Stellrecht, Sam Strong, Jim Taggert, Lisa Tarulli, Julie Ann Taylor, Chloe Thornton, Kirk Thornton, Ezra Weisz, Kurt P. Wimberger, Michael Forest, Steve Staley, Robert Axelrod, and Dan Woren
- Streamline's additional voices by Eddie Frierson, Watney Held, Melora Harte, Lewis Lemay, Julie Phelan, Tony Pope, Burt Walters, Bruce Winant, and Brad Wurst
[edit] Production
Akira Committee was the name given to a partnership of several major Japanese entertainment companies brought together to realize production of Akira. The group's assembly was necessitated by the unconventionally high budget and ambitious scale of the cinematic project, in order to achieve the desired epic standard equal to Otomo's manga tale. Akira Committee consisted of publisher Kodansha Ltd., Mainichi Broadcasting System, Inc., Bandai Co., Ltd., Hakuhodo Incorporated, distributor Toho Co., Ltd., Laserdisc Corporation, Sumitomo Corporation and animation producer Tokyo Movie Shinsha Co., Ltd.[1]
At the time, most anime was notorious for cutting production corners with limited motion, such as having only the characters' mouths move while their faces remained static. Akira broke from this trend with detailed scenes, lip-synched dialogue—a first for an anime production—and super-fluid motion as realized in the film's more than 160,000 animation cels.[1]
The film was completed and released in 1988, two years before the manga storyline officially ended in 1990. Otomo had immense difficulty completing the manga; he has stated that the inspiration for its conclusion arose from a conversation that he had with Alejandro Jodorowsky in 1990, but Jodorowsky cannot recall what he said to Otomo.[citation needed]
Katsuhiro Otomo is a big fan of the classic 1950s manga Tetsujin-28 (Ironman-28, known as Gigantor in the US). As a result, his naming conventions match the characters featured in Tetsujin-28: Kaneda shares his name with the protagonist of Tetsujin-28; Colonel Shikishima shares his name with Professor Shikishima of Tetsujin-28., while Tetsuo is named after Shikishima's son Tetsuo Shikishima; Akira's Ryūsaku is named after Tetsujin's Ryūsaku Murasame. In addition, Takashi has a "26" tattooed on his hand which closely resembles the font used in Tetsujin-28. The namesake of the anime, Akira, is the 28th in a line of psychics that the government has developed, the same number as Tetsujin-28.
The sound of Kaneda's bike engine was produced by compositing the engine sound of a 1929 Harley-Davidson motorcycle with a jet engine.
Katsuhiro Otomo decried his fame and said that his conclusion of Akira was false in both the Japanese and American editions, and that he could never truly finish his epic.[citation needed] Nevertheless, Akira is widely considered a masterpiece of graphic storytelling.
[edit] Releases
[edit] Theatrical
The original July 16, 1988 release by Toho in Japan set attendance records for an animated film. Fledgling North American distribution company Streamline Pictures soon acquired an existing English-language rendition (originally dubbed for the Hong Kong market)[2] which saw limited release in North American theatres from late 1988 throughout 1989. Streamline is reported to have become the film's distributor when both George Lucas and Steven Spielberg labelled it unmarketable in the U.S.[3] In the UK, Akira was theatrically released by ICA Projects on 25 January 1991. In Australia, Akira was theatrically released by Island World Communications and distributed by Satellite Entertainment, later on by Manga Entertainment, then Madman Entertainment after Manga Entertainment's Australia branch merged with Madman. In 2001, Pioneer created a new dub and was presented in select theaters.
[edit] Home video
VHS releases included the initial Streamline Video offering (May 1991), later wider distribution by MGM/UA Home Video, and a subtitled edition from Orion Home Video (September 1993). In the UK, Akira was released on video by Island World Communications in 1991. The success of this release lead to the creation of Manga Entertainment, who later took over the release. The original VHS release of Akira started up Manga Entertainment Australia and VHS distribution was handled by Ronin Films and Polygram until 1994 when Siren Entertainment took over all of Manga Entertainment Australia's distribution including Akira under a special license from Polygram, who handled Island's video distribution. Akira was re-released on video in 1994, and again on DVD in 2001 and distributed by Madman Entertainment and The AV Channel. The Criterion Collection released a laserdisc edition in 1993. Pioneer Entertainment issued a DVD and a VHS with a new English dub in 2001. In 2002, Manga released a two-disc DVD featuring the new Pioneer English dub followed in 2004 by another two-disc set containing the original Japanese as well as both the Streamline and Pioneer dubs. This version did not contain standard English subtitles, only closed captioning subtitles. In 2005, Manga Entertainment and Boulevard UMD released Akira on UMD for the Sony PSP (Playstation Portable) using the original Streamline English dub.
A Blu-ray Disc edition of the movie was released on February 24, 2009 with 5 additional minutes of the movie.[4][5] There is no schedule for a blu-ray release of Akira in Australia. The Blu-ray release is the very first to use the highest sampling rate currently possible (Japanese Dolby TrueHD 192khz because of its analog roots) and is also the first to use the hypersonic effect (only available in this track and via a high-end audio system).
[edit] Reception
Roger Ebert selected Akira as his "Video Pick of the Week" in 1989 on Siskel & Ebert and the Movies. For its wider 2001 release, he gave the film "Thumbs Up." As of February 2009, the film has an 88% "fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes. As of March 2009, it is ranked #41 on IMDB's Top 50 Animated Films.[6] Channel 4's 2005 poll of the 100 greatest cartoons of all time featuring both cartoon shows and cartoon movies, Akira came in at #16.[7] Empire magazine released the 500 greatest movies of all time, Akira came in at #440.[8]
However, not all critics had a favorable opinion of Akira. Makigumo gave the film a 47 % rating, noting that the film's weakness is that it tried to condense six volumes of manga into one two-hour film. "Akira is rich with ideas, but lacking in expression. It’s just not possible to cram in so many thematic elements, and then dilute them to fit a moviegoing audience and still make everything work.[9]
Akira is regarded by many critics as a landmark anime film, one that influenced much of the art in the anime world that followed its release.[10] The movie led the way for growing the popularity of anime outside of Japan. Akira is considered a forerunner of the second wave of anime fandom that began in the early 1990s.
| Source | Reviewer | Grade or score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anime News Network | Bamboo Dong | Overall (dub): A Overall (sub): A- |
DVD/Movie review of Limited Edition Metal DVD Case |
| AnimeOnDVD | Chris Beveridge | Content: A Audio: A+ Video: N/A Packaging: A+ Menus: A+ Extras: A+ |
DVD/Movie review of Special Edition |
| THEM Anime Reviews | Raphael See | 4 out of 5 | Movie review (1 of 2 reviews) |
[edit] Themes
The film explores a number of psychological and philosophical themes, such as the nature of corruption, the will to power, and the growth from childhood to maturity both in individuals and the human race itself. Elements of Buddhist symbolism are also present in the film. Notable themes in the film include youth culture, cyberpunk, delinquency, psychic awareness, social unrest, the world's reaction toward a nuclear holocaust and Japan's post-war economic revival.
[edit] Soundtrack
| Akira: Original Soundtrack | ||
|---|---|---|
 |
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| Soundtrack by Geinō Yamashirogumi (芸能山城組) | ||
| Released | 1990 | |
| Recorded | 1988 | |
| Length | 69:36 | |
| Label | Demon Records/JVC Records | |
| Producer | Shoji Yamashiro | |
| Alternate cover | ||
 |
||
| Symphonic Suite Akira | ||
| File:Symphonic Suite Akira.jpg | ||
Akira: Original Soundtrack was recorded by Geinō Yamashirogumi (芸能山城組). The music was composed and conducted by musical director Shoji Yamashiro. It features music which was additionally rerecorded for release. "Kaneda", "Battle Against Clown" and "Exodus From the Underground Fortress" are really part of the same song cycle – elements of "Battle" can be heard during the opening bike sequence, for example. The score is generally sequenced in the same order that the music occurs in the film.
A second soundtrack was released featuring the original music without rerecording, but also including sound effects and dialogue from the film; the recording was probably a direct transfer from the film.
Symphonic Suite Akira is the same version as Akira: Original Soundtrack, but without the voices and sound effects
Disc 1 Track listing
- "Kaneda" – 3:10
- "Battle Against Clown" – 3:36
- "Winds Over Neo-Tokyo" – 2:48
- "Tetsuo" – 10:18
- "Doll's Polyphony" – 2:55
- "Shohmyoh" – 10:10
- "Mutation" – 4:50
- "Exodus From the Underground Fortress" – 3:18
- "Illusion" – 13:56
- "Requiem, Part 1" – 10:20
- "Requiem, Part 2" - 4:00
Disc 2 track listing
- "Kaneda" – 9:56
- "Tetsuo 1" – 12:36
- "Tetsuo 2" – 12:33
- "Akira" – 7:56
[edit] Video games
In 1988, Taito released an Akira adventure game for the Famicom.[11] An Akira game for the Super Famicom was cancelled and never released. International Computer Entertainment produced a video game based on Akira for the Amiga and Amiga CD32 in the 1994.[12] To coincide with the DVD release in 2002, Bandai released [[Akira Psycho Ball]], a pinball simulator for the PlayStation 2.[13] A NES video game was also made, but never went to the United States.
[edit] Live action film
In the early 1990s, Kodansha Ltd. was in negotiation with Sony Pictures to produce a live-action remake of the film. Talk circulated again a decade later,[14] but the project has yet to materialize. Rumors circulated that the project was canceled in both instances when the projected budget for the film was upwards of $300 million.
Talks began again as Warner Brothers signed on to produce the movie with Stephen Norrington (writer) and Jon Peters (producer).[15] Akira was to be developed into two live action films; the first was to be scheduled for a summer 2009 release.[16] Warner Brothers and Appian Way planned to adapt the two movies from the manga, with each one covering three volumes. Ruairi Robinson signed on as director, Gary Whitta wrote the script and Andrew Lazar, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Jennifer Davisson were to produce the film.
In June, 2009, it was reported that Ruairi Robinson had left the project and the film was "Dead as a doornail".[17]
[edit] References
- ^ a b Production insights, Akira #3 (Epic Comics, 1988).
- ^ Interviews with Streamline Pictures' co-founders Carl Macek and Jerry Beck in Protoculture Addicts #9 (November 1990), and company spotlight in Protoculture Addicts #18 (July 1992).
- ^ "Otomo Takes Manhattan", MARVEL AGE #100 (Marvel Comics, May 1991).
- ^ Akira on Blu-ray.Bandai Announces Akira Blu-ray .Retrieved on 14-10-2008.
- ^ "Akira comes on Blu-ray this Summer - I4U News". I4u.com. 2007-03-23. http://www.i4u.com/article8301.html. Retrieved on 2009-03-13.
- ^ "Best/Worst "Animation" Titles". Imdb.com. http://www.imdb.com/chart/animation. Retrieved on 2009-03-13.
- ^ "Channel4 - 1q00 Greatest Cartoons". Channel4.com. http://www.channel4.com/entertainment/tv/microsites/G/greatest/cartoons/results.html. Retrieved on 2009-06-27.
- ^ "Empire: Features". Empireonline.com. http://www.empireonline.com/500/12.asp. Retrieved on 2009-03-13.
- ^ "Review - Akira". Makigumo. 2007-07-12. http://www.makigumo.com/reviews.php?id=11. Retrieved on 2009-03-13.
- ^ "Akira - Movie Reviews, Trailers, Pictures - Rotten Tomatoes". Uk.rottentomatoes.com. http://uk.rottentomatoes.com/m/akira/. Retrieved on 2009-03-13.
- ^ Review of the NES/Famicom game by Mobygames.com
- ^ Review of the AmigaCD game by Mobygames.com
- ^ Review of the Akira pinball simulator by Tothegame.com
- ^ Linder, Brian et al. Akira (Live Action)", IGN, April 12, 2002. Retrieved October 24, 2006.
- ^ Jason Brice. "Western Adaption Of Akira Planned". Silverbulletcomicbooks.com. http://www.silverbulletcomicbooks.com/news/101859158264796.htm. Retrieved on 2009-03-13.
- ^ Warner, Leonardo DiCaprio to Produce Live-Action Akira
- ^ "BD Horror News - 'Akira' Project is Dead as a Doornail". Bloody-disgusting.com. http://www.bloody-disgusting.com/news/16472. Retrieved on 2009-06-15.
[edit] External links
- Akira Japan official website (Japanese)
- Akira USA Official Website
- Akira at the Internet Movie Database
- Akira at Allmovie
- Akira at Rotten Tomatoes
- "ＡＫＩＲＡ". Japanese Movie Database. http://www.jmdb.ne.jp/1988/dl001700.htm. Retrieved on 2007-07-19. (Japanese)
- BlueBlade Akira (English-based fansite)
- Akira 2019 (English-based fansite)
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