Akira (Special Edition)
January 7th 2008 01:24
Category: Videos
Based on the manga ‘Akira’ by: Katsuhiro Otomo.
Director: Katsuhiro Otomo.
Screenplay by: Katsuhiro Otomo & Izo Hashimoto.
Producers: Ryohei Suzuki & Shunzo Kato.
English Voice Cast: Johnny Yong Bosch (Kaneda), Wendee Lee (Kei), Joshua Seth (Tetsuo), Robert Bucholz (Ryu), Jamieson.K.Price (The Colonel), Matthew Mercer (Chief Scientist), Michelle Ruff (Kaori) and Mike Reynolds (Nezu).
Proeduced by: 1987 Akira Committee/Kodansha.
English Language Version: 2001 Pioneer Entertainment (USA) Inc in association with ZRO Limit Productions and Animaze Inc.
Released by: Manga Entertainment.
Running Time: 124 minutes. Rating: M 15 .
Released onto the big screen twenty years ago this film would most likely have been the first major anime feature that a lot of Western anime fans had ever seen, up till then the only real anime that had been going around were reworked cartoons such as Speed Racer and Battle of the Planets to name a few. Akira though blew all these away and really cemented the concept of anime in the minds of a Western audience as well as demonstrating the kind of depth of story and quality of animation that were in the hands of its Japanese producers. This was not some purely children’s entertainment with cute squeaky characters and robots, this was literally in your face, high speed, intense drama with a meaning that initially when I first saw it eluded me, though years and several viewings later I think I finally have a grasp of what is going on. This special edition came with the boxed set of DVDs called Anime Classics that I purchased a few months back, Akira along with Ninja Scroll and Ghost in the Shell were required viewing for Laurence Fishburne in preparation for his role as Morpheus in the Matrix. Pioneer Entertainment has done a re-dub of the original English language version; though you can also get the original dub on this DVD if you’re interested in hearing that, just go into the setup section and pick whichever version takes your fancy.
So what is the fuss all about? What justifies all the hype about this particular anime film and does it deserve being called a classic? Certainly it does deserve all the hype and being branded as anime classic not only for its fantastic animation, its dramatic and often graphic action but for the intense and gripping story that is operating on so many different levels. It would be fairy easy for anyone to dismiss Akira as simply being an animated science fiction flick which tends to go overboard on the graphic action and seems focused more on a personality clash between the two primary protagonists; Kaneda and Tetsuo. Fortunately for the more discerning viewer the story has significantly more dimension to it than a simple clash of egos and personalities liberally seasoned with carnage inflicted on a truly grand scale.
Events begin on a summer’s day, the 16th of July 1988 to be specific, in the metropolis of Tokyo. We are treated to a panoramic vista of the city with its numerous buildings, the highways and the traffic till suddenly there appears what looks to be a vast mushroom cloud developing in the centre of the city. This seemingly unusual event is the harbinger of the start of World War III and from this point on things move onto Neo Tokyo, the new city built from the ruins of the old some thirty one years later in 2019. The city of Neo Tokyo seems to have overcome the catastrophe of the war and managed to re emerge as a dynamic city filled with people and vibrant industry. This is how things appear on the surface, in reality Neo Tokyo is a seething mass of discontent, warring biker gangs, a venal and corrupt central authority, nihilistic millenarian cultists as well as an increasingly growing police/military state being established as an attempt to keep a lid on the chaos. And there is a sense of growing dissension between the politicians and the soldiers/police who have to deal with the problems of a lack of true control and influence.
Amidst all this turmoil and crisis awaiting to explode is a secret government research project that is based in the city and is concentrating on research undertaken by previous researchers prior to the Third World War. This nameless research project and its participants are the primary hub of the movie, overseen by an aging chief scientist and a military officer who is only ever called Colonel in the entirety of the film, driving along the plot into which all the various protagonists through different means become involved. Strangely for a major film Akira is one that has many protagonists but no real true antagonist; there are no real villains, only people caught up by circumstance in events that often are mostly beyond their control. Even the Colonel who has at his hands the entire military machine is unable to significantly influence events and prevent the carnage that envelopes Neo Tokyo, it seems that the maxim those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat its mistakes is a major force in what occurs. After all the particular special project that the Colonel is in charge of is following precisely in the footsteps of a previously similar effort undertaken thirty one years ago.
Before the incident that destroyed Old Tokyo and lead the Third World War the Japanese government was involved in a project aimed at trying to create psychics from young children. Somewhere down the line they managed to find one such subject who was a natural, they analysed this subject and from their research managed to work out the areas of the brain that could be modified to bring out latent psychic talents. Three young children had the operation carried out on them and they became influential psychics but it was the initial natural subject who produced the most astounding results, this young boy known to the researchers as subject 28 but known to his fellow psychics as Akira exceeded all expectations and in time achieved a transcendental state. It is this transcendent moment that causes the devastation of Old Tokyo, a vast amount of energy on all manner of levels was expanded at a particular location and on a particular day (16/7/88) and unfortunately the surrounding city was destroyed and its appearance was responsible for causing the events that lead to the Third World War. Now it seems that the central authorities in Neo Tokyo have reprised this project, the three successful test subjects are still alive and part of its efforts which are still bent at trying to unlock the mysteries of the phenomena that was Akira and human psychic abilities. It is a veritable Pandora’s Box and probably should never have been reopened but the learning of past mistakes seems to be completely out of place with the central authorities.
Kaneda and Tetsuo become involved in this purely as a result of an accident one night after a gang war with the rival Clown bikers. From being on the periphery of this project both in their own unique ways become heavily involved in its actions and the impact it has on the world around them. For these two teenage boys the whole affair is a veritable wake up call to the fact that up until this point their world had been narrowly focused, that they spent their time and energy on girls, bikes and fighting whilst their was so much more around them waiting to be realised. This could no doubt be said about anyone and as the three successful test subjects reveal to Kaneda their abilities and that of Tetsuo are within everyone to some degree, it just needs the right catalyst to bring them forth. The only problem arises where the person reaches the power level of Akira, that kind of individual cannot at this particular point in time exist in the normal world; not without dire consequences.
Another important notion within Akira is the concept of honour and duty, the Colonel is a man who firmly believes in these two ideas whilst his superiors expect such things from their underlings and from him but feel no need to show the same to those beneath them. What they don’t realise is that for all their titles and posturing unfortunately they have no significant power or influence at all, a fact that is swiftly demonstrated when the Colonel decides that the executive council is to be arrested and the military needs to take charge in order to try and bring some order to the turmoil that looks like consuming Neo Tokyo. In the Colonel’s mind it is the honourable thing to do his duty which is to protect the city to the best of his ability, if that means deposing a group of venal and corrupt politicians in order to do so then so be it. He sheds no tears and does what needs to be done without wondering how history will view him, what’s important is that their actually be someone left alive to write history.
In the end Akira is an anime film with substantial depth to its story, it’s no toddler’s wading pool and it wouldn’t be a classic without that kind of high quality storytelling. Slick animation and effects are all very well and nice but they do not a seminal and classic film make. Certainly Akira does have some significant bells and whistles when it comes to animation and effects, and even twenty years down the track they still stand up fairly well considering the amount of CGI that is seeing use in contemporary films. Corruption, cover ups, meddling with things that are best left alone, evolution, stagnation and millenarianism are all facets that comprise the films drama, Akira is a film of extremes because its setting is a place of extremes that has lead to a society which is under intolerable tension; tension that is only moments away from exploding. In this way Neo Tokyo is itself a mirror of the situation that occurs when Tetsuo begins to discover his latent abilities and he in turn is a mirror of the city as he careens out of control so to the city. Sadly though Tetsuo is unable to control what is happening to him just as Neo Tokyo itself is unable to influence the events that are consuming it. Tragedy and carnage ensues.
Akira is a film well worth seeing. It is definitely something of an experience; I suspect that it would have been truly fantastic on the big screen when it was first shown twenty years ago.
Director: Katsuhiro Otomo.
Screenplay by: Katsuhiro Otomo & Izo Hashimoto.
Producers: Ryohei Suzuki & Shunzo Kato.
English Voice Cast: Johnny Yong Bosch (Kaneda), Wendee Lee (Kei), Joshua Seth (Tetsuo), Robert Bucholz (Ryu), Jamieson.K.Price (The Colonel), Matthew Mercer (Chief Scientist), Michelle Ruff (Kaori) and Mike Reynolds (Nezu).
Proeduced by: 1987 Akira Committee/Kodansha.
English Language Version: 2001 Pioneer Entertainment (USA) Inc in association with ZRO Limit Productions and Animaze Inc.
Released by: Manga Entertainment.
Released onto the big screen twenty years ago this film would most likely have been the first major anime feature that a lot of Western anime fans had ever seen, up till then the only real anime that had been going around were reworked cartoons such as Speed Racer and Battle of the Planets to name a few. Akira though blew all these away and really cemented the concept of anime in the minds of a Western audience as well as demonstrating the kind of depth of story and quality of animation that were in the hands of its Japanese producers. This was not some purely children’s entertainment with cute squeaky characters and robots, this was literally in your face, high speed, intense drama with a meaning that initially when I first saw it eluded me, though years and several viewings later I think I finally have a grasp of what is going on. This special edition came with the boxed set of DVDs called Anime Classics that I purchased a few months back, Akira along with Ninja Scroll and Ghost in the Shell were required viewing for Laurence Fishburne in preparation for his role as Morpheus in the Matrix. Pioneer Entertainment has done a re-dub of the original English language version; though you can also get the original dub on this DVD if you’re interested in hearing that, just go into the setup section and pick whichever version takes your fancy.
Events begin on a summer’s day, the 16th of July 1988 to be specific, in the metropolis of Tokyo. We are treated to a panoramic vista of the city with its numerous buildings, the highways and the traffic till suddenly there appears what looks to be a vast mushroom cloud developing in the centre of the city. This seemingly unusual event is the harbinger of the start of World War III and from this point on things move onto Neo Tokyo, the new city built from the ruins of the old some thirty one years later in 2019. The city of Neo Tokyo seems to have overcome the catastrophe of the war and managed to re emerge as a dynamic city filled with people and vibrant industry. This is how things appear on the surface, in reality Neo Tokyo is a seething mass of discontent, warring biker gangs, a venal and corrupt central authority, nihilistic millenarian cultists as well as an increasingly growing police/military state being established as an attempt to keep a lid on the chaos. And there is a sense of growing dissension between the politicians and the soldiers/police who have to deal with the problems of a lack of true control and influence.
Amidst all this turmoil and crisis awaiting to explode is a secret government research project that is based in the city and is concentrating on research undertaken by previous researchers prior to the Third World War. This nameless research project and its participants are the primary hub of the movie, overseen by an aging chief scientist and a military officer who is only ever called Colonel in the entirety of the film, driving along the plot into which all the various protagonists through different means become involved. Strangely for a major film Akira is one that has many protagonists but no real true antagonist; there are no real villains, only people caught up by circumstance in events that often are mostly beyond their control. Even the Colonel who has at his hands the entire military machine is unable to significantly influence events and prevent the carnage that envelopes Neo Tokyo, it seems that the maxim those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat its mistakes is a major force in what occurs. After all the particular special project that the Colonel is in charge of is following precisely in the footsteps of a previously similar effort undertaken thirty one years ago.
Before the incident that destroyed Old Tokyo and lead the Third World War the Japanese government was involved in a project aimed at trying to create psychics from young children. Somewhere down the line they managed to find one such subject who was a natural, they analysed this subject and from their research managed to work out the areas of the brain that could be modified to bring out latent psychic talents. Three young children had the operation carried out on them and they became influential psychics but it was the initial natural subject who produced the most astounding results, this young boy known to the researchers as subject 28 but known to his fellow psychics as Akira exceeded all expectations and in time achieved a transcendental state. It is this transcendent moment that causes the devastation of Old Tokyo, a vast amount of energy on all manner of levels was expanded at a particular location and on a particular day (16/7/88) and unfortunately the surrounding city was destroyed and its appearance was responsible for causing the events that lead to the Third World War. Now it seems that the central authorities in Neo Tokyo have reprised this project, the three successful test subjects are still alive and part of its efforts which are still bent at trying to unlock the mysteries of the phenomena that was Akira and human psychic abilities. It is a veritable Pandora’s Box and probably should never have been reopened but the learning of past mistakes seems to be completely out of place with the central authorities.
Kaneda and Tetsuo become involved in this purely as a result of an accident one night after a gang war with the rival Clown bikers. From being on the periphery of this project both in their own unique ways become heavily involved in its actions and the impact it has on the world around them. For these two teenage boys the whole affair is a veritable wake up call to the fact that up until this point their world had been narrowly focused, that they spent their time and energy on girls, bikes and fighting whilst their was so much more around them waiting to be realised. This could no doubt be said about anyone and as the three successful test subjects reveal to Kaneda their abilities and that of Tetsuo are within everyone to some degree, it just needs the right catalyst to bring them forth. The only problem arises where the person reaches the power level of Akira, that kind of individual cannot at this particular point in time exist in the normal world; not without dire consequences.
Another important notion within Akira is the concept of honour and duty, the Colonel is a man who firmly believes in these two ideas whilst his superiors expect such things from their underlings and from him but feel no need to show the same to those beneath them. What they don’t realise is that for all their titles and posturing unfortunately they have no significant power or influence at all, a fact that is swiftly demonstrated when the Colonel decides that the executive council is to be arrested and the military needs to take charge in order to try and bring some order to the turmoil that looks like consuming Neo Tokyo. In the Colonel’s mind it is the honourable thing to do his duty which is to protect the city to the best of his ability, if that means deposing a group of venal and corrupt politicians in order to do so then so be it. He sheds no tears and does what needs to be done without wondering how history will view him, what’s important is that their actually be someone left alive to write history.
In the end Akira is an anime film with substantial depth to its story, it’s no toddler’s wading pool and it wouldn’t be a classic without that kind of high quality storytelling. Slick animation and effects are all very well and nice but they do not a seminal and classic film make. Certainly Akira does have some significant bells and whistles when it comes to animation and effects, and even twenty years down the track they still stand up fairly well considering the amount of CGI that is seeing use in contemporary films. Corruption, cover ups, meddling with things that are best left alone, evolution, stagnation and millenarianism are all facets that comprise the films drama, Akira is a film of extremes because its setting is a place of extremes that has lead to a society which is under intolerable tension; tension that is only moments away from exploding. In this way Neo Tokyo is itself a mirror of the situation that occurs when Tetsuo begins to discover his latent abilities and he in turn is a mirror of the city as he careens out of control so to the city. Sadly though Tetsuo is unable to control what is happening to him just as Neo Tokyo itself is unable to influence the events that are consuming it. Tragedy and carnage ensues.
Akira is a film well worth seeing. It is definitely something of an experience; I suspect that it would have been truly fantastic on the big screen when it was first shown twenty years ago.
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