Akira (1988)

Director:

Katsuhiro Ôtomo

Writers:

Katsuhiro Ôtomo (graphic novel) and
Izô Hashimoto (screenplay)

Release Date:

24 July 2001 (USA)

Genre:

Animation | Action | Mystery | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

Neo-Tokyo is about to E.X.P.L.O.D.E.

Plot:

A secret military project endangers Neo-Tokyo when it turns a biker gang member into a rampaging psionic psychopath that only two kids and a group of psionics can stop.

Plot Keywords:

Secret | Gang | Biker | Government | Friend

Awards:

1 win

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Mitsuo Iwata	...	Shôtarô Kaneda (voice)
Nozomu Sasaki	...	Tetsuo Shima (voice)
Mami Koyama	...	Kei (voice)
Tesshô Genda	...	Ryûsaku (voice) (as Tetsusho Genda)
Hiroshi Ôtake	...	Nezu (voice)
Kôichi Kitamura	...	Priestess Miyako / Council A (voice)
Michihiro Ikemizu	...	Inspector / Council I (voice)
Yuriko Fuchizaki	...	Kaori (voice)
Masaaki Ôkura	...	Yamagata (voice)
Tarô Arakawa	...	Eiichi Watanabe / Council G / Army (voice)
Takeshi Kusao	...	Kai (voice)
Kazumi Tanaka	...	Army (voice)
Masayuki Katô	...	Engineer Sakiyama / Council D (voice)
Yôsuke Akimoto	...	Harukiya Bartender (voice)
Masato Hirano	...	Yûji Takeyama / Spy / Council F (voice)

Also Known As:

Akira: The Special Edition (USA) (reissue title)

MPAA:

Rated R for graphic violence and brief nudity.

Runtime:

124 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) | DTS (re-release) | Dolby (35 mm prints)

Certification:

Finland:K-12 (video) (1994) | Finland:K-15 (DVD) (2004) | Canada:18 (Nova Scotia) (re-rating) (2003) | Iceland:12 (video rating) | Iceland:14 | Italy:T | Hungary:16 | Netherlands:12 (re-rating) | Canada:18+ (TV rating) | Brazil:14 | South Korea:15 (DVD rating) | UK:15 (re-rating) (2002) | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Canada:14A (Manitoba) | Canada:AA (Ontario) | France:-12 | Netherlands:16 | New Zealand:M (re-rating) (2002) | Norway:15 (DVD rating) | Singapore:NC-16 | Singapore:PG (cut) | Spain:13 | Sweden:15 | UK:12 (original rating) | USA:R | West Germany:16 (nf) | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:A (Nova Scotia) (original rating)

Company:

Akira Committee Company Ltd.

Trivia:

This was one of the first Japanese anime films to have the character's voices recorded before they were animated. While this is the typical practice in U.S. animation, in Japan the animation is generally produced first.

Goofs:

Continuity: Near the beginning of the film, in the street bar, the sign on the jukebox changes from "MASTAR" to "MASTER" between shots.

Quotes:

Tetsuo: Heh, heh... what's happened to me? I must be dreaming. I feel like I can take out the world.

Movie Connections:

References Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983)

Soundtrack:

Tokyo Shoeshine Boy

Every Anime fan have to start from a certain place.

I was probably around 8, when I first saw Akira. It was my step dad who asked me if I was interested in watching this Japanese cartoon. I expected something like, my favorite children movies like The Lion King or The Land before Time.

Akira however, was something else. At the time I was to young to understand English, since it was a second language for me. But I remember what kind of an affect it had on me. It was brutal, it was hard, it was edgy. The drums and Neo Tokyo lights flew through my little body as butter, as I witnessed death, gore and sadistic killings. Something my pure and innocent eyes had never seen before. And yet I was strangely excited. I was never tough as a kid. I was a afraid of the dark and often had nightmares about all kinds of things. But Akira, despite it's mature nature, just had me in awe. When I finally re-saw it many years later, when I was an old teenager, I was still in awe.

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. Even if you don't appreciate animation you owe it to yourself, to check it out. It has spectacular action, motorcycle-chase-sequences, mad scientists and tons of blood and shooting.

8/10