Akira (1988)

A secret military project endangers Neo-Tokyo when it turns a biker gang member into a rampaging psychic psychopath who can only be stopped by two teenagers and a group of psychics.

Director:

Katsuhiro Ôtomo

Writers:

Katsuhiro Ôtomo (screenplay), Izô Hashimoto (screenplay)

Stars:

Mitsuo Iwata, Nozomu Sasaki, Mami Koyama

1 win.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Mitsuo Iwata	...	Kaneda (voice)
Nozomu Sasaki	...	Tetsuo (voice)
Mami Koyama	...	Kei (voice)
Tesshô Genda	...	Ryu (voice)
Hiroshi Ôtake	...	Nezu (voice)
Kôichi Kitamura	...	Lady Miyako / Committee A (voice)
Michihiro Ikemizu	...	Inspector / Committee I (voice)
Yuriko Fuchizaki	...	Kaori (voice)
Masaaki Ôkura	...	Yamagata (voice)
Tarô Arakawa	...	Army / Committee G / Eiichi Watanabe (voice)
Takeshi Kusao	...	Kai (voice)
Kazumi Tanaka	...	Army (voice)
Masayuki Katô	...	Engineer Sakiyama / Committe D (voice)
Yôsuke Akimoto	...	Harukiya Bartender (voice)
Masato Hirano	...	Committee F / Spy / Yûji Takeyama / Terrorist (voice)

Storyline

2019. 31 years after being destroyed during World War 3, Tokyo (now 'Neo-Tokyo') has been rebuilt and is a thriving metropolis. Shotaro Kaneda is the leader of a biker gang. His friend Tetsuo is injured in an accident and taken to a top-secret government facility. He develops telekinetic powers but decides to use them for evil rather than good. He has the same powers as Akira, the force that destroyed Tokyo in 1988, and now it appears that history will repeat itself.

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Plot Keywords:

cyberpunk | post thermonuclear war | biker gang | gifted child | science runs amok | 

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Taglines:

38 years after World War III...

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Genres:

Animation | Action | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Certificate:

A

Did You Know?

Trivia

The production budget was nearly $10 million, a record sum for a Japanese animation film.

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Goofs

In a long shot of Nezu discussing Kaneda's usefulness to the resistance movement with Ryu, a passing-by couple appears to be walking towards the same set of steps that Nezu and Ryu are about to descend. However, in the next shot, the couple is walking up a flight of steps on the other side of Nezu and Ryu.

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Quotes

Tetsuo Shima: [after falling off his motorcycle] Oh fuck!

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Crazy Credits

The date of the first coming of Akira is the exact same date as it was released originally in Japan.

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Alternate Versions

In Orion's "Special Subtitled Edition" Kei's name is changed to Kay and Kai's name is changed to Key.

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Connections

Featured in Saturday Night Live: The Best of Saturday TV Funhouse (2006)

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Soundtracks

Kaneda
Performed by Geinoh Yamashirogumi

User Reviews

This is a pretty interesting aniimation

You will not make heads or tails from the movie about a story, but it is a historic achievement and certainlt fun to watch. I love violence and Akira delivers. The fact that some Hollywood producer has decided to reshoot it shows Hollywood's arrogance.For heaven's sake Hollywood FOAD to your grubby hands.

Details

Official Sites:

Bandai Visual [Japan] Official Site [United States]

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

16 July 1988 (Japan)

Also Known As:

Akira

Box Office

Budget:

JPY1,100,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$11,263, 1 January 1990

Gross USA:

$553,171

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$2,533,908

Company Credits

Production Co:

Akira Committee Company Ltd., Akira Studio, TMS Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

124 min

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) Dolby (35 mm prints)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1