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:

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

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Genres:

Animation | Action | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for graphic violence and brief nudity

Did You Know?

Trivia

Despite Kaneda being older than Tetsuo, both English dub voice actors for Tetsuo, Jan Rabson and Joshua Seth are older than Cam Clarke and Johnny Yong Bosch the voice actors for Kaneda.

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Goofs

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

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Quotes

Tetsuo (1988 Streamline Pictures dub): Heh, heh... what's happening to me? I must be dreaming. Bitchin'. I feel like I can take out the world today.

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Crazy Credits

Credits roll with Big Bang-like footage of stars and galaxies, in the background.

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Alternate Versions

The Madman Entertainment DVD and Blu-ray releases of this movie in Australia contain both English audio tracks in addition to the original Japanese track. The DVD version is also THX certified.

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Connections

Referenced in The Ring Two (2005)

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Soundtracks

Tokyo Shoeshine Boy
Performed by Teruko Akatsuki

User Reviews

Great Animation, But Not For Everybody

Let me be frank that while I own this DVD and watch it often this is not something that is for the masses. It certainly takes some background reading and investigation and multiple viewing before it begins to make sense.

However, once one understands and given the visuals it is impressive.

I also know that a Hollywood studio is making a live action film out of this to take advantage of Akira's popularity. It will be a failure. I will not be there to watch it and I am a fan.

Details

Official Sites:

Bandai Visual [Japan] Official Site [United States]

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

16 July 1988 (Japan)

Also Known As:

Akira: The Special Edition

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