I have for some time been following James Rolfe, as I’ve enjoyed both his discussions of film and, in spite of the crassness and vulgarity, his role as the Angry Video Game Nerd. He mostly discusses retro video games and B-movies, so I was surprised when I saw a review of Akira appear in my YouTube recommendations.
The reason he hasn’t discussed much anime, as he freely admits in this video, is because he hasn’t seen much. His discussion here is positive, though I was disappointed to find that it was mostly fanboyish enthusiasm rather than analysis.
For any readers here unaware, Akira appeared in 1988 and depicted a dystopian future Tokyo of 2019. The protagonists are punkish biker thugs who begin as best friends and end up trying to kill each other on account of a secret government program investigating children with psychic powers.
The movie is credited with jump-starting the anime craze in the U.S., and it was extremely influential in Japan as well. The animation was some of the best ever made at the time, and involved some bold choices that might go unappreciated in the age of computer animation, such as the decision to set most of the story at night, which required considerable extra work because of the dark colors and backgrounds. Like many anime of the late Eighties, it takes influence from Blade Runner, and like many anime films, it is opaque and largely indecipherable, though it’s based on a much lengthier manga that’s considerably easier to understand.
It was probably popular in the States in part because it was shocking, with bloody ultra-violence and graphic nudity, which fans inevitably contrasted with the content of animation aimed at children.
Personally, I have to admit I’ve never cared for it, even though both the manga and the film are undeniably impressive achievements. Mostly, I just hate the characters.