Akira - (Ultimate Collection) > Reviews > "Neo-Tokyo Is About To Explode"

Author's product rating:   

Did you enjoy it?	Liked it
Story	Satisfactory
Characters / Performances	Satisfactory
Special Effects	Outstanding
Soundtrack	Good

Advantages:	Fabulous and detailed visuals, brilliant setting, pioneering ideas, great action sequences, £7 . 99
Disadvantages:	Original version has unclear picture, storyline issues, no match for Princess Mononoke, violence

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

If you asked a member of the public to name a single film they would most associate with the anime genre, then chances are it would be Akira. Animatrix has come and gone, Spirited Away has won itself a well-deserved Oscar, but its unlikely there will ever be another anime that will match the global impact of Akira - a film that remains religiously popular amongst the anime community almost twenty years on thanks to its unique style and ability to break the general prejudice outside of Japan that animation is merely a child's pursuit; its only a shame that subsequent releases haven't built upon it more.

In 1987, Katsuhiro Ôtomo completed the film adaptation of his own epic manga, which comprised of several thousand pages. The Ultimate Edition DVD - consisting of the original and remastered editions of the film - would take a further 16 years to arrive over here, in 2003. Still, better late than never as they say. But is it possible to successfully condense such a giant manga comic into a two hour film, and does Akira prove worthy of the adoration that has for so long surrounded it?

Akira gets off to a superb start; the opening sequence depicts a mushroom cloud expanding silently outwards over Tokyo, signifying the kind of destructive force not inflicted upon Japan since the Second World War. It's a memorable beginning that's delivered with an immense feeling of style and symbolism, marking the end of the Tokyo we know and promptly fast-forwarding 30 years to 2019, to a Dystopian Neo-Tokyo that is in many ways the same and yet different to our modern society. Externally, the city is a dark, towering symbol of power with its massive skyscrapers and high-tech vehicles, yet a closer look reveals anarchy, disorder and a feeling of oppression amongst its inhabitants - its suitably Bladerunner-esque.

Neo-Tokyo is unashamedly vast and this fact is rarely hidden - virtually every outdoor scene comes with a row of colossal buildings as a backdrop, but the focus of Akira is on a small gang of teenage bikers, lead by sixteen year-old Kanaeda. When his volatile friend Tetsuo suffers a bike crash following one of their many violent battles with a rival gang known as the 'clowns', he is taken to a government hospital where tests reveal that Tetsuo may harness a startling power within him akin to that of 'Akira', the boy who caused the devastation of Tokyo thirty years previously.

With Tetsuo attempting to escape the confines of his hospital room, it becomes dangerously clear that he has immense destructive mind-powers that could, in time, grow to control his already-fragile mind. Kanaeda meanwhile meets a young member of the underground resistance named Kay, and through a mixture of his 'skirt-chasing' and desire to help his troubled friend, he begins his journey to find Tetsuo. Of course it isn't going to be easy; 2019 is set in a time of clear authoritarianism, and because of a multitude of explosions and terrorist attacks, the military are everywhere. The government particularly want the testing/analysing of Tetsuo to be kept quite - rumours of the second-coming of Akira are already causing unrest in the troubled city. Kanaeda may not be able to grasp Tetsuo's complex mental struggle, but it may ultimately transpire that he is needed to save his friend and with it the city, else history will repeat itself.

First things first - Akira is a remarkable looking film. I didn't realise until I really thought about it afterwards, but there are hardly any animated feature-films that are set predominately at night; Akira depicts an astounding cityscape consisting of muted blues and blacks, lit up vividly by the neon-drenched signs and streetlamps. As is explained in the DVD's production report, night scenes often require dozens of different shades of the same colour, and therefore a lot more effort and money - the designers must have been mad, because Akira is full of 'em! Neo-Tokyo is explored from a myriad of glorious angles that usually aren't tackled in anime; from high above we are shown helipads, the roofs of countless buildings, and a red and white blur that is the flow of traffic. Then there's the view from the ground up, hammering home the intimidating-tall, tightly-packed skyline. The detail is incredible, not just in the endless depth of the outdoor shots but in all areas featured in the film. The bar near the beginning is a perfect example of this - look closely into the background you'll find arcade-machines being played, televisions with news reports, people chatting at the tables; compared to most other anime, it goes so much further and in doing so creates an incredibly atmospheric feel.

Akira is more teen/adult targeted, not just because of its setting but its more-serious characters could well be seen as more accessible to western audiences. Anime has become synonymous with saucer-eyed, colourful 'n' cute protagonists with wild hair styles, but Akira breaks this tradition confidently. Its characters are in many ways aligned with there environment; hairstyles are intentionally quite reserved, with colours rarely straying outside of dark browns and blacks. The way in which each individual acts is also highly convincing, from personal mannerisms such as facial expressions and walking movements, to the fact that the characters' (Japanese) voices were recorded first to have the lip-movements animated around them, there is little doubting the effort that has gone into the project.

Aesthetically it is marvellous, but what about the storyline? Well, it's solid enough, though it's best not to watch the film expecting a world-beating script. A heck of lot is covered in the two hour running time, but it was clear to me that the writers were crying out for a less-restricted running-period, and as a result it was necessary for Akira to move along at a fairly brisk pace - it may require at least two viewings to take it all in. It's flair for action and bold visuals is effortlessly apparent, especially in the bike-chase scenes near the beginning (action fans will love them), though it also means there is less time to properly introduce some of the characters to the viewer. This doesn't ultimately prove too detrimental though as you'll certainly be routing for Kanaeda and his pals by the second half of the picture, though certain members of the bike-gang would have perhaps benefited from a little more screen time and with a lack of flashbacks comparing Tetsuo's situation to Akira's, we are merely left to guess at the past of the mysterious boy who shares his name with the film.

The sound deserves a mention as the creators have used the music shrewdly and sparingly, usually to knock the excitement level up a notch or two at a given moment. The futuristic bikes, frantic and well-formed pursuits through the incredible city are enough to get the pulse-racing alone, though the often beautifully-simple drum beats and techno sounds both enforce the futuristic setting and add that bit more intensity to major scenes.

The Ultimate Edition provides two versions of the film; the original and the remastered, widescreen edits. The original is the weaker of the two, as it only offers the single (English) dub, the sound quality is slightly inferior and the picture quality extremely fuzzy and rather unclear. The remastered version favours far better though with the choice of a (new) English dub and the Japanese version with subtitles, significantly better picture quality and perfect sound. The original disc comes complete with a highly insightful production report lasting around fifty minutes, outlining the characters, interviewing various key members of the 'Akira' team (as well as director Ôtomo himself) and highlighting key storyboards that reveal just how much detail each and every shot has to include - it's a top-class 'making of'. Even if the original edit is a little ropey by comparison, the most enthusiastic of fans will doubtless relish the opportunity to compare versions, and at £7.99 (play.com), I'm not complaining either.

Akira carries a 15 certificate and is quite a violent film at times, inevitable given the gang-fighting nature - in these instances its mainly fist fighting, though by animation standards there are also some fairly graphic moments, Ôtomo especially likes gunshot wounds it would appear and at one stage Tetsuo even envisages his entire insides dropping out onto the floor in front of him. Not one to watch while you're eating your tea then!

Do I recommend Akira? Well, it can't match the more recent classics such as Princess Mononoke and Spirited Away for sheer elegance and magical story-telling, but Akira's audaciously ambitious techniques pay off with a unique look that is unlikely ever to be successfully imitated in traditional animation. Even if its depiction of punks and the future may seem a little dated in some respects (World War 3 takes place in 1988) and the story is perhaps slightly bloated, the film is awash with style and atmosphere, its music is superb, and the design work extremely impressive. Think of the DVD as your favourite grandparent; it might not understand modern trends, but it can still teach the young 'uns a thing or two. The perfect history lesson, and at a very reasonable price. Recommended.