AKIRA
Power corrupts, and absolute power makes things go BOOM!
Review by: Craig "More Psychic Than Miss Cleo" Norris
Length: 125-minute movie
Genre: Mind-fuck, psychological, horror
Watched: All, dubbed
We've put this review off for as long as possible, I guess. But now it's time to take a look at one of the most heralded titles in anime history. As I've seen with so many other anime, few that are given gargantuan hype can possibly hope to live up to it. This one is no exception. Not to say that it isn't without its charm, but frankly, I don't see what all the fuss is about.
Plot synopsis: In 1988, a mysterious explosion levels the city of Tokyo (funny, I don't recall; must've slept through that day). Thirty-one years later, Neo Tokyo stands in its place, a dark and foreboding city rife with gang violence. One such gang member, Tetsuo, is taken by the military after being involved in an accident with a wrinkled, blue-skinned boy with powerful psychic abilities. Tetsuo himself becomes imbued with these powers, and instead of going along with the military, decides to unleash his powers upon the city. Now the military, a small resistance movement, and Tetsuo's best friend Kaneda are all that stands between the seemingly unstoppable Tetsuo and the destruction of the entire city.
Artwork: Even today, 15 years after the film's stateside release, the artwork still impresses. The character designs don't look like typical anime fare, possibly because they look more Japanese than any other characters before or since. It is obvious from the get-go that a lot of emphasis was placed on the artwork, with action scenes being as detailed as those where people just sit around and talk. There was no corner-cutting or footage-recycling; the end product is as polished as polished can be, and the visuals should be ranked among the greatest of any anime.
Music: Not great. Most of the time the music complemented the on-screen actions, and that's about it. No tracks stand out as being particularly catchy or, most importantly, worth buying the album for. In fact, one track is a complete joke. It's just some guy going "DUUUNNNNN! DUUUNNNNN! DUUUNNNNN!" for, like, a minute. Really rather aggravating to listen to, especially considering the points in the film where it shows up. If that's the best they could have done for dramatic effect, the music director needs to be influenced with a large hammer. Plot and characters are supposed to be edgy, but when the music follows suit, it can turn out one of two ways: an astoundingly good soundtrack, or a noticeably flawed one. In this case, it most certainly is the latter.
Characters: The people found in Neo Tokyo perfectly represent the dark and twisted atmosphere of the city. There are no valiant heroes; only those less corrupt than the villains. Tetsuo seems to be the accurate depiction of what a juvenile delinquent would do if given god-like powers. At first only wanting to fit in with Kaneda and his gang mates, he transforms into a power-crazed maniac who lives only for his own petty, selfish goals. As a result, he becomes one of the most dangerous forces the world has ever known. Kaneda, the leader of the gang of bikers, becomes an unlikely hero when he vows to stop the rampaging Tetsuo. Though very much a delinquent, he values and trusts his friends, which makes him understandably disenchanted with Tetsuo when he turns on him. Kei is a member of a resistance movement against the government. Seeing that her resources are more organized than his own, Kaneda teams up with her to get to Tetsuo. Kei wants the government to acknowledge the existence of Akira, and that his resurrection is at hand. Colonel Shikishima is the military officer in charge of the project that gave Tetsuo his powers. He is one of the few in the military and the government that acknowledges that Akira even existed, and as such is not trusted widely. When Tetsuo begins to rage out of control, he takes matters into his own hands and usurps the power from the city government. There are many other characters that play smaller, but no less important, roles in the story, but revealing much about them would ruin a lot of the surprises in the movie. So pay attention to everybody you see, because there's no telling when they'll do something that will add a new wrinkle to the plot.
Plot: This is the sort of movie you have to watch more times than one-a lot more-in order to understand what's going on. I've seen it twice, and I think I kind of almost know what's going on maybe. At the very least, it makes you invest a great deal of thought into the conclusion; possibly even a bit too much. I understand that compressing a graphic novel of 2000+ pages into a 2-hour movie is no easy task, but I still feel that it could have been wrapped up more succinctly. Or at least in a way that gave more direction than the nebulous ending that was finally settled upon. At any rate, if getting into long discussions about the nature of life and the universe is your cup of tea, then this might just be the plot that gets your conversational juices flowing.
CHICKS!: Considering the gritty artistic style, there's not much to be had in the way of eye candy. Plus, there are really only two chicks that show up for more than a few minutes. Kei acts as the romantic interest for Kaneda, but for the most part is too focused on the resistance to pay him any mind. She has kind of a subtle, quiet beauty about her, and is fairly easy on the eyes, even though she insists on covering herself up in an orange jumpsuit for the majority of the movie. Kaori is Tetsuo's girlfriend, though he does not treat her with a high degree of respect. Of all the characters, she has possibly the gentlest disposition, and is a small slice of sweetness in the bitter world that surrounds her. She's not much of a head-turner, but she certainly is not ugly. Considering the heady subject matter, cute girls were most definitely not at the forefront of the project, so their absence is more than understandable. However, I always feel lonely when they're not around.
Overall: Watching this movie is not a pleasant experience. It is gritty, thought-provoking, and in some cases, graphic and disturbing. For that reason, it is deserving of its title as a breakthrough anime. It showed that the medium can be successful not just as entertainment, but also as an art form. However, its ground-breaking status aside, I fail to see how it lives up to its mythos. I could certainly understand if it were merely a "cult classic," but to bill it as the anime by which all others should be judged (as the movie often is), is unfair to the multitude of titles I feel are much more well executed. In short, the movie's reputation has become greater than the movie itself, and anyone who takes the hype seriously will be at least mildly disappointed when they see it for themselves.
IN A NUTSHELL:
+ Impressive, timeless visuals
+ Truly original
+ Great ambience
- Too much plot, too little time
- Most over-hyped anime in history
Rating: 7.5/10
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