My Favourite Movies: Akira.
I think this was the Manga (Japanese animation) breakthrough film. Made in 1987 and directed by Katsuhiro Otomo it tells the story of Kaneda and his motorcycle gang who get caught up in a secret military experiment.
The year is 2019. Its 30 years after a nuclear explosion destroyed old Tokyo and it looks like it’s all going to happen again. In their search for the ultimate weapon and the answers to what started the nuclear war the military are researching into the power of the human mind. By doing so they intend to understand and ultimately harness the power of their greatest triumph – Akira himself. Unwittingly they set in train a series of events that awakes the awesome mental powers of Kaneda’s youngest gang member Tetsuo Shima.
The action and adventure that follows is truly something to behold. Even if you’re not a Sci-Fi fan the strong storyline and amazing animation drag you into a highly believable world of the future. If you have never experienced Japanese animation you really should see this movie as it’s truly ground breaking stuff. Almost without realising it you forget that you’re watching what is, in effect, a cartoon – it’s that good. I’m not entirely sure that I can praise this too highly. See it.
8 comments:
Thanks, I'll netflix it. (All you other netflix users, I call dibs!) ;-)
It's the only manga/anime I've watched properly, cos it's really not my thing, but I did feel it was important to watch the seminal one:-)
I agree that it's a good film & easy to forget that it's "just" a cartoon. I got a bit bored with the plot, although that could say more about my life in the 1980's than the film;-)
It's definitely a must see. As anime goes, it's the same as Tolkien is to Fantasy - the rest won't make as much sense if you haven't seen it first!
I'm far from a Manga devotee, but I agree with you that one is just perfect ... I loved every minute of it
I've never seen it. Some of my best friends are absolute anime nuts. I've seen Ghost in the Machine and have really liked the movies of Miyazaki (Spirited Away, Howl's Moving Castle) but haven't seen much else. I'll track it down and take a look.
Ghost in the Machine is great. I was lucky enough to see that at the cinema in London. Loved Spirited Away too.....
My son is completely gaga for all things Japanese and Anime. I'll put this one on the Netflix and watch it with him. Maybe then I'll begin to understand some of the other stuff he watches. Thanks for the primer.
V V said: Thanks for the primer.
Pleasure. It's a very good place to start I think. Let me know if you like it. Some Anime can take quite a bit getting used to.
Also - don't expect it to be for kids just because its a cartoon. Some of it can be very... adult!
Akira is Cert 15 over here.
I know what you mean about adult content even though it's a cartoon. I watched some things with my son and found them inappropriate so I nixed his late night viewing of those cartoons. He wasn't happy about that.
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