January 16, 2003
Akira
One of the first Japanese Anime films to break out huge here in the United States, Akira is the story of a post-apocalyptic Tokyo, its biker gangs, psychic control, and huge explosions. An incredible feast for the eyes, this animated feature must be seen to be believed, even though it has been somewhat eclipsed visually by newer anime movies like Final Fantasy : The Spirit Within and Princess Monoke. In many ways, it is the archetypical anime movie, and a good place to start your viewing of these types of movies.
Amidst the ruins of Neo-Tokyo, a motorcycle gang roams the streets, looking for other gangs to push around. The implication is that they are not "bad" kids, just good kids doing bad things in a world gone all to hell. One of them, Tetsuo, gets involved in an accident with an army experiment and gets pulled in by the government, where it is discovered he has amazing latent powers. The government/army (ie, the authority figures), are trying to unlock the secrets of Akira, which is the massive ill-define power that nearly destroyed the original Tokyo 30 years ago. And Tetsuo seems just the ticket to help them control this myserious "force". The rest of the gang try to rescue him, and get involved with an underground anarchist movement who are determined to undermine the government and its efforts to control Akira. After many clashes, a huge drawn out denouement, countless explosions, and wild displays of color, all is answered. Well, maybe it isn't answered, but the movie ends!
This is my third anime movie (after the aforementioned Final Fantasy and Princess Monoke), and I have to admit I just don't get the attraction. Each of them has erupted into huge, chaotic bursts of explosions, energy, and psychic mumbo-jumbo, and have in general bored me. I will review Princess Monoke sometime soon, perhaps after I see it again, but it was my favorite, but that's damning with faint praise. While the animation is really incredible, and all 3 are a feast for the eyes, the storylines are vague and filled with all kinds of zen-like claptrap to explain the endings. And this was watching the "Special Edition", which supposedly has a much clearer English story line!
The DVD, on the other hand, is simply amazing, especially this Special Edition. All kinds of extras, along with a direct from the originals print, make for a DVD smorgasbord. But it wasn't enough to keep me awake during some of the more ambiguous, shall we say, explosions! But you should try it out, at least to see if perhaps it clicks with you.
Buy Akira (Movie-Only Edition / DD / DTS) from DVDPlanet
In Neo-Tokyo, bike gang leader Kaneda becomes involved in a top-secret government conspiracy when his close friend Tetsuo begins to exhibit strange psionic powers. Posted by jdarnold at January 16, 2003 09:39 AM
