Cinema
Akira
アキラ
Katsuhiro Otomo · 1988
Synopsis
In 1988, an explosion destroys Tokyo and triggers a world war. In 2019, Neo-Tokyo, rebuilt, prepares for the Olympic Games amid unemployment, demonstrations and gangs of young bikers, according to Offi. Kaneda leads one of them, the Capsules, against a rival gang. One night, his friend Tetsuo collides with a child endowed with psychic powers, escaped from a state laboratory. The army takes back the child and takes Tetsuo away, in whom secret experiments awaken powers compared to those of Akira, held responsible for the destruction of the city, according to Toho Kingdom.
Context
The film was financed by a committee of seven companies, including Kōdansha, Tōhō and Bandai, and animated by Tokyo Movie Shinsha. The budget, around 1.1 billion yen according to Toho Kingdom, included promotion. The dialogue was recorded before the animation, a first in Japan, and more than 160,000 cels were used. The music, by the Geinoh Yamashirogumi collective, draws on the gamelan and nō. The drawn story was not finished when the film was released: it was completed only in 1990, so that part of the narrative is missing from the film, according to Time Out.
Who it is for
One hundred and twenty-four minutes of science fiction in a city undermined by corruption, rioting and street violence.
Prizes and reception
Released in the United States at the end of 1989, then in France in 1991, it was restored in very high definition and rereleased in cinemas in 2020.
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