Akira (1988)

[HanaBi]

I think Akira is one of those "Marmite" moments - you either love it or hate it. When I first watched it back in the late 80s it completely blew my mind, mostly due to the stunning anime visuals rather than the seemingly convoluted story. But over the years, I have appreciated the film as a whole, and it still stands up well against the young manga/anime on the block these days. The storyline still bothers me somewhat, and I am expecting some kind of reboot at some point.

But it is still an iconic film.

 

[HareBrain]

I loved it in my early twenties (and it was partly responsible for me getting a motorbike -- red, natch). It now seems a bit jerky, sometimes trying too hard to impress, but at the time its movement and dynamism were outstanding.

I am expecting some kind of reboot at some point.

Have you seen the live-action fan trailer from a couple of years ago?

Worth a watch, although it's too slavish to the original, it has American voices rather than Japanese, and YOU CAN'T TALK TO ANOTHER RIDER AT 70MPH!

 

[Amelia Faulkner]

It's very pretty! And accurately portrays the anime, which is 90% TETSUUUUOOOO! KANEDAAAA!!!!

 

[HareBrain]

It's very pretty! And accurately portrays the anime, which is 90% TETSUUUUOOOO! KANEDAAAA!!!!

Yeah, that kind of friendship where you fire laser rifles and orbital military satellites at each other one day and go back to being best mates the next -- we've all been there.

Having had another look, I think it's closer to the manga than the anime, or is a mash-up of the two. The bit with Yamagata in the container port isn't in the film, nor the Great Tokyo Empire, but I don't think the bit with the laser rifle is in the manga (I could be wrong). Either way, I wish they'd been able to make the whole thing

 

[hitmouse]

I remember when Akira was the hot ticket at the Bristol Animation Festival in about 1988. No one had seen anything like it.

 

[Amelia Faulkner]

As an aside, did Domu: The Dreams of Children ever get an anime adaptation?

 

[HanaBi]

I remember when Akira was the hot ticket at the Bristol Animation Festival in about 1988. No one had seen anything like it.

I think that was my initial reaction after seeing it back in in the late 80s - my first anime/manga, and I just didn't know what to make of it; and was certainly a considerable step up from the "kids' cartoons" era I was more or less more familiar with at the time.

 

[Stephen Palmer]

I watched this again quite recently, and I reckon it still stands up pretty well. Especially the motor bikes.

 

[Overread]

I watched this again quite recently, and I reckon it still stands up pretty well. Especially the motor bikes.

In my view good quality animation is independent of time. Old high quality animations are still up to the standard expected today and unlike cheaper or earlier CGI it doesn't worsen with age. It's a shame that the west has all but abandoned animation and what we have retained is the likes of Family Guy or South Park - animation used mostly to simply be extreme end adult humour on the late night; and where the'd oft prefer South Park cheap style methods of flash animation.

 

[Cottencandytrill]

I just started reading the Akira manga, I'm on volume 2.