Seismic

Rating: 8/10 (27 June 2018)

There are few pieces of media that have had the seismic effect that Akira had on it's 1988 release. Based on the manga of the same name and directed by the same author, the science fiction film changed the face of Japanese cinema and, indeed, the face of Japanese fiction in general.
It's not hard to see why. Katsuhiro's world is dense and alive in such a captivating way; beyond the biker gangs of our main characters Tetsuo and Kaneda we have doomsday cults, government conspiracies, insurgent terrorists, mysterious physic powers... Audiences back then and even now are pulled into the world, invited to explore every nook and cranny, making it instantly watchable and perfect for repeat viewings.
Such a shame then, that this is exactly what drags the movie down, particularly in the second act. Cramming the plot full of so many subplots gives rise to many false climaxes and resolutions, leaving the pacing choppy at best. Particularly evident is the resolution of the titular Akira plotline, which seems like it should be the resolution of the movie, but upon looking at the remaining time, you'll be shocked to discover that almost half an hour still remains. Cutting a lot of these superfluous subplots would help the pacing greatly, but then again that's exactly what made the film so engaging in the first place, providing a serious conundrum.
Even more confusing is that, because of the inclusion of so many subplots, it seems that the characterisation and character development of our main characters - Tetsuo and Kaneda - suffers as a result. Tetsuo turns too quickly from disgruntled childhood friend to telekinesis-wielding antagonist, but at least this isn't as bad as Kaneda's treatment, who remains the same one-note, shouty delinquent virtually the entire way through the film. Why the filmmakers chose to focus on these smaller threads instead of the main thread of the movie escapes me, but at least another key area of focus for the film - production - paid off in spades.
The bubble economy of the 1980s made Japan a lot of money, and it's no surprise that a lot of this money was channeled into entertainment - namely, the burgeoning anime industry. With a budget of around $10 million, this is still the most expensive anime film of all time, and it shows. Everything on screen is animated, even the backgrounds in panning shots, making for one of the best looking pieces of animated film out there. Just watching the film for this level of quality rarely seen in anime films anymore is worth it, and there's no way you'll pick up on every detail with just one watch.
So perhaps this is why, despite choppy writing, the film still stands the test of time today, and can still be enjoyed with our modern eyes. Akira still remains one of my favourite films of all time - perhaps because of the impression it left on me at a young age - even though it can't exactly be called the 'best.'