Technopunk

Rating: 10/10 (1 April 2006)

I really don't have much affinity for anime. I love animated films, but, frankly, beyond Miyazaki, I'm not a fan of this distinctly eastern artform. Ninja Scroll and Ghost in the Shell mean nothing to me. Though a typical anime film in many ways, Akira seems different from all the rest. It's a fascinating film with wonderful animation, and it doesn't contain the softcore pornography that often passes for artistry in the anime world.
It's been several years since I last saw this film, so only moments remain. What I remember: the apocalyptic showdown and some demented teddy bear spewing milk while the eeriest music I've ever heard plays. First, lets take the apocalypse--I love apocalyptic works of art; Mad Max, the Watchmen, Threads, etc. all had a tremendous impact on me growing up. Perhaps because I grew during an era of nuclear proliferation, I have always been terrified of World War III. Watching the Russian tanks travel across the wasteland of Afghanistan remains with me to this day, as does the fear that accompanied those images. Akira, at its end, taps into those childhood fears and those experiences awaiting the end of the world as we know it. This is an incredibly personal reaction, I realize, but one that I probably share with a lot of people between the ages of 25 and 40.
And then there's the teddy bear. It's probably the single most disorienting and frightening scene in the history of animated film. While in a hospital room (and while probably drugged, I don't remember), one of the characters has visions of two stuffed animals grow to gigantic proportions. Milk starts pouring out of them (I think, maybe I'm imagining all of this) and this strange, frightening music plays. It's terrifying and brilliant. One should watch the film if only for those two scenes.
The story, as I remember it, is fun as well, involving secret government tests and such. It's got a whiff of conspiracy to it, and that tends to make things better. All in all, a great little movie. If you like cinema at all, see it, and, if you think you don't like anime, then watch this and be amazed that you can stomach the stuff.