The epic grandeur of “Akira,” the masterwork animation from director Katsuhiro Otomo, is astounding. Even though the movie only covers a few days, the spiritual and intellectual depth of its narrative goes well beyond that period of time, into the past and the future. The film opens with an end-of-the-world explosion that is overtly reminiscent of Hiroshima, which has long served as an inspiration for Japanese science fiction. The nameake Akira, a psychic youngster (also known as an ESPer) who attained the status of a God and whose strength ignited a singularity that destroyed the planet and established a new one, is the source of that explosion. Akira appears in the movie as both a physical being hidden under Neo-surface Tokyo’s and as a metaphysical being that serves as a stand-in for numerous gods. The setting of “Akira” is Neo-Tokyo, a post-apocalyptic hellscape filled with biker gangs, military raids, conspiracy theorists, and flashing lights. Kaneda and Tetsuo, two best friends, are navigating this chaotic metropolis together.
The conflict between the Clowns and Capsules, two biker gangs, foreshadows Kaneda and Tetsuo’s different paths later in the movie. Although both Kaneda and Tetsuo are Capsules, Kaneda is the leader. Before the combat, he criticises Tetsuo’s lack of riding experience, claiming “my bike is too wild, you wouldn’t be able to control it.” Tetsuo sets out on his own bike to prove himself, but he unintentionally collides with Takashi, a young child, on the highway. Tetsuo receives some of Takashi’s powers, one of the three known ESPers in government detention (the other two are Kyoko and Masaru). Akira starts to appear horrifyingly in Tetsuo’s audio and visual hallucinations, and they start to consume him.
A Power to Great for Us to Understand
Tetsuo changes into a horrifying amorphous behemoth of flesh, cells, and organs near the end of the movie, signifying that the galactic force of Akira has taken control of his human body. This transformation occurs when Tetsuo is in the presence of Akira’s actual strength. “My body is behaving on its own,” he cries, “it’s not doing what I order it to!” The three ESPer kids are humbled by Akira’s presence and start praying to him after realising that a new planet would eventually be born and Tetsuo will be liberated from his mortal body. They assist Tetsuo’s girlfriend Kairo and Kaneda in getting back to safety, but Neo-Tokyo is once more mostly devastated in a massive explosion.
Tetsuo’s ambition to be regarded as significant and powerful led to his eventual union with Akira, which was perhaps predestined. Tetsuo is viewed as Kaneda’s sidekick or novice throughout the entire film, and the combination of his inferiority complex with his just discovered abilities proves fatal. Tetsuo is initially afraid of his talents, but as he learns to control them, his ego takes control. In their final encounter inside the stadium, Tetsuo questions Kaneda “Why must you continually come to my rescue? I’ll acknowledge that I’ve been beaten in the past, but hear me out—I won’t always be the victim.” In addition to seeking to establish his own self-worth, he also wants to get revenge on those who had doubted him.
Fending For Ourselves
The picture, which Otomo develops as a political allegory of the end times, features numerous individuals that exhibit the human need for power and retribution that results in the tragic conclusion. We witness military involvement and Colonel Shikishima acting with a brutal assurance akin to General Patton. In order to thwart Tetsuo’s strong climb, he issues orders for a military coup and an aggressive military assault. He has an egotistical, anthropocentric viewpoint that clashes with the supernatural and extraterrestrial powers he must contend with. Cultists on the other end of the spectrum openly support the end of this world and the beginning of the next as they revere Akira’s arrival as a Biblical rapture. But even they are anthropocentrically naive, thinking naively that humanity will profit from Akira’s resurrection. A single man who leads the cult is also wheeled throughout the city on a huge throne. It’s one of many ways Otomo criticises the individualist arrogance that persists in the face of societal doom.
A Chance to Break the Cycle
Akira’s animation walks a fine line between being stunning and depressing. Dark orange, black, and red colours that depict Neo-Tokyo in the frames are ominous and wonderfully capture a city that looks to be wracked by violence all the time. The citizens of the city are almost constantly irate, anxious, and suspicious. It captures the emotions of a broken society where everyone feels isolated. This emptiness is demonstrated in the climactic effect of the ending, which features a succession of flashing panels, a significant explosion, and the deathly blackness of space. It creates a crater in its path due of its finality.
Yet, in the final moments where Tetsuo and Kaneda are together, engulfed by a blinding light and force of Akira, they see flashbacks to different points in their friendship. The scenes emphasise how Tetsuo had superhuman mental powers from the beginning, but his timid demeanour and frail physically made him dependent on Kaneda’s leadership to keep him safe. These sentimental moments in the face of Akira imply an opportunity to learn from what has been left behind despite all the film’s tragedy. Light shines down on Neo-ruins Tokyo’s after the explosions and the devastation, sending a conflicted message in the wake of hopelessness. In the end, the question is: Can people learn to break the cycle? Tetsuo’s unquenchable need for power caused another catastrophic event after Akira, but while Kaneda and the rest of humanity pick up the pieces, maybe they can ensure that this is the final time.
