Akira review

 Number 265 on the top 1000 films of all time is Katsuhiro Otomo's cyberpunk anime 'Akira.'

Set in a dystopic 2019, the landscape of Japan has changed immensely. Tokyo has been destroyed in a nuclear blast. The new capital Neo-Tokyo is ran by a corrupt government and biker gangs control the streets. Violence and crime are rife. At the centre of everything are the ESPers - people with psychokinetic powers. One such ESPer is Tetsuo - member of a biker gang.

Other than Studio Ghibli or Pokemon, I've never been big on anime. So I was completely ignorant of Akira's reputation. This film helped introduce anime to a Western audience. In terms of the animation, it was easy to see why. It was gorgeous and really reminded me of early Studio Ghibli especially Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind. And, of course, the Akira slide has become a staple of popular culture.

Perhaps it's my lack of exposure to anime, but I did not enjoy this film at all. I found the actual story convoluted and overcomplicated. The "good guys" are a biker gang - too annoying and mischievous to be likable characters. Tetsuo crashes his bike into the young ESPer Takashi which is where Tetsuo's powers manifest. What happens to Takashi? Who knows? He's taken to a government facility to never be heard from again. Meanwhile Tetsuo is taken away to be experimented on by Colonel Shikishima - leader of Japan's self-defense forces. It's revealed that Tetsuo has powers similar to the legendary 'Akira,' who supposedly destroyed the original Tokyo.

Meanwhile Tetsuo's best friend Keneda busts him from the jail and they join an ESP resistance cells. But then the friends turn on each other and Colonel Shikishima is hunting them down. Tetsuo transforms into a Godzilla type monster, goes into space and destroys an orbital weapon, and then Tetsuo and Keneda are transported to another dimension. Keneda is saved by the other ESPers, but Tetsuo is stuck in this other plane of existence. Got all that?

It was a bit like the end of 2001: Space Odyssey where Dave goes through the space tunnel and he sees the future versions of himself. Too surreal and abstract for me. It was like I had fallen asleep and woken up halfway through, but I was awake the whole time.

While this might be a favourite of anime afficionadoes, I am not one of those, so I did not care for this film at all.