AKIRA
Akira
Peter Bond
Cities come and go, sometimes in an instant.
Early on as we see Tokyo destroyed, one can not help but think of those two cities. As the plot continues and we learn more about Akira, his power and that explosion the film starts to ask us about this power. How do we relate to science? To technology? Can we learn from our mistakes? If we don’t learn, there is a cost to pay. The film lays that out clear in its stunning finale.
Early in 1988’s Akira, Tokyo is destroyed in a great flash of light. Japan rebuilds, and the movie takes us into Neo-Tokyo. The city has returned but has changed. Reborn as a city of towering skylines, grimy streets and citizens either turned violent or numb. The military enforces its will on the street, and the government hides deep away work- After our mistakes, how do we rebuild? ing towards its own preservation. One city destroyed, and a new city made. Otomo Katsuhiro’s drove this 1988 film adaptation of his own manga. It had a massive influence on science fiction, Japanese cyberpunk and left a mark as a piece of adult animation. The film follows Kaneda, the leader of a biker gang and his friend Tetsuo. Tetsuo acquires psychic abilities and the film spins out from there. The bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki are instantly invoked in this film, and run as a throughline throughout it. 66
