Akira

Akira is a 1988 Japanese animated science-fiction film directed by Katsuhiro Otomo, who also co-wrote the screenplay and adapted it from his own manga. Produced by Akira Committee and animated by Tokyo Movie Shinsha, it premiered in Japan on July 16, 1988. Its story is set in 2019's Neo-Tokyo, a rebuilt metropolis erected after Tokyo was destroyed by an unexplained blast in 1988. The opening image links the catastrophe to the title character's terrifying psychic power, while the city is shown amid protests, political corruption, and government secrecy. At night, motorcycle gang leader Shotaro Kaneda races through its neon-lit streets. Kaneda and his friend Tetsuo Shima are teenage members of the Capsules, a gang whose members ride customized motorcycles. During a clash with a rival gang, Tetsuo encounters Takashi, an escaped child with an aged appearance and psychic abilities. Government forces seize Tetsuo and take him to a research facility overseen by Colonel Shikishima. There, experiments awaken Tetsuo's latent powers. His growing resentment toward Kaneda, who has long treated him as weaker, combines with these abilities and turns their friendship into a violent struggle. Tetsuo eventually seeks Akira, a boy preserved beneath Neo-Tokyo's Olympic Stadium, believing Akira can explain his transformation. The film's principal Japanese voice cast includes Mitsuo Iwata as Kaneda, Nozomu Sasaki as Tetsuo, Mami Koyama as Kei, and Taro Ishida as the Colonel. Otomo collaborated on the script with Izo Hashimoto. The film was made while Otomo's manga was still unfinished, so its ending differs substantially from the comic's later volumes. Its animation is particularly noted for dense cityscapes, elaborate mechanical designs, and unusually fluid movement. The production used 160,000 individual cels and was filmed at 24 frames per second, with much animation created at a high frame rate for the period. Its soundtrack was created by the musical collective Geinoh Yamashirogumi, led by Tsutomu Ohashi. It incorporates choral writing and Indonesian gamelan-influenced percussion. Akira screened internationally after its Japanese release and became a major reference point for audiences encountering adult-oriented Japanese animation. In the United States, it received an English-language dubbed release from Streamline Pictures, with Cam Clarke voicing Kaneda and Jan Rabson voicing Tetsuo. A later English dub was produced for a 2001 DVD release by Pioneer. The narrative culminates when Tetsuo's unstable powers trigger a colossal physical transformation at the Stadium. Kaneda confronts him as Akira's fellow psychic children reappear, and Neo-Tokyo is again engulfed by destruction.