Akira

When I was in middle school I had five major fascinations: Legos, Mythilogical Beasts (Dragons, Griffens, Trolls, etc...), Diet Food, Star Wars, and Anime.


(As you might have noticed that of these topics Anime will be on the topic of this article.)


I became entranced by the concept of the dramatic cartoon. Surreal landscapes, bulgy wierd gumdrop eyes, slightly intangible and subtle sexual metaphor, and giant tranforming robots. The Japanese were leading the new wave in animation, and the wave that started back in the late seventies was starting to crash on America.

Sorry for all my douchey metaphor, but it felt fitting.






I have a list of favorites that stand the test of time:

RoboTech: Macross
Gundam Wing
Tenchi
Ronin Warriors
DragonBall Z (yes yes I know, but it once was a good show)
and Outlaw Star

I would watch any of these shows again in instant they were that good. But this blog is not about the television shows, though I felt they deserve a mention. No this article is about my favorite piece of animation to come out of Japan: Akira.

Starting out as a comic book drawn by Katsuhiro Ōtomo, Akira become a huge success in Japan... I will stop here and just give you a better article on the comic:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akira_(manga)

I know its lazy, but I would be a lying cred grabber to say I got into Akira through the comic first. I, like just about everyone else, saw the movie and took it from there. *As a side note I am following the comic series, but it is proving quite tricky to secure volumes three and up*





So lets get to the movie. I rented this movie from the bloomingdale blockbuster on the standard Orion letterbox release on VHS. With the original american overdubs. These were great because I swear to god they used the same group of 10 voice actors to knock out about 20 different imported movies. Recently I heard a overdub on Metal Gear Solid and I could have sworn I heard Cam Clarke, who was candede (kan-a-dah). I checked the credits and sure as shit he was liquid snake.


Anyway, I had a similar viewing as I did Rules of Attraction. While it didnt burn a hole in my head, the whole I wasnt prompted prior to watching and I was completely taken aback. Here is a movie set in a post apocalyptic Toyko, deals with the politics and corruption, mystical other worldy powers, and globalization.



But of course these concepts were lost on my fourteen year old mind, it was the motorcycle chases, exploding heads and every expanding climax see bottom pic. All set to the most next score in cinema history... yea i said it. I consider the score on par with Mr John Williams.





Here is some selections:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FYCW-pWu5Bo


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GZ8Dbj13f_A


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H8rHTGk_kjY


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1dQSTR5K1Bw


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qsi4jVnKUoc



The score is probably some of the most original arrangements and instrumentations I have heard. In fact when I got into Kid A, my favorite song was "How to Dissapear Completely". The strings and tone reminded me of the sometimes unpleasant visceral grindings of the score. And in the oddest moments hauntingly beautiful. Testsuo's theme is my personal favorite:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j3RBvWbnMW8

So okay, I have kind of avoided doing this the whole article. Plot Synopsis: well... I cant. God knows I have seen this movie as many times as Ryan has rocked Blue Velvet, yet all I can give is a recount of the events, what happens to who, and how it all turns out. But I would never just do that, because thats only the surface of this movie. there is so much going on under it, and thats where the real meat is.

The movie revolves around a young bike gang whose youngest member Tetsuo has a chance encounter with a gifted young child. He is bestowed with strange powers. These power surge inside him and drive him insane. Like a roaring beast they surge out of him, and eventually cause him to expand to grotesque lengths. Canede, the gang leader and older brother figure to him tries his best to save his friend. All this is set in a dystopic Toyko on the verge of collapse.

This is the best I can do to explain this movie. Its a very complex, metephoric, and epic movie.

I recomend if you have the energy. Its dense, I havent had a head to tail viewing of it in over two years. But I have been reading the comic and every time I return to movie I get a little more out of it. Think Twin Peaks the series versus Twin Peaks the pilot. The abridged version does a good job in conveying the tone and the main plot details and wraps them up reasonably well, but the series does so much more.

And having not finished the comic series yet I cannot go into to further detail about that.

But the movie is great. There is a new release with an updated transfer to DVD, including a better much more accurate translation and voice acting. Although I will always a big place in my heart for the Orion release.