Iconic and game-changing, AKIRA is the definitive anime masterpiece! Katsuhiro Otomo’s landmark cyberpunk classic obliterated the boundaries of Japanese animation and forced the world to look into the future. AKIRA’s arrival shattered traditional thinking, creating space for future generations of ground-breaking movies.

July, 1988—World War III breaks loose. Then, in 2019, in megalopolis Tokyo…As the leader of a group of young robust delinquents, Kaneda spent his nights tearing through the urban wastes, racing his motorbike against rival groups. One night while riding with his gang, his friend Tetsuo suddenly encounters a strange boy- the product of human experimentation—and is injured in the ensuing crash. Shortly thereafter, a military squadron appears on the scene to take the boy and Tetsuo away to an army research facility. Determined to free Tetsuo from capture, Kaneda sneaks into the army research lab. However, a regimen of extreme experimental procedures has awakened a new power in his friend, and now he is consumed by madness…

Katsuhiro Otomo’s Akira (1988) is one of the most impactful, influential, anime ever. Its depictions of the cyberpunk, neon-soaked, future dystopia of Neo-Tokyo. The struggles of its many factions covering heroes, anti-heroes, and villains have captivated fans of anime fiction for nearly forty years.

To understand Akira is to understand Japan’s place in the world in the 1980s. Still struggling with the post-World War 2. Electronics and technology flowed from Japan, with game consoles, personal music players, stereos, TVs, VCRs bursting outwards, dominating the world. Japan was suddenly wealthy, in economic boom, driven by mass migration from the rural areas to urban mega cities. Though this wealth wasn’t even, creating a bubbling discontent of social inequality just below the surface.

The manga took these themes, added on psychokinetic powers, secret government organisations and biker gangs. “Akira” reflects these anxieties, exploring the dangers of unchecked scientific advancement and the potential for technology to be used for destructive purposes. Taking Japan 80s culture, including youth alienation, government corruption and inefficiency, and a military grounded in old-fashioned Japanese honour, displeased with the compromises of modern society.

It was serialised biweekly in Kodansha’s seinen manga magazine,Young Magazine, from December 20 1982 to June 25 1990, with its 120 chapters collected into six tankōbon volumes. In 2020, the first volume of Akira became publisher Kodansha’s first manga to receive a 100th printing, and is still popular to this day. Credited with spawning the Japanese cyberpunk subgenre. It pre-dates the seminal cyberpunk novel Neuromancer (1984). Akira inspired a wave of Japanese science fiction and cyberpunk manga and anime works, including previous BAFF screenings, Ghost in the Shell, Cowboy Bebop, and Serial Experiments Lain.

When optioned to become an anime, Otomo jumped in with both feet, as long as he could keep full creative control of the venture. The Akira Committee formed, a collaboration between Kodansha, Bandai, Toho, Mainichi Broadcasting System, Hakuhodo, Laserdisc Corporation, and Sumitomo Corporation. With a starting budget of 500m yen, production began. In the end, it ended up costing 1.1billion yen (roughly £4.5 million), making it one of the most expensive animated films at the time.

And every yen was put to good use. Made using a blend of traditional hand-drawn animation, combined with state-of-the-art computer technology to assist with debris physics, parallax scrolling, and computer graphics. The dialogue was recorded first and the animation followed to match the mouth movements to the actor’s words. The opposite to how most contemporary animation. The character designs are both expressive yet believable, with a more realistic depiction of people and their mannerisms.

The city itself feels a main character; it pulses, living and breathing, and it grounds the action into a believable sci-fi atmosphere, not too distant from today and close to our world.  Not only does it show the pristine neon lit sci-fi facade, but also the dirty, gritty, grimy side too.

The anime was a huge success and is one of the first anime’s to break out of Japan into the wider world. Its influence felt today with the ‘Akira slide’ referenced across dozens of films, shows and more. It is an anime (and manga) keystone.

Bloody, violent, frenetic and so much more, it demands your attention for 2 hours and it deserves every second – in delicious 4k to boot.