Tonight, (or should I say this morning?) I watched Akira, a legendary anime film (at least in the States; from what I understand, it’s not all that popular in Japan) from the 80′s based off of the manga series of the same name. I read through the first couple manga books several years ago, but never bothered to check out the anime. A friend recommended it to me, so I thought I would watch it. Akira is set in a post-apocalyptic (a favorite genre of mine) Tokyo and follows a somewhat-complicated (and perhaps confusing, for some viewers) plot involving a biker gang, psionic powers, revolution, the military, and the big bang, not to mention a plethora of explosions, implosions, energy fields, bullets, and blood. What a mix…
Nevertheless, it works, and the animation is stunning. I was instantly drawn in, plot holes and unexplained elements aside. I assume that the manga fills in all of the details the anime doesn’t. How they managed to condense a 2,182 page manga into a fluid 125 minute epic is beyond me. It’s not for everyone, but if your tastes range into the areas of anime or science fiction, definitely check Akira out.
