Akira (1988)

User Rating:

7.9/10   

Director:

Katsuhiro Ôtomo

Writers:

Katsuhiro Ôtomo (graphic novel) and
Izô Hashimoto (screenplay)

Release Date:

24 July 2001 (USA)

Genre:

Animation | Action | Mystery | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

Neo-Tokyo is about to E.X.P.L.O.D.E.

Plot:

A secret military project endangers Neo-Tokyo when it turns a biker gang member into a rampaging psionic psychopath that only two kids and a group of psionics can stop.

Plot Keywords:

Secret | Gang | Biker Gang | Scientist | Friend

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Mitsuo Iwata	...	Shôtarô Kaneda (voice)
Nozomu Sasaki	...	Tetsuo Shima (voice)
Mami Koyama	...	Kei (voice)
Tesshô Genda	...	Ryûsaku (voice) (as Tetsusho Genda)
Hiroshi Ôtake	...	Nezu (voice)
Kôichi Kitamura	...	Priestess Miyako / Council A (voice)
Michihiro Ikemizu	...	Inspector / Council I (voice)
Yuriko Fuchizaki	...	Kaori (voice)
Masaaki Ôkura	...	Yamagata (voice)
Tarô Arakawa	...	Eiichi Watanabe / Council G / Army (voice)
Takeshi Kusao	...	Kai (voice)
Kazumi Tanaka	...	Army (voice)
Masayuki Katô	...	Engineer Sakiyama / Council D (voice)
Yôsuke Akimoto	...	Harukiya Bartender (voice)
Masato Hirano	...	Yûji Takeyama / Spy / Council F (voice)

Also Known As:

Akira: The Special Edition (USA) (reissue title)

MPAA:

Rated R for graphic violence and brief nudity.

Runtime:

124 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) | DTS (re-release) | Dolby (35 mm prints)

Certification:

Finland:K-12 (video) (1994) | Finland:K-15 (DVD) (2004) | Canada:18 (Nova Scotia) (re-rating) (2003) | Iceland:12 (video rating) | Iceland:14 | Italy:T | Hungary:16 | Netherlands:12 (re-rating) | Canada:18+ (TV rating) | Brazil:14 | South Korea:15 (DVD rating) | UK:15 (re-rating) (2002) | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Canada:14A (Manitoba) | Canada:AA (Ontario) | France:-12 | Netherlands:16 | New Zealand:M (re-rating) (2002) | Norway:15 (DVD rating) | Singapore:NC-16 | Singapore:PG (cut) | Spain:13 | Sweden:15 | UK:12 (original rating) | USA:R | West Germany:16 (nf) | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:A (Nova Scotia) (original rating)

Company:

Akira Committee Company Ltd.

Trivia:

This was one of the first Japanese anime films to have the character's voices recorded before they were animated. While this is the typical practice in U.S. animation, in Japan the animation is generally produced first.

Goofs:

Continuity: Kai's socks appear to change color a number of times throughout the film, often from shot to shot within the same scene.

Quotes:

Kai: Something seemed strange the second I saw his face. It's odd. He was wearing what looked like a white hospital gown. He acted like a different person. Yamagata asked him if he was really Tetsuo or if he was someone else.

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in "Robot Chicken: Easter Basket (#2.3)" (2006)

Soundtrack:

Tokyo Shoeshine Boy

Best Animated Film Ever

Akira is a film that surpasses all other anime, and is one of- if not the best animated film of all time, Akira has earned it's landmark as a break through milestone animated, The One thing about Akira is it is not for children Akira isn't gory but contains many bloody scenes as well as some strong language and a scene of partial nudity, other than that Akira is an excellent film. The film tells the story of young adolescent, oppressed by his cruel peers and the way they treat him, his name is Tetsuo, he is angry because everyone treats him like a kid, especially Kaneda, a close friend of Tetsuo. When Kaneda's biker gang accidentally enters a military operation, Tetuo is almost killed and then taken in by the government and used as a test sample, but these tests unleash Tetsuo's latent psychic ability, he then unleashes at the world that has oppressed him for so long with his new telekinetic abilities. It is up to Kaneda, with Kei and Kai, to stop Tetsuo's massive rampage, and so there starts a powerful thriller about human emotion and how it can lead to total corruption of the mind.