this is an AKIRA art appreciation post

AKIRA is a cult classic. if you didn’t know, now you do.

(and what better site to show appreciation for it on…)

this film has inspired a countless number of human minds since its release in 1988. if you’re unfamiliar with exactly what this movie is about here’s somewhat of a brief summary..

if you’re into secret government experiments and biker gangs check this. in 1988 Tokyo was leveled due to a singularity event. the city faced an uncontrollable ESP experiment event dooming its inhabitants to nuclear disaster by the government. the film picks up 31 years later in 2019, Neo-Tokyo, with a gang, the Capsules, in pursuit of their rivals, the Clowns. during this chaotic hunt through the city, Tetsuo, a Capsule member, crashes his bike in an encounter with an esper test subject. this crash begins a domino effect developing a chain of events leading up to the second “Akira level disaster”.

throughout the film Kaneda, the protagonist to our story, is piecing together the apparent secrecy emitted by the Japanese government with an anti-government soldier named Kei. as Kaneda searches for Tetsuo he unveils the corrupt nature of Tokyo’s military and the truth about Akira.

Akira has influenced numerous works in animation, comics, film, music, television, and video games. it inspired a wave of Japanese cyberpunk works including anime and manga series Cowboy Bebop, Ghost In the Shell, and Battle Angel Alita. its cited in Hollywood as the film inspiring movies like The Matrix, Kill Bill, Looper, Dark Knight, and Inception to influencing television series like Stranger Things.

the landmark film goes on to set the stage for fandom animations like Dragon Ball Z, Naruto, Pokémon, and anime in general for Western culture.