Akira' | Critics' Picks | The New York Times
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- Опубліковано 9 лют 2025
- A. O. Scott discusses the anime classic and the obsession with disaster in Japanese pop culture.
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Critics' Picks - 'Akira'
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To anyone who loves Akira but hasn't read the manga, I implore you to do so. I began reading out of curiosity, and was unprepared for what a masterpiece it is-how much better it tells the story, and how much deeper it goes. The compression Otomo was able to achieve in the movie is a masterstroke in itself given the time constraints, but when you see the grand arch of the original story you'll realise how much is missing.
johanna morrell greatest manga ever the ending is so satisfying.
I just bought the 35 anniversary box set!
johanna morrell big facts
@@Dr_Salt yeah its a bit expensive but it is worth it
I've never been interested in reading manga but I absolutely plan to check out Akira for that reason. I watched the movie and could tell a lot was cut out, and it's already a very long movie.
If anyone was to make a top 50 animated films list. This would have to be somewhere in the to 10 based on cultural influence alone. In japan it brought in a whole slew of cyberpunk anime such as Ghost in the Shell. And in the west it was many people's first exposure to anime, starting the ignition that was interest in anime amongst americans, and influenced hollywood films like the matrix.
I can't agree more with your comment. It's actually impressive to see a cultural anime that influenced another cultural anime (Ghost in the Shell).
It has less to do with overal cultural influence and more with 'If there was no AKIRA, ghost in the shell wouldn't be nearly as popular as it was.
That pretty much what I said. But GITS gave a whole new dimension to the cyberpunk genre.
Dude, tho, GITS TV series and manga are way better than the film. Though the film animation is brilliant, the themes of "what is the difference between human and robot" "what does it mean to be human" (and in second film) "what is reality" are a bit cyberpunk old hat.
IMO
+glamnarc so what do i watch? there is '''ghost in the shell 2015'', ''ghost in the shell'' ''ghost in the shell 2.0'' ''ghost in the shell 2 innocence'' 'gits stand alone complex'' and ''gits arise border 4'' which of them should i watch?
The first time I saw Akira was in '90. Too young to understand this complex unreal world. I never though it could be real someday. After 26 it looks a future not far.
Considering nowadays what's all over the news and such, Akira is almost a shear reality of today!
TheSkullArmyMC ..sure, once psychic green raisin children start floating around outside I'll be sure to hide in my bomb shelter
include AI controlled civilians to that and floating cars
Fun fact: Did you know many of the characters' names comes from the classic anime Tetsujin-28 (localized in the US as Gigantor)? Tetsuo, Kaneda, and the colonel get their full names from characters in Tetsujin-28 - and perhaps Akira's number, 28, as well.
EngelSpiel i never knew that
thank you
None of this would have happened if colonel would have went back to the lab and gotten the medicine
Certainly a few what-if's to consider here.
None of this would have happened if takashi looked both ways before crossing the street.
@@zacharypreval3186 None of this would have happened if the Colonel and his scientists didn't experiment on those kids.
@@zacharypreval3186 remember kids, look both ways or else you will give headstrong teenager godlike powers that will once again bring an entire city to ruin.
Pretty sure tetsuo is the Antagonist while Kaneda is the Protaganist.
Drellistenstomusic They're both sympathetic characters, at least on repeated viewings.
Purerasslin
What's a deuteragonist? I've never heard that term before and I'm intrigued.
Purerasslin
I agree. Tetsuo is clearly the central character of the narrative, even though Kaneda displays more admirable qualities and comes out on top of every battle and argument they have.
Kaneda is pro-social and cares deeply about his friends, which is a great source of strength, whle Tetsuo is informed mainly by pain, anger, resentment, impotence (and later omnipotence), and of course a whole boatload of self-centered narcissism.
Im agree, i whatched the movie first when i was 12 and read the manga in my 20´s and that was the feeling that i get
In an interview Otomo said the main character was the city itself.
Kaneda is the protagonist, and Tetsuo is either protagonist or antagonist depending on how you want to see it.
Parallax Tiger youre missing the point if you're looking for protagonists
I saw this movie and for whatever reason, hearing Tetsuo at the before the credits really got me
It is a linear narrative, and it's definitely more than a tour of Neo Tokyo. All of the themes relating to science, power, and humanity transcend the location completely. Even though the narrative content is absolutely fucking groundbreaking, there's nothing even slightly unusual about this completely linear narrative structure.
Stranger Things was inspired by Akira, especially with the psychic kids
Lizzie Heyward There are so many works that are inspired by Akira. You could write a book on its influence.
Lizzie Heyward funny cus stranger things was made in the late 2010s and set in the 80s, akira was made in the 80s and set in the late 2010s
I can see that alot actually
literally nothing about stranger things is original
@@Luuncho akira started in the 80s then set later in the 2010s
Same here buddy, but bought it over here in the UK, my Mum had to buy it for me when I was about 11, cost I think £9.99. I couldn't stop watching Akira the first couple of years I owned it. First time I saw it, I was totally blown away. Only one thing I had got confused with back then, I thought Tetsuo had been reborn a star instead of a Universe.
2019 and it still the best animation of all time
TV-Y. Right.
Brad Stabler When compared to Kentaro Muira's Berserk, it really is TV-Y.
My favorite film, period
I was obsessed with manga in grade school and collected the entire Akira series. Absolutely the best of its kind, in my opinion. I still will occasionally get a hankering to watch the movie version and pop in the DVD. Now I am reminded of it's imagery by the Japanese quake, tsunami, and now nuclear disaster that has followed. Seems almost prophetic, in a way.
Tetsuo learns how to control his power at the end of the movie it shows at the big bang scene, I don't think he is bad in the end
I was fortunate enough to see this last night at the IFC center. this movie such an awesome spectacle.
Hopefully you saw the original and not the redub
Saw this for the first time when I was 10. Amazed me to my core.
It's terrifying to think this kind of place could easily exist in the next 5 years
+Elderance Its already here
3 more days...
CoolPigeon It came true!
Mr. Tey where lol
We've been living in it for two decades, what are you all on about.
I haven't seen Akira in about a decade now, and watching these clips I'm reminded all over again of not only how visually engrossing it is (that city is an incredibly intricate and detailed world unto itself), but how evocative the animation is. You really FEEL Tetsuo's physical agony as his power gradually consumes and transforms him. It's downright uncomfortable to watch, because the animation does its job so well.
Saw this when it was first released here in theaters. I like many had no ideas what the move was going to be about and it literally blew the audience away.
Can I ask what year was this and was it showed in the USA?
Neo-Tokyo is the main character in this film. The characters were used as vehicles to produce exceptional animation. In an interview Otomo states that there is no real protagonist to the film version of his story. He wanted to create a mood piece with a strong atmosphere and emphasis on pushing 2D cel animation to the limits, and in that he succeeded.
"Bro" Otomo himself stated in an interview that Neo-Tokyo was the true character, with the human characters being more like pieces on a chess board. Don't know if you're intellectually capable of understanding nuance in film, based on your comment.
I think that was the manga because in the movie there is a clear protagonist
This is when you realized Battlestar Galactica is no longer modern.
This movie got me into anime
1:30 an “encounter” is definitely an understatement.
Especially when you see what’s shown in their “encounter”
Very nice to see Scott picking this.
Still, I'd have expected a major, respected film critic to watch the (subbed) Japanese original, not the dubbed one.
"Takes place in a post-apocalyptic neo-Tokyo." It's not post-apocalyptic, it's distopian. People need to distinguish the difference between post-apocalyptic and distopian.
It is one of the few stories that is both post-apocalyptic and dystopian. It is post-apocalyptic because the first awakening of Akira (shown in the opening credits) ignited WWIII and destroyed Tokyo and much of the rest of the world, and it is dystopian because of the violent, farcical Neo-Tokyo that emerged from the rubble. And in the comic, it becomes post-apocalyptic (again), but more in keeping with the staples of that genre, after it continues past the point where the movie ends.
It only happened right at the very end. Most of the story took place in a dystopian world
brazwen Actually, there is two explosions : One in the early 1980's,destroying Tokyo, and one at the end of the film, destroying Neo-Tokyo.
With the first explosion, the population had recovered into a dystopian society which avoided post-apocalyptic. The movie ended with an apocalypse, but the overall movie was certainly dystopian.
So, does Akira take place in a post-post-apocalyptic world ? xD
im watching this movie tonight on adultswim at 12 i love anime and if one of the best i cant resist
It is the best.
Akira significated shine, light, pure...children but old 40 years in 2019.
Would highly recommend reading the original manga. There are many aspect not touched upon in the film that enrich the story. That being said both are great works!
I highly suggest you check it out. It's a great great movie. If you liked Akira, I'm sure you'll like it as well. As for not liking much other anime, we all have different tastes so its understandable. Ghibli are fantastic though.
2019 checking in
2020 here, can't wait for you to join us
Film is amazing and comic is a masterpiece
That teddy bear looks so cuddly to hug!
Christopher Nolan should adapt and direct an Akira movie
ITS 2019 TODAY
Akira + Ghost in the Shell = The Matrix trilogy
@Lone Star Not really at all. The matrix takes inspirations from anime media but the plots/stories are VASTLY different from one another to even consider it a rip off.
Matrix sucks
@Lone Star lolwut?! Do you seriously believe that? The Matrix pays homage to these, it does not copy them!
That music...I forgot how amazing it was.
You kind of spoiled the ending...
@hashish he's both the protagonist and the antagonist.
Anti hero??
No not an anti hero, just innocent in a way.
Marshall Banana There really seems to be no antagonist. I guess if there is to be one, it'd be Dr. Onishi since the Colonel told him to stop the experiments if it gets out of hand and the doctor just continued out of selfishness and curiosity.
Marshall Banana Pretty much. They seem really close minded about what the Colonel was trying to say about controlling the Power so it doesn't destroy the city again. It seems all the main characters weren't really antagonists but they were just doing what they felt they needed. Even the Doctor didn't seem evil or seemed to have evil intentions, but a lot of side characters like that just seemed selfish.
Marshall Banana I should pay more attention.
Whether you're a fan of anime or not, it's hard to not call this film a masterpiece.
Like Faust and Macbeth, Akira is a myth about the pursuit of power. Only here the power comes out of government labs. Tetsuo gains power from the test-subjects (Takashi,later Akira) but intensifies it through his street-gang struggle for predominance againsthis friend Kaneda. They're all protagonists but also victims of the modern compulsion to expand and win. Like them he's addicted to speed. Japan came late to capitalism, industrialism and militarism. A Japanese artist like Otomo knows how self-destructive that heritage can be.
Akira should be watched in the original with subtitles, not the dubbed version.
Mr2at I never watched the original but what I can tell you is the dubbed version also makes for an amazing film.. I loved it to pieces
I agree to an extent. The bad thing about subtitles is you miss out on the detailed animation. There's so much information on the screen at all times, reading words detracts from the visuals. But I agree the original performances were very strong, while the dubs are a bit cheesy.
Why? Might as well pick up a book at that point, the sub arguement is so dumb imo...
I understand for the authenticity but the dubs for me take away the images, since I'd be spending most of the time reading.
I find dubs much less intrusive with anime. I would agree with regard to live action films, but having seen both versions of Akira, I don't see this issue.
@ChainX I don't know if Scott is ignorant, he says that the film doesn't have strong narrative or even tell a tight story, he respects the film for constantly breaking the rules for the reasons of trying to create a new level of art.
It's the overall exploration of New-Tokyo and what chaos can bring that he loves so much, it's very much a visual film that pushed what was allowed in animation at the time and the substance comes from the themes shown in the visuals, much like the work of Kubrick.
I still haven't seen a better anime film than Akira.
The only factually correct nyt video
There were actually 2 english dubs done. The newer one is much, much, MUCH better than the first english dub.
Yes - it features Johnny Young Bosch as the voice of Kaneda, IIRC.
I remember seeing this movie when I was in 8th grade and I couldn't get the opening sequence out of my head. Those bikes racing through the streets with the afterglow was so cool to me
1:18
THE NUMBER 25(KIYOKO):
-I had a dream (Vision).
SHIKISHIMA:
-A dream?!
THE NUMBER 25(KIYOKO):
-I saw several people (the world is society) die and we would meet Akira (Jesus Christ) again. (Revelation 19:11-16)
SHIKISHIMA:
-Akira (Jesus Christ).
(Joel 2:28-32; 2 Peter 3:11-13; Revelation 6:12-17)
My favorite movie of all time
Same man
Great review, just wish more attention was paid to the music and animation!
Tetsuo wasn't exactly the protagonist, but he was the main focus of the film in a way. Much of the film was devoted towards Tetsuo's condition, and his inability to control his pwoer.
Akira is the name given to warheads powered by telekinesis. the weapon that destroyed old tokyo. the name akira was attached to the project the japanese made to reverse engineer the weapon. which ultimately failed because they had no way to prevent the human warheads from detonating. they later learned that the americans had solved the problem by creating them in stasis and awakening them only moments before detonation.
Blade Runner & Akira. The two foundational works of Cyberpunk movies.
the reviewer here most likely didnt read the manga so he doesnt see the full picture and the deep symbolisms and themes that extend the story. i wouldnt say that tetsuo is the protagonist, kaneda deserves that position, but instead tetsuo resembles more the tragic hero
Yes. A lot of the manga has allegories for Japan's foreign policy before, during, and after WWII, even including a parallel to the post-war American occupation with one character. Plus there were characters like Miyako who barely show up in the movie adaption (which is understandable due to time constraints), but have major roles in the manga.
It Tesuo's defence, he was a victim of circumstance. If anything was the real antagonist, it would be the conditions that amde Tetsuo, being the corruption of Neo-Tokyo, and the inhuman experimentation that created the espers and started the World War in the first place.
In that sense, I consider Tetsuo an anti-hero, perhaps even tragic.
it was rather the cause of it, I would recomend you to watch if if you can, it's a very complex plot, and being either dubbed or translated it's kinda hard to know exactly what it's about. It did inspire all kinds of sci fi movies, from Matrix, to Lopers, basically all new cgi fims use some scene from AKIRA.
Except for Ghibli's stuff, I disliked most Japanese animations I've seen, including Fullmetal Alchemist and Death Note, but Akira is by all means a masterpiece of modern animation. I've yet to see Ghost in the Shell though, I've heard positive things about it.
Sounds like you'd enjoy what's known as the "seinen" genre of anime/manga. Try reading some manga like Pluto, for example, or watch shows like Cowboy Bebop - it may be more appealing to you than "shonen" series like Death Note or Fullmetal Alchemist.
CugnoTheSwiss you'll enjoy ghost in the shell. It is "Seinen" or adult oriented movies. It has the same vibe of story telling. You ought to see Satoshi Kon's works also starting with "Perfect Blue". The original version of "Black swan."
Try berserk (the 90's one or the manga)
@MadScout Yeah really. Its considerd to be one of the greatest animated works of all time.
The film that made me an Anime nerd way back when I was 8 - 9 years old.
2020 is more apocalyptic
So did those espers only appear after Akira's destruction of Tokyo in '89? Also Kei mentions in the prison cell that Akira(?) exists in everybody, so if other humans are coming into contact with the espers why are they not getting affected? Why is it only Tetsuo that receives powers?
Sorry but I'd be lying if I said I understood the majority of this movie.
I disagree with what he says about it being more an exploration of neo tokyo than a story-driven movie. It's a very story-driven movie and the visuals--incredible to look at standalone as they are--exist to serve the story
Numero uno, the best, the Daddy, the GOAT, call it whatever, best anime film ever made (and the manga is even better).
I am going to skew the words that Julian Casablancas said during a rage tv show session “never watched it” haha !!
Dude, Tetsuo is the villain. Kaneda is the protagonist.
Consider the story arcs of Tetsuo and Kaneda. Both could be seen as the protagonist. If anything I would say the film is centred around how their friendship changes, rather than being about either of them individually. Also, I wouldn't say Tetsuo is a villain, his powers are out of his control.
blahdelablah tetsuo is the deuteragonist (second most important character)
That explosion tho
This manga/movie predicted the 2020 Olympics to be held in Tokyo and also getting canceled (Or delayed, however you wanna say it).
AMAZING FILM
No the espers were there before, As it shows in the espers memories in the end
Akira could not control his power being that he destroyed his computer, and akira exists in verybody is symbolic in that evrybody has some sort of strong inner strength or emotion that they cannot control Which will lead to our downfall in the end Akira is just a name for an atom bomb. and Tetsuo in the beggining got into an accident with Takashi and the psyconinc blast induced on him cuased his true power to unravel
ooo me too!
Well, it's a year before 2019,and WWIII hasn't happened....
Here we are now. 2020 Tokyo Olympics got cancelled
1:02 ....... wait a sec
How did you draw that conclusion?
How can you put down Johnny young Bosch and Joshua Seth? The're Awesome.
when i first saw akira on tv (i think siskel & ebert were talking about it) i thought it was a sequel to the 1986 transformers movie
no tetsuo isnt trying to make a new universe his power is too much for his body which is why he turns into that huge blob and so he's asking kaneda to help him escape the big bang he's creating
@yobosx I still respect the work of Akira. It's just that JP voice actors deliver better. It's called preference and I am sorry that you are angry, because not everyone can agree with you.
@soyellowsoviolent The 2001 special edition DVD is literally the only movie I have in my posession right now besides Toy Story 3 which my mom bought, and I tried listening to the Japanese track. Maybe it's just because the track is too quiet, I can tell the Japanese cast (I'm not gonna call them "seiyus") is hardly showing any emotion. Only some adult characters, like the Doctor and Colonel have those cool Japanese gruff man-voices. I'm quite surprised at how much Japanese VAs sound too mundane.
The Firestarter
AKIRA IS GOD, GOD IS AKIRA, 2020 WILL E.X.P.L.O.D.E
U got it wrong narrator, Kaneda is the main protagonist, not Tetsuo!!
2019 was just like that too just no lime green kids
Good lord that Pioneer dub is a crime against humanity
Wait..is Tetsuo the protagonist?
CGI じゃないよ！ Laboの実験室でドクターが電子卓上で鉄雄の力を再現してた場面のみCG使ってるけど。
他は全て手描きです！ 後年に発売されたDVDやBlu-rayではCGで補正して綺麗にしてるけど(^◇^;)
japanese is a hard language dude.
How?
ack, this is one of my first introductions to anime and quite frankly, it was the goriest aniime i watched when i was a kid. but i gotta say, back then, this is one serious anime and is not your little children's cartoon.
Venerable aint the word I would use for some one that just resurrected himself. 3:19
@intoximacated: Not really.
I thought the protagonist was the good guy *cough* Kaneda. Not someone that destroys half the city in the movie *cough* antagonist * cough* Tetsuo.
I think Akira is better manga than anime. Please read the manga if you have the opportunity.
If you can find the original audio version you're lucky. This version made me lose it with subtle dialog changes.
The overdone, american dubbing just makes me cringe...
A friend gave me a bootleg copy of this in 1988 on VHS.
It was in Japanese, with no subtitles. I don't speak Japanese, so I had a real hard time understanding what was going on. I watched it over and over and over again trying to figure it out. I think I caught the general gist of it.
The big draw for me was the amazing direction of the film. It was WAY ahead of it's time for a hand-drawn animated movie. It immediately became one of my favorite movies of all time.
When it was finally released in the US, I bought it (of course) and HATED IT.
The English dubbing was AWFUL. Sounded like a G.I. Joe cartoon.
And the translation was terrible. I don't know what they were saying in Japanese, but there's no way it was as simplistic and condescending as the English dub.
Unfortunately, I no longer have my VHS bootleg, but to this day I REFUSE to watch the English dub version. Heck, I don't even like watching it with subtitles.
Some of us do have a soft spot for that original dub with Cam "Leonardo" Clarke playing Kaneda.
The Blu Ray has both dubs and the subtitled version.
I disagree that Tetsuo is the protagonist I thought it would be Kenada
@matafuko In my opinion Ninja Scroll and Ghost in the Shell come close.
i don't know, that TV-Y just doesn't look right
why is he a player in the game called king of fighters?
He isn't, but there is a character that was purposely modeled after him. It's likely that the resemblance was close enough to incite legal action from Otomo, which would explain why that character has mostly disappeared from the KoF series otherwise.
The movie is beautiful to look at, but it's story is way to convoluted, in my opinion.
I recommend you read the manga,it clears any confusion you’d have with the film
Akira - Atom - juvenile A - kid A