Day 128 - Akira



Day 128          Akira [1988]
                          
Screenplay                    Katsuhiro Otomo & Izo Hashimoto
Based on                       ‘Akira’ by Katsuhiro Otomo
Director                         Katsuhiro Otomo
Cinematography             Katsuji Misawa
Music                            Shōji Yamashiro
Production                     Tokyo Movie Shinsha

IMDb                                 8.1/10
Rotten Tomatoes                87%

Been wanting to watch this legendary anime for a while now after it was recommended to me by a friend. It is one of the most influential anime’s of all time, said to have influenced much of modern anime as well as many artists throughout the creative communities, and kickstarted a love of anime in 90s USA. This film deserves a cinematic experience, it is incredibly stimulating on the senses with epic visuals and a magical soundtrack. I liked the story too and it’s begging for a live-action remake. Although I wouldn’t want to be the director of that film as you with likely pale in comparison to this and Hollywood has yet to work out how to do it properly. It tells the story of a biker gang in Neo-Tokyo, a city plagued with corruption and debauchery, and their random encounter with a young boy with psychic powers. The tale unravels as the runt of the gang, Tetsuo, is captured and experimented on by a secret government facility. The one annoying thing about this film is the terrible American dub version that made me wish I had watched the original with subtitles, as with Grave of Fireflies (Day 73). However, the film is so action-packed that it doesn’t really matter. An iconic movie that you simply have to watch.

Acting                             N / A
Writing                          3.5 / 4
Cinematography            3.5 / 4
Music                            3.5 / 4
HWF rating               3.5 / 4

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