Akira

Michelle Le Blanc, Colin Odell

• Publisher: British Film Institute
• Year: 2019
• Print ISBN: 9781844578085
• eBook ISBN: 9781838714253
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Media & Performing Arts
• Subtopic: Film & Video

Successful in both Japan and the West, Akira had a huge impact on the international growth in popularity of manga and anime. Closely analysing the film and its key themes, Colin O'Dell and Michelle Le Blanc assess its historical importance, its impact on the Western perception of anime, and its influence on science fiction cinema.

1 Themes: ‘Open your eyes and look at the big picture’

Akira could be considered a film that reflects on Japan’s relationship with its past and its present, which envisions an alternative Tokyo of the future. Science fiction often says as much about the present as it does about the future and Akira speaks volumes about the time in which it was made.

‘The passion to build has cooled, … the joy of reconstruction forgotten.’

Many anime feature an apocalyptic event. Akira features two. Although depictions of the end of the world are not unique to Japanese cinema nor indeed to science-fiction cinema, it is a common theme in many Japanese art forms. Japan suffered greatly during World War II and is the only country on Earth on which nuclear bombs have actually been used on civilian populations, and this had a devastating effect on the Japanese consciousness. Japan is also vulnerable to the forces of nature. Located on the Pacific Rim, the Ring of Fire, it consequently suffers frequent earthquakes and occasionally tsunami. In a country where cycles of destruction (whether natural or initiated by humans) have occurred to a greater or lesser extent over many centuries, the Japanese accept the process of reconstruction. To this end, Susan Napier suggests that ‘the apocalyptic mode … is not simply a major part of anime, but is also deeply ingrained within the contemporary Japanese national identity.’²⁰

Following the nuclear bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan surrendered to the Allies and this led to the end of World War II. It was a turning point in Japanese history. Poverty-stricken Japan was defeated and humiliated. The impact of the war and its aftermath has had a major influence on Japanese cinema, anime included. Some anime are based on the true stories of those who witnessed the horrors, such as Barefoot Gen (Hadashi no Gen, 1983) and Grave of the Fireflies (Hotaru no haka, 1988). In fiction, and particularly science fiction, the initial premise for many stories is post apocalyptic. Like Akira, many begin with a devastating event and depict the survivors’ attempts to reconstruct society with varying degrees of success. These include TV series such as Space Battleship Yamato (Uchu Senkan Yamato, 1974), a space opera where aliens have effectively desiccated the world, Cowboy Bebop (1998), a laidback SF Western, set in the solar system because the Earth is uninhabitable and Neon Genesis Evangelion (Shin Seiki Evangerion, 1995–6), a hugely popular and influential anime, which depicted a Tokyo devastated by alien invaders.

Like other countries defeated during World War II, Japan commenced the arduous process of reconstruction during the 1950s and 60s, rebuilding its infrastructure and economy. By the time the 1980s had arrived, the time when Akira was conceived, Japan’s growth was being lauded worldwide as an ‘economic miracle’. In Akira, we are shown the destruction of Tokyo at the very beginning: the ‘camera’ pans over the city in silence, save the sounds of the wind. Then a ball of light and a cloud representing a nuclear explosion engulfs the city. That is all we need to see. We then flash forward to Neo Tokyo. It appears that it has recovered well following World War III. We do not know about the circumstances of the war, only of the event that started it. Despite the seemingly impressively restored infrastructure, much of the action takes place in deprived parts of the city or areas under construction. The holographic advertising hoardings are hollow representations of a thriving economy. This is a superficial reconstruction.

Akira is set in 2019, the year before the official launch of the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. The fact that an actual 2020 Tokyo Olympiad is a reality is one of those delightful coincidences that all speculative fiction can relish. The Olympic theme is relevant to Akira, a link between fact and fiction, actualities and possibilities, and a connection with the relationships between wars, Olympic legacies and potential Olympic staging. For an event whose primary aim is to showcase multinational sporting excellence, the Olympic Games have had their share of controversial and political issues to contend with and these are, in many ways, reflected in the world of Akira with its themes of reconstruction, desolation, drug-taking, terrorism and multifaceted politics. The Games that were due to be held in Germany in 1916 were cancelled during World War I, but were finally held in that country, albeit as a highly politicised event, in 1936. The following two Games were cancelled during World War II including the 1940 summer Games which were due to be held in Tokyo, an event that would have to wait until 1964.

Holographic neon advertisements

Tokyo Olympiad (1965) remains one of the Games’ most renowned and well-constructed documentaries. It was directed by Kon Ichikawa and opens with a pulsating circular light which recalls the conclusion to Akira. This footage is immediately followed by shots of wrecking balls crashing into already partially destroyed Tokyo buildings that are further reduced to rubble to allow for the building of the new stadium. The initial sequences of this documentary are primarily concerned with reconstruction. Ichikawa also shows us the Olympic flame’s journey to Tokyo via Hiroshima in a manner that Akira also clearly addresses, a remembrance of futures past.

The 1964 Games were hugely important for Japan; they represented the rebirth of the country, an opportunity for Japan to showcase itself to the world as a modern and confident new society. In Akira, some thirty years after World War III, this is precisely what the authorities wish to demonstrate although, as events transpire, that the final confrontation takes place inside a stadium that is destroyed before it has even been completed, is deeply ironic.

‘Puppets of corrupt politicians and capitalists.’

Another of Akira’s themes concerns power and control. Right from the film’s opening, we learn from TV news reports that the politicians have effectively lost control of Neo Tokyo. They are later shown to be both corrupt and self-serving.

The Akira Project is of particular importance to the scientific, military and government authorities, although in 2019 each of these organisations have conflicting opinions about how to – or indeed whether they should – proceed with the project. These predominantly male institutions (there are no female council members, soldiers or scientists) established this project in order to understand and harness the magnificent energy. It is evident that the authorities were concerned about containing this power, while exploring the possibilities for nurturing and controlling it. The scientists are keen to explore Tetsuo’s synchronicity with Akira’s power but keep their findings from the Colonel, who is adamant that these abilities must be contained. Chief scientist Dr Onishi is fascinated by the nature of the power and of Tetsuo as a remarkable subject but his focus is on understanding its fundamental properties rather than exploiting them. As the Colonel notes, ‘Scientists are a bunch of romantics.’

The remains of Akira himself are located in a secret bunker, maintained at 0.0005 Kelvin, beneath the site of the Olympic stadium construction site. Neo Tokyo’s executive council does not have the funding – nor, apparently, the will – to contain Akira. As time has passed, other issues have taken priority. Indeed some council members do not believe there is proof that Akira was responsible for the original blast that destroyed Tokyo. They accuse the Colonel of using Akira to hide his misconduct, although this makes the Colonel a convenient scapegoat to conceal their own incompetence.

The scientists are fascinated by Tetsuo’s power

Following Japan’s defeat in World War II, Section 9 of the Japanese Constitution declared that the Japanese people had renounced war and that the country would therefore not maintain land, air and sea forces. Japan has, however, maintained a ‘self-defence’ force. There are no references to other countries in the Akira anime (although there are in the manga), as the narrative is tightly focused on events in Neo Tokyo, but Otomo has depicted a Japan with a strong military capability following World War III, a force that even possesses advanced satellite laser weaponry orbiting the Earth. Many commentators’ interpretations of the representation of the Colonel reference Japan’s Longest Day (Nihon no ichiban nagai hi, 1967) which depicted the attempted military coup on the night of the 14–15 August 1945, during the closing days of World War II, the purpose of which was to prevent the Japanese surrender. A group of generals was determined to fight on to the bitter end, despite the Emperor personally wanting to end the war, accepting the ultimate shame of defeat in order to save his country from starvation.

[this] historical signifier derives from the kurai tani (dark valley) period (1931–1941) of pre-war Japan when right-wing military factions combined with zaibutsu (industrialists) and vied with politicians for political control of the country. In Akira, the Colonel is symbolic of this military faction. The film’s representation of the Colonel is so constructed that he is easily identifiable with the portrayal of General Anami, the War Minister of Prime Minister Suzuki’s cabinet of 1945, in the highly successful film Japan’s Longest Day.²¹

The circumstances are very different in Akira but the Colonel strongly believes that he is acting with honour and integrity and does not hesitate to instigate a coup when he is challenged, for the sole purpose of preventing further destruction. He is determined to maintain a form of peace and to ensure that any future threat is contained. ‘My job isn’t to believe or disbelieve. It is to act or not act!’ He has tolerated the corrupt council and tried to argue his case to gain funding following Kiyoko’s prediction that Tetsuo will destroy Neo Tokyo, but when he fails, he acts alone.

Actively working against the authorities are the revolutionaries, a band of freedom fighters of which Kei and Ryu are members. At the start of the film, they have kidnapped Takashi and we later see them break into the institution to gather information about Tetsuo. They are terrorists, their activities designed to cause as much chaos as possible, but they are also idealists, striving to bring down an inefficient government that has vitiated society. Ryu is working for Nezu, a beady-eyed, toothy and shifty-looking character (nezumi means ‘rat’ in Japanese), who is also a council member, a mole. He is present at the executive meetings but doesn’t contribute to discussions and we later learn that he is as unscrupulous and disreputable as any of the politicians.

Destruction of Neo Tokyo

In the end, though, it is the outcasts, the bikers, who have the final say in the fate of Neo Tokyo. Tetsuo’s powers destroy large parts of the city, a rejection of the society he has been brought up in, causing widespread annihilation. And what destruction! We are shown, in detailed slow-motion, swathes of light engulfing the city, emanating from a central sphere of energy, the wind whipping buildings, vehicles and rubble through the air, like the tornado does in The Wizard of Oz (1939). Skyscrapers topple over, roads crack open, buildings plunge into the sea. Dr Onishi, look...

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Contents
• Acknowledgments
• Introduction: ‘If you awaken Akira … no one will be able to stop him’
• 1. Themes: ‘Open your eyes and look at the big picture’
• 2. Production: ‘The door’s unlocked’
• 3. Influences and Legacy: ‘What sort of memories are hidden within?’
• 4. Further Works by Katsuhiro Otomo: ‘Humans do all kinds of things during their lifetimes’
• Notes
• Credits
• eCopyright