The adaptation of Katsuhiro Otomo’s cyberpunk work is one of the greatest milestones in the history of animation
There is not a single reason to despise animated films, but any hint of doubt among the most hesitant is dispelled with a good session of Akira. The legendary anime film is a authentic milestone of the genre that has remained marked in the retina of millions of viewers, especially thanks to a visual display that had not been seen until now.
Directed by Katsuhiro Otomo, the production released in 1988 transfers the vignettes created by him, together with Izo Hashimoto, to the big screen. With a post-apocalyptic cyberpunk aesthetic, Akira It does take the original designs and setting of the manga, but builds a different story because the printed version was still in the process of publication.
The plot places us in the year 2019, in a context in which the city of Tokyo was the victim of a devastating explosion, which gave rise to the start of World War III. After the enormous disaster, the imposing Neo-Tokyo emerged from the ashes of the Japanese capital and it is there where Kaneda and Tetsuo, two friends who lead the band Las Cápsulas, live as gang members on imposing motorcycles.
In the middle of a fight against the rival group of The Clowns, Tetsuo suffers an accident against a child who belongs to a secret government laboratory and who has been released by a terrorist organization. As a result, Tetsuo and the boy are captured and it is then that government personnel realize Tetsuo’s potential as a weapon of mass destruction. After using it in various experiments, he escapes in very dangerous conditions for others, while Kaneda allies himself with the revolutionaries to help his friend.
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