Akira - A Retrospective (Film)

In relation to the manga series I spent the last month or so reviewing I thought it would be appropriate to also review the film, as that is the medium by which most people are aware of the story of Akira. And I am glad that I watched it so soon after reading the series at is provides excellent contrast points by which to discuss. With that is mind, I will first discuss what I enjoy about the movie.

First, the animation is amazing, and for a movie more than two decades old it doesn't show it. The action is fluid and the coloring is fantastic. The mood is established early on with long periods of silence and an occasional drum beat is put forth to add a level of drama that is missing from the manga. The battle scenes also play out well, showing the horrors of battle and the true violence that encompasses them. It was also nice to see the characters living and breathing to a certain extent (at least as well as can be done in a cartoon). However, with that, much else is left to criticism.

I was not at all pleased with the dubbing work in English and would implore anyone watching this to seek out and watch the Japanese version with English subtitles. The English voice acting is pretty weak and some voices don't fit. In regard to the colors, while I do admire them, it felt wrong to a point. The black and white of the manga felt gritty and added to the story where here the colors sometimes overwhelm the eyes, especially when there are a lot of computers and wires. That is a minor gripe, however. My major ones involve the story itself. This movie almost felt like some bizarro version of Akira. Like, if someone threw all of the manga volumes into a blender and then told the story with the results. The introduction of Kaori's character in the film felt like a slap in the face. It lacked the heart that the manga had, as she just appears to be some girlfriend of Tetsuo early on, whereas in the manga, she shows up seeking food from Akira later in the series. Another serious issue is the death of Yamagata. In the manga this was a major turning point in the series, when Kaneda and Tetsuo truly break in their frienship and was committed with hundreds of witnesses and was a major scene. In the movie, it appears in the bar with just Kaisuke, Tetsuo and Yamagata present. It sort of cheapens the impact of his death. Even Kaneda's reaction feels canned in the film afterward.

Other issues that irritated me from the film were things like Nezu. In the manga we understand his role and why he's a slimy bastard, but in the film we only really get a small glimpse and it makes little sense. The Espers take too much screen time and have far too much dialogue. They become exposition central depositories and begin to irritate the viewer rather than endearing them as in the manga. The female Esper in particular becomes akin to a narrator, which is very annoying. The Colonel is off as well. In the manga this is a man in complete control and understands the Akira project quite well. However, in the film he comes across as ignorant and devoid of any knowledge of the Akira project. He comes across as a military guy completely, with no other skills. It just feels like a mischaracterization. And Kaneda...in the manga we grow to like and cheer for Kaneda over the course of the series. But here, it feels forced and he's really no different from the beginning. As I said, everything feels like a twisted version of the greatness that was in the manga. Then there are other things that are unforgivable to me. One is the lack of Akira. In the manga he is a real boy, alive and well. In the anime he is dead, nothing but a collection of organs in jars. Why? What was the point? And why does everyone seem to know about him if the project is so top secret? Lady Miyako appears in the film for all of about ten seconds and is killed by a falling car. That makes no sense as she was integral to the manga. It would be like taking Lois Lane out of the Superman story. The end sequence feels extremely rushed. By spending most of the movie focusing on the social unrest and protests, the movie then has to make up for it by tripping over itself in the end. The battle between Kaneda and Tetsuo is almost silly and the role of Kei is so minimized that she becomes a throwaway character in the end. The same can be said of Kaisuke.

The end sequence with Tetsuo going away is so confusing that it makes the manga read like a Dick and Jane book. It was overly confusing and while the flashbacks of Tetsuo and the Espers worked well, the rest didn't I honestly can say I was not impressed with the film after reading the manga. It is a rushed story and has very little of the heart and drama that the manga had. And I am not being overly critical. Read the manga and then watch the film. It will frustrate you to no end. In fact, this is like....if you had to settle with one Akira story but couldn't get ahold of the manga, then watch the movie. But if you have the choice, then by all means, go with the manga as your only option. It is a much more satisfying experience and you will get more out of these characters. Again, it's just my opinion, but remember, I just read the story and then watched the movie so I have a pretty good idea of what is different. Next week we switch gears and go back to the TV dramas. Until then, have a great 4th of July holiday and mata ne!

Akira - A Retrospective (Part Six)

While it might be early I am going to post this final review while the content is fresh in my mind. Volume six picks up literally seconds after the end of volume five. The various groups going into Akira's base (Olympic Stadium) to confront him and Tetsuo continue onward. From this point, 90% of the story is a very long battle between Tetsuo and Kaneda, Tetsuo and Kei, and the American military and the city of Neo-Tokyo. The Colonel strikes early on, blasting Tetsuo with Sol. While this only serves to enrage Tetsuo, the American military reveals its own weaponized satellite, called Floyd, which it uses to attack the stadium and Tetsuo. After the massive blast, Tetsuo flies to space and seizes control of Floyd, pushing it with his power toward Earth, and smashing it into the American fleet. Meanwhile what American jets are left have already commenced bombing runs into Neo-Tokyo.

The American special forces troops meet their end at the hands of Akira's followers, despite the American bio-weapons taking out a large group of the followers. Kaneda launches a direct frontal attack on Tetsuo, first using a laser weapon and then using just his fists. As Tetsuo is caught off guard it appears early on that Kaneda is winning, however this soon changes as Tetsuo's power levels are spiking throughout the story. His body mutates regularly as his power spikes, making him almost uncontrollable. As Kaneda and Tetsuo battle, Kei appears and begins fighting Tetsuo, working as a vessel for Lady Miyako and the two Espers. Kei takes the initial advantage but once Tetsuo goes to space, the group is separated. Kaneda and Joker come across Akira at one point and take care of him as he keeps muttering things such as "calling me" and others. Akira, determined to go somewhere, walks and Joker and Kaneda follow.

Through the bombing and numerous attacks, Lady Miyako's temple is devastated, leaving only a small handful of people to watch over the Espers and Lady Miyako. Miyako makes it clear to the Espers that her end is coming and that they must watch over Akira. Meanwhile, Tetsuo returns and goes to the chamber which once housed Akira way back in volume two. Akira, Kaneda, and Joker run into Chiyoko and Ryu and the five of them make their way to the chamber as well. The final battle with Tetsuo begins as Kaneda, Chiyoko, and Joker begin firing into the massive body of Tetsuo. Kei is also present but is not faring well. Kaneda is then absorbed into Tetsuo's body and we do not see him again for some time. Akira begins reacting violently in pain as Tetsuo is injured and Ryu takes Akira away from the battle. However, as the two are ascending, Akira appears to be unleashing some outburst of energy when Ryu, out of fear, fires his gun into Akira. Afterward a large metal piece appears to fall onto Ryu, killing him instantly.

Tetsuo escapes the chamber in his bloated mutated form and goes to the temple to attack Mikayo and the Espers. Miyako explains that he is drawn to power sources and as Akira was shot, her and the Espers are the remaining source he is attracted to. Miyako tells the Espers to go to Akira while there is still time and she faces off against Tetsuo. She fends him off for some time but is eventually killed in the process. The two Espers teleport to Akira and find him dying on the elevator platform where Ryu shot him. He seems coherent and when he sees the two Espers, he also begins to see the spirits of long dead children who also were Espers. These spirits are smiling and he is told everyone is waiting for him to join them. Akira seems at last at peace and smiles. The Espers ask him if he can use his power one last time. He says yes.

When Miyako and Tetsuo were battling, Kei was teleported to space where she takes mental control of Sol. She then fires it, a direct blast into Tetsuo. Tetsuo screams in pain and begins to erupt in a blast reminiscent of Akira's two previous blasts. As the blast begins to erupt, a second similar one erupts in the air above Neo-Tokyo, where Akira and the Esper spirits were hovering. This blast appears to pull the energy away from Tetsuo and soon the two merge in the air. At this point we move to Kaneda, who is moving from Tetsuo to the blast put forth by Akira. He begins to experience Tetsuo's perspective, which includes flashbacks from his time in the series and also his first time meeting Kaneda. Kaneda sees just how fragile and sad Tetsuo was in life and feels for his friend. Miyako begins explaining that the Espers and even Tetsuo were just victims of experimentation and that even Akira and Tetsuo were not really evil beings. She explains that evolution is natural and that the Espers were simply the next step (very similar to the X-Men theme). At this point we see the Espers, Akira, and Tetsuo not as villains but as victims of government manipulation. It is one of the more touching points in the series. Kei appears to Kaneda and warns him to get out of the energy transference as fast as he can before he is lost forever. While he struggles, feeling guilty about Tetsuo, he eventually does escape and the blast subsides, leaving the city in ruins, but at peace.

In the final epilogue of the story, a contingent of UN peacekeepers arrives in Neo-Tokyo with tanks, jets, helicopters, and soldiers. They bring relief and medical supplies to the people and begin moving inward to the center of the city. When doing this they are fired upon by Chiyoko and others. Kaneda emerges and orders the soldiers to leave Neo-Tokyo proclaiming that it is a sovereign nation and that it could govern itself, thanking them for the supplies. The soldiers protest but see that the citizens are armed to the teeth. Kaneda proclaims that "Akira lives!" and at this, Kei emerges on a modified motorcycle. As Kei and Kaneda ride off into the distance with others, Kaneda sees the ghostly images of his friend Yamagata (killed in volume one) riding on one side and Tetsuo riding on the other. Kaneda smiles and the riders ride into the rubble which transforms into a glistening cityscape, perhaps giving the reader a glimpse of the bright future of Neo-Tokyo.

Overall this was a satisfying end to the series. It is a bit chaotic at times but then it feels as though the reader is part of the battle. My only complaint comes in the form of the author not giving us much into the past. We get glimpses but it never fully explains things. It would have been nice to get more of Kaneda and Tetsuo's story to understand why their relationship was so complicated. Or more on the Espers and the work the government did on them. But those are minor gripes for a well-done story that was epic and dramatic. It was deep, tragic, and also offered bits of humor to give the characters a human side that is missing from many comics. The overall hero might have been assumed to be Kaneda but in actuality Kei was the true savior in my book. And a comic that creates both strong, believable male and female characters is thumbs up in my book. In the next entry (next week or later this week) I will look at the movie and see where it works and where it doesn't in relation to the manga. Until then, Akira lives!

Akira - A Retrospective (Part Five)

It should come to no surprise that things are winding down rapidly in this story by this point. Tetsuo's massive event at the end of volume four only served to create further panic and destruction to the already ravaged area of Neo-Tokyo. With this panic comes international unrest and the coming of the Americans. With scores of aircraft carriers, helicopters, jets, and soldiers poised off the coast of Japan, it is made clear rather quickly that they are there with one purpose: destroy Akira. The problem is, the military seems oblivious of the presence of Tetsuo. The scientists collected aboard the American fleet are fully aware of Tetsuo and while they continue to try and convince the commander of the forces there of his danger, the military continues to ignore Tetsuo's existence. The military, in fact, opts to ignore the reports the scientists submit and send in a small contingent of special forces troops to kill Akira, much to the disappointment of the scientists.

Meanwhile, the Colonel brings the last Esper to Lady Miyako's temple, although both he and the girl are heavily wounded, resulting from the attack in the previous volume. The Colonel and Kei meet and discuss the condition of Chiyoko, still wounded back at the ruins of the military headquarters. Kei wants to go back with the Colonel to retrieve Chiyoko and bring her back to the temple, to which the Colonel agrees. The two journey through the Tokyo wastes and the tension runs high as they are attacked by roving groups of Akira worshippers. There are points where it truly seems as though they may not make it to the headquarters but eventually they do. This does not deter the attackers, however, as they launch their last stand attack inside the headquarters. All are killed through the course of battle, but Kei is wounded and remains unconscious for some time afterward. The Colonel converts a caretaker drone to transport Kei and Chiyoko back to the temple. The transport is driven by Kaneda and his friend Kaisuke, who followed Kei and the Colonel earlier. The Colonel remains behind at the headquarters, vowing to destroy Tetsuo.

Speaking of Kaneda, he is caught up quickly with the events he missed while gone and Kaisuke introduces him to an old enemy, Joker, who once led a rival biker gang called the clowns. Joker is now working with Kaisuke to restore bikes and stockpile weapons to someday use against Tetsuo. Kaneda finds new clothing and a new bike and he and Kaisuke help get Kei and Chiyoko back to Lady Miyako. It is hinted at strongly throughout this volume that Kaneda and Kei are developing feelings of love between them. At one point, late in the story, Kei agrees to work with the Espers and Lady Miyako and face Tetsuo alone, as it is revealed she has a form of their power and can function as a medium to channel their collective powers. When she agrees to this she asks Kaneda to stay with her overnight in the temple. Tetsuo is unsure how to respond as he clearly wants to. Once he finds out she will face Tetsuo he flies into a rage and vows to protect her and states that he will face Tetsuo alone and kill him rather than risk Kei's life. He kisses her and says he will stay with her another time, which is a very touching moment in the story and it feels genuine in the face of all of the dangers emerging. Kaneda, Joker, and Kaisuke, along with others, round up bikes, weapons, and other gear and charge toward Akira's base to strike at Tetsuo. Kei asks Chiyoko to follow and help Kaneda.

At the same time, the American special forces moves into the area hoping to disperse biological weapons to kill Akira and his followers. It is hinted that if the bio-weapons fail, then the American fleet is armed with numerous nuclear missiles that can be launched. The followers of Akira get wind of the incoming American forces and arm themselves, preparing for all-out war.

Tetsuo and Akira are interesting as well. Akira mostly sleeps throughout this volume, as children often will. Tetsuo, it is explained by Lady Miyako, is undergoing a period of evolution wherein the power within him is growing stronger and more independent, desiring to break free of the body it is imprisoned in. She explains that if that occurred before Tetsuo was stopped, Tetsuo could become like Akira; that is, a being composed entirely of the power, and retaining no recognizable semblance of the true personality of the person. Throughout the volume Tetsuo appears at peace, not the raving, pill-popping madman he was in the previous volumes. He has kicked the pill habit and is clean with energy. This makes him all the more dangerous as he and Akira "play" as kids do, though within the center of the earth, creating massive earthquakes. Tetsuo also teleports to the moon and ravages it, blowing out at least a third of it in a display of raw power. Obviously this creates weather problems and tidal chaos in the oceans, further prompting the American military to move froward with their plans of striking at Akira. Tetsuo begins to unravel and mutate as the story progresses however, as his power is growing exponentially. He teleports to the American fleet and destroys a large portion of it as Kei appears as well. The two engage in battle and Kei flees after damaging Tetsuo. She acknowledges her failure to stop him but understands she must face him again.

With that, volume five comes to a close. The action is slower than in the previous two volumes, but it is a refreshing pace. Characters are fleshed out and relationships are explored that make the readers care more about the story in the long run. The collapse of Akira's followers is realistic and the sense of dread near the end as the various groups converge on Akira's base is the best way to foreshadow the climax in the upcoming volume. And the reader can see that not everyone will survive; it is obvious that some will not make it. And with that, the story is nearly complete. Following volume six I will post one final entry looking at the film and some of the differences. Until next week, mata ne!

Akira - A Retrospective (Part Three)

We open volume three some time after the climax of the previous volume. Tetsuo is missing and the city of Neo-Tokyo is now under martial law. Robotic drones patrol the streets in order to maintain control and simultaneously search for the now-missing Akira. In Lady Miyako's temple we are introduced fully to Nezu, a member of the government and member of the resistance movement. Lady Miyako informs him that Akira must be found before the military or worse can get ahold of him. As Lady Miyako distrusts Nezu, she asks a hidden child named Sakaki to move to find Akira first. Sakaki and two other children, with powers similar to the Espers (though on a lower level) are dispatched and move to get Akira before the military and Nezu. From this point the story moves rapidly.

The third volume is primarily a long chase between Kaneda, Kei, and another woman, Chiyoko, as the three work to hide and protect Akira as they are pursued by Nezu's people, the military, and Sakaki. The pace is intense and the battles are exciting. Nezu is revealed to be the weasel that Lady Miyako suspected as he is only interested in harboring Akira's power for himself. Meanwhile, the military is desperate to get Akira back and is using the Espers to hunt him down. In the face of all of this, the military leadership begins to doubt the worries of the Colonel as he seems to be dangerously obsessed with Akira at this point. Kaneda, Kei, and Chiyoko face a number of battles and hurdles in the course of the volume, losing Akira and getting him back at multiple points. Throughout this all, Akira is unconscious, though the Espers warn that soon he will awaken. The chase and battles converge at a late point in the story as the military finally orchestrates a coup on the government of Japan, as they sense urgency at the loss of Akira.

When the sides meet the battle is fierce, as homes are leveled, people are killed (including Sakaki and her two friends), and finally, Akira wakes up. The Espers are overjoyed and seem to hint at a long friendship between the three of them and Akira that had been interrupted. As one of the Espers, Takashi, is speaking to Akira, Nezu takes aim, hoping to kill Akira. He fires and misses, killing Takashi instead. This drives Akira into a rage and his psychic powers erupt in a blast that devastates Neo-Tokyo, leveling much of the city. As the destruction subsides, we have no idea what has become of our heroes; Kaneda, Kei, Chiyoko, the Espers, the Colonel, Lady Miyako...all are left to mystery. In the ensuing silence, we see a shadowy figure emerge and walk toward a small block of concrete in the waters at ground zero where Akira erupted. Sitting on that block is Akira himself, playing with stones as if they were wooden blocks.The shadowy figure is revealed to be Tetsuo, who is smiling down at Akira, who looks up at Tetsuo. With that, volume three ends.

Volume three is a rollercoaster ride compared to the pacing in the first two volumes and reads very quickly. The action is perfect and it leads to the reader cheering even more for Kaneda and Kei. In fact, the reader is so swept in the action that it is very easy to forget about Tetsuo and when he emerges at the end it is like a swift kick to the gut as you remember that he hadn't gone anywhere at all. When I review volume four it will be important to contrast that to this volume as the two are almost two sides of the same coin, like mirror images of the same story. More on that next time. Until then, mata ne!

Akira - A Retrospective (Part Two)

*NOTE: If you haven't read part one, please do so before reading this one. Thanks.

As we left our protagonists at the end of volume one, we were left with a feeling that nothing seemed to be going right for them. The military, led by the seemingly obsessed Colonel, had entered the scene and seized Kaneda and the female resistance member working with him named Kei. The Colonel had also taken Tetsuo as well, who at the end of volume one had exhibited a growing array of telepathic/telekinetic powers. When we begin volume two, we are immersed into the depth and scope of the military's role.

Volume two is essentially told in two settings: 1) The military headquarters, and 2) the Olympic Site, where Akira is held in cryogenic sleep underground. We begin at the headquarters where the children who appeared in volume one reside. These are the children who look like small children and yet have the appearance of senior citizens. These children are known as the Espers. The three of these children have been assigned numbers, branded on the hands and each has a different power and level of power. The Espers are aware of Tetsuo's presence and one of them issues a dire warning that Testuo is dangerous and needed to be stopped if possible. From here the story moves VERY rapidly, like a solid action movie. Kei, being guided by the Espers, is seeking a weapon in the headquarters that can deal with Tetsuo. Kaneda escapes his cell to go with Kei, and the two of them spend much of the first half of the volume searching for first the weapon and then Tetsuo. Tetsuo, in the meantime, becomes quickly bored with the constant testing he is forced to undergo and demands to see the Espers.

When Tetsuo and the Espers meet, the tensions are already high, and the Colonel along with the chief doctor on site are worried about potential conflict. As we see in the story, there is a good cause for concern as Tetsuo and the Espers engage in a battle of mental powers very quickly as Tetsuo learns of Akira and demands to see him. As the Colonel attempts to stop him, he soon learns that Tetsuo is beyond his control. The scenes of Tetsuo effectively crushing the Espers and the Colonel are brilliant and as they are broken up by the scenes of Kei and Kaneda working their way ever closer to Tetsuo. When the sides finally converge, the battle is quick and devastating. Tetsuo escapes by teleporting out of the building while Kei and Kaneda battle their way out against soldiers.

We then shift to the second half of the volume, the battle at the Olympic Site. Tetsuo gains entry by murdering the guards stationed there and begins descending to the underground level where Akira is held. Kei and Kaneda make their way through the sewers to try and intercept; at the same time the Colonel and hordes of soldiers come in through the main entrance to try and stop Tetsuo from descending. What ensues is a massive battle as the lift descends, with Tetsuo making easy work of the soldiers on their hoverbikes. Through the battle it is revealed that Tetsuo and Akira share some link as each time Tetsuo is stressed or in combat, the temperature in the Akira holding chamber increases. When the Colonel realizes this orders his men to stop attacking, which only serves to make Tetsuo's opening of the Akira chamber much easier. as the chamber opens, a massive blast of coolant is released killing many soldiers and the chief doctor almost instantly, and yet Tetsuo is unfazed and continues into the chamber. Inside we see that Akira is also a very small child and he goes with Tetsuo without saying a word, leaving the underground chamber through an opening nearby. The Colonel becomes enraged that Akira has been taken and orders the military super-satellite "Sol" orbiting above, to fire its superlaser on Tetsuo, with the intent to kill. As Akira and Tetsuo exit the underground facility they are soon followed out by Kei and Kaneda. At that moment Sol fires at Tetsuo and the area is obliterated. Tetsuo is enraged but still alive and is fired on again and again, as Akira is knocked away from him. Kei and Kaneda come across the unconscious Akira and Kei notices that Akira's hand also has a number, 28, on it. The volume closes with Tetsuo screaming in pain as he realizes the laser from Sol has taken his left arm.

Again, this volume reads like a great action movie and reveals a great deal about the military's role in the story as well as laying a good foundation for the Espers and Akira. The development of the relationship between Kei and Kaneda is solid and allows readers to truly cheer for someone. While the lines are still not clear, it does become obvious that we are supposed to root for Kaneda and Kei and their mission, even as unclear as it appears to be. The revelation early on of the leader of the resistance movement, Lady Miyako, being a former member of the Espers is ominous and interesting, and Otomo does a good job of only hinting at this, allowing the story to evolve naturally where it needs to. Paced well, and having exciting action scenes, volume two is an excellent follow-up to the first volume. Onward to volume three. See you next week. Mata ne!