Not only is Katsuhiro Otomo’s dystopian 1988 cyberpunk masterpiece, Akira, considered the greatest anime movie of all time, but it’s also possibly one of the most influential science fiction movies of all time. It stands in parallel with classics like 2001: A Space Odyssey and Blade Runner in terms of its epicness. Akira is beautifully animated, dynamically colored, and horrifically violent, making it a feast for the eyes; Kanye West has even called it his “biggest creative inspiration,” directly drawing from the film for his “Stronger” music video.
With Akira being cited as an influence in everything from Stranger Things to Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, there has been a lot of discussion surrounding the 1988 cult classic. However, how much do you really know about this iconic film? Let’s find out. Here’s a look at 10 things you didn’t know about Akira.
Many thought the film correctly predicted the 2020 Olympics being held in Tokyo
Set in a dystopian 2019, one of the major set pieces towards the end of Akira is the construction of the Olympic Stadium in Neo-Tokyo for the upcoming Olympic Games. In 2017, after Tokyo won the bid, Akira was referenced in promotional materials. Ironically, when the COVID-19 pandemic began impacting the world, a scene from Akira featuring graffiti calling for the cancellation of the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo went viral, inspiring pleas to cancel the real-life Tokyo Olympics. (They were eventually postponed to 2021.)
The Akira Committee was created to bring this film to life
With a starting budget of ¥500,000,000, which reportedly may have ballooned to ¥1.1 billion with advertising, translating the 2,000-page manga epic to the screen appeared to be a Herculean. This necessitated the formation of the Akira Committee, which included Bandai, Toho, and even the LaserDisc Corporation, in order to fully realize this project.
Akira is the first anime to use pre-scored dialogue
Pre-scoring dialogue involves recording the dialogue for the animated feature before animating the film, allowing for the mouth movements of the speakers to be matched. This was a groundbreaking practice for the anime genre, and it remains uncommon in anime to this day.
Akira lowkey pays homage to Tetsujin 28-go
Otomo was a big fan of the 1956 manga Tetsujin 28-go, and ended up borrowing names from the manga liberally in his own work, Akira, from the protagonists in both stories being named Kaneda to even Takashi’s “26” hand tattoo utilizing a font similar to what’s used in Tetsujin 28-go.
Akira aired on Toonami…twice
With a film as heavy as Akira, you’d figure that Toonami, a haven for the best in anime for Western viewers, would be one of the last places to show a film with such intense themes, violence, and occasional nudity. However, that was not the case. Toonami aired a heavily censored version of Akira on December 7, 2013, and then again on December 20, 2014.
Akira popularized the Japanese cyberpunk scene
Cyberpunk, a sci-fi genre typically set in a dystopian future with a blend of “lowlife and high tech,” can be traced back to the works of Phillip K. Dick and other New Wave writers of the 1960s and ‘70s. The 1982 Akira manga kick-started the subgenre in Japan, but it was the animated Akira film truly popularized it
Overall, Akira’s seen as an influential sci-fi film, full stop, with only Blade Runner rivaling its impact.
Akira helped usher in the “second wave” of anime fandom across the globe
If Astro Boy was the pioneer of anime’s acceptance and impact as a global force, Akira, with its darker, more mature tone and visuals, helped pave the way for the next chapter of anime appreciation, both in America and around the world. It’s credited with allowing filmmakers to think outside the box in the stories they tell, aiding in the maturation of anime and animated content as a whole.
Akira inspired The Matrix’s “bullet time” effect
There are multiple ways Akira’s fingerprints are visible in The Matrix, from the desolate cyberpunk setting Neo inhabits to the use of psychic powers in these worlds. The Matrix’s visual effects supervisor John Gaeta has gone on record, citing Akira as one of the influences on the “bullet time” effect used in The Matrix, with the slowed-down sequence becoming one of the hallmarks of the first film in the series.
Akira makes a cameo in a Michael Jackson video
In the video for Michael Jackson’s collaboration with his sister Janet, “Scream,” the two Jacksons are on a spaceship. In between their performances (and intergalactic rage room mayhem), screens throughout the ship play different anime movies featuring characters screaming. As this was 1995, it was a major look at anime’s impact on the West, with Akira and Vampire Hunter D being featured in the music video.
Akira was the first animated release in The Criterion Collection
In 1992, The Criterion Collection released a LaserDisc of Akira, making it the first animated release from Criterion. Oddly enough, Akira remained Criterion’s sole animated release until 2014, when Fantastic Mr. Fox was added to their lineup.
