FILM

In the western world of Hollywood film, Akiras ideas influenced famous works like Tron and The Matrix, allowing it to gain the respect of those who usually would have nothing to do with the anime community. The film gained a place on Empire magazines 500 best movies of all time, and has been said to be a huge influence on the sci-fi genre all over the world. Akira became one of the few anime to break the boundaries of Japan and the western anime community, and prove its worth among the elite. The films setting and directing direction influenced the setting for many films both Japanese and Western to come after, some films being The Matrix, Ghost in the Shell, Inception, scenes in Kill Bill and etc.

Akira is a 1988 Japanese animated science fiction film directed by Katsuhiro Otomo. It was written by Otomo and Izo Hashimoto and based on Otomos manga of the same name, focusing mainly on the first half of the story. The film depicts a dystopian version of Tokyo in the year 2019, with cyberpunk tones. The plot focuses on teenage biker Tetsuo Shima and his psychic powers, and the leader of his biker gang, Shotaro Kaneda. Several parties, including Kaneda, resistance terrorist Kei, Colonel Shikishima of the JSDF and a trio of espers, attempt to prevent Tetsuo from releasing the imprisoned psychic Akira. While most of the character designs and settings were adapted from the original manga, the restructured plot of the movie differs considerably from the print version, pruning much of the last half of the manga. The film has garnered a large following as a cult film since its theatrical release, and is widely considered to be a landmark in Japanese animation. It is considered by many critics to be one of the greatest animated and science fiction movies of all time