Akira

There are 3 Akira movies. The first one is a reaction to the horrors and collective trauma of the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. It is a product of post-war Japan dealing with disaster. It’s not set in the future, it’s set in the present of that era. It carries with itself all of the anxiety, the quiet hopelessness, the constant unease. The second is the neo-noir, sci-fi masterpiece that shook the world and revolutionized animation. It’s the thousands of hours that went into hand painting every frame but it’s also the story of Tetsuo and Kaneda, the story of government experiments and civil unrest, the action and violence packed narrative that makes this animated movie impossible to mistake for just some Disney flick. The third is the Akira that came out today, or yesterday, or will come out tomorrow. It’s the persistent influence this movie has had on every medium since. Every time you see a sideways motorcycle slide, be it in Batman: The Animated Series or Jordan Peele’s Nope, you’re watching the third Akira movie. That’s why you have to watch this movie at least three times. Otherwise, you ain’t seen Akira.