FREE ESSAY ON AKRIA

AKRIA

Akira is a beautiful and also haunting film. It gives the viewer a look into a post
apocalyptic Japan 30 years after an H-bomb destroys Tokyo. It follows a gang of punk
bickers when one of their friends are captured and tested for a project the government
called Akira. When their friend cannot control his new powers it leads to his distraction
at the end of the film. With a sometimes-spiritual theme Akira was a groundbreaking film
in the world of animation. In the years sense has the film developed a cult following
from young men. 
Akira in many film historians minds is the film that started the animation revolution of
the nineteen nineties. The vision of creator Katsuhiro Otomo, who originated it as a
comic book or a Manga as its known in Japan, were it was an instant hit. The next logical
step was the animation, but animation like no one in the world had seen before. Otomo
took the chance to present Neo Tokyo in its full glory and created it in vivid detail
without compromising his visual ideas. Akira was the first film to use colorist Steve
Olff's Olyoptics computer coloring process. This gave Otomo's crew the freedom to
designed Akira down to the tiniest nook and cranny. This was the first animation film to
have most of its coloring done on a computer. In one of its more breathtaking sense we
follow a group of bikers as they are ridding we see the trail of there taillights.
Details like this added to the overall awing look of this remarkable film
Otomo was who had a keen eye for detail insisted that the film be shot in 70mm for the
quality best picture. Details are abounded everywhere you looked. With a chilling plot of
science gone mad and animation like no one had done before at that time, even from the
Walt Disney Company who is know for its animation. 
Akira was Otomo's first major film animation project. He had done some animated shorts
before Akira, but nothing of the magnitude of Akira. Strangely he had never attempted
something like this since. He has worked on several films and comics sense Akira. His
most recent have ranged from producing an anime titled Memories (he also directed one of
the three segments in Memories) along with being a consultant on the 1996 film Ghost in
the Shell. He has also wrote and illustrated an issue of the Batman comic book. But Otomo
is ready to get back in the saddle, and will be returning to the director's position for
a new anime project in the near future.
Another unique part about Akira is its soundtrack. Composed by Yanashiro Shoji and Geinoh
Yamashirogumi , the soundtrack contains very little instrumentation. While there is some
use of electrical guitar and Synthesizer most of using instruments the soundtrack consist
of mostly vocal work preformed by the Japanese music trop Noh. Noh is known for using
vocals as an instrument. They are also master percussionists, along with using xylophones
along with using bamboo polls and sticks to create a unique sound that perfectly fits
this groundbreaking film.
An unusual trend followed this film with you young males in the United States. The film
was released in the United States to marginal box office success. The real success of
this film in the United States though came on video. The films distributor Orion Pictures
along with Streamline Films released the film on video in the early ninties's with
support of such large retailers as blockbuster video the a video hit. This lead to a
trend that was known as Manga or Anime. With its adult plots and R-rated animation Akira
along with outer films like it developed a cult following among teenage men who related
to them due to there rebellious nature. This lead many art houses across the country to
start having midnight screenings of the picture. In 1995 Marvel Comics re-published a
translated version of Akira, and a popular clothing line was made. But as with most
trends the popularity and sales of these such films soon died, causing many distributors
including the company that produced Akira, Streamline Pictures to go bankrupt. Akira was
purchased recently by Pioneer Entertainment who plain on re-mastering the film and
creating a digital soundtrack for re-releases of the film in theaters and also DVD. 
A strange production fact is that the day Akira released his final blow that destroyed
Tokyo and started WWIII, has changed several times. The original date was that of the
release of the comic book. It was changed again to 1-1-1988 to coincide with the release
of the animated movie. The latest re-release of Akira, by the Voyager Criterion
Collection, has changed the date once again to 1996 were it has stayed for now.
Making Akira was a monumental film the likes of which we may never see again. Not only
did it change the way that animated films were made. It proved that animation was not
just for kids, and that adults could relate to the imagery and beauty of the film. Akira
is in no way of the sense a traditional animated film. It tells a detailed story that
played with the medium, almost making it spooky to think of what it's capable of. Akira
is a film that influenced the way animation is made around the world. Even though parts
of it may seem primitive by today's Toy Story standard it is still a beautiful film and
an achievement that paved the way to those such films.
Bibliography
Carl Macek - The Akira Project Report, Orion Home Video 1989
Katsuhiro Otomo- Akira The Definitive Collection, Marvel Comic Group 1995