Akira; since its release in Japanese cinema in 1988 has took not only Japan, but the world by storm. Hailed as the film that introduced the world to anime its reputation extends to technological wonder. Using techniques such as pre-scoring (the technique of recording the voices before animation rather than after) and the over-shooting budget-inducing night sequences often avoided by other animators; it pushed the boundaries of Japanese animation of the eighties and nineties. Film scholars often reference the plot of Akira as being a corner stone in story telling and the template for much of the anime released to this day. Aesthetically, it is seen as the director Katsuhiro tomo’s masterpiece and may never be surpassed by him, or by any other Japanese film maker. At the time of its arrival in Japanese cinemas it overtook The Return of the Jedi to become the highest grossing film of that year. Japan as a culture, reference this film with nothing other than superlatives, and has become a symbol in Japanese cinema to represent it as a force to be reckoned with all over the world. Since the mass popularity of the cinema-going culture has been ever expanding in Japan due to its man noticeable directors (Akira Kurosawa in particular) it has prompted “both film and social historians to regard [it] as a unique source of insight into national cultures”. Anime from Akira to Princess Mononoke, Napier J. S. (2000) So; sociologically speaking, what ideologies of Japanese culture does this film reflect? Can this film be used as a true insight into the minds of the people it represents within the narrative; and, finally, how has anime and Akira shaped the society that has chosen to accept it so fully?

Japanese culture is a dense and frail affair to behold. Japanese children are taught at a young age the difference between how they should act towards people in society and how they really feel, the former being tatemae and the latter being honne. Gradually and firmly, adults will “adjust their own levels of politeness according to the situation, and demonstrate to a child about how to adjust his or her level, too.” Henry J. (1987) Although, by western standards, the focus on social-orientation to be so blunt may seem alienating, but it is wise to notice that Japan is the “only non-western society to have successfully industrialize every aspect of its economy.” Napier J. S. (2006). So although different in the approach to social upbringing, it prospers in it and thrives as a culture. It is important to have certain knowledge about the state of Japan before and upon Akira’s release to understand how significant the characters, situations and symbolisms that appear; are. Japan has won two Nobel prizes in literature, the only country in asia to do so, and the years up to Akira are seen as good years in Japanese history, “with it’s superb bureaucracy, efficiently functioning government, and high technological expertise [there] existed a utopian alternative to what many perceived the corrupt and decadent societies of the west”. Napier J. S. (2006) So when Akira was set upon Japanese audiences, with its post-apocalyptic dystopian views of carnage, inner-turmoil and extreme violence, it starts to open questions to what is under the surface of this seemingly blissful’ society.

Akira Starts of with a bold heading of the date “1988.7.16.Tokyo” and location. It is now obvious to audiences that what they are viewing is a modern day utopian Tokyo, Japan. What ensues is a massive atomic blast that destroys the seemingly peaceful city. This, to a western viewer may seem like just an action in a movie, but to Japanese audiences, the fact that Japan is the only country in the world to suffer an atomic attack; the point of view flows more to a sense of victimization. This use of introduction into the world of Akira emphasizes the situation of the culture of the time. This situation’ is also backed up with the introduction of certain factors through the first half of the film. The so called student revolution is apparent as a sub-plot at the beginning, focusing on mass hysteria it’s dystopian view contradicts what is actually going on in the streets outside the cinema. Though when studying aspects of the Japanese educational system, which has no real vocational authority, and focuses mainly on passing exams; it is obvious that the young adults at the end of the system are going to have problems converting to the working life of adulthood. This is not helped by the “increasingly competitive nature of society which appears only to emphasize material values and appears spiritually sterile, the erosion, in the cities of a sense of community,” Napier J. S. (2000) only confuses children to the point of alienation and isolation, which is shown through the character Tetsuo. To say that this film directly shows the ideologies of the time in Japanese culture would be naive. More like a stained-glass-window, it lets the light of ideology through, but the audience does not see what is beyond the picture on the glass; thus, it could be perceived that film holds connotations of true ideologies and maybe even denotations of Japanese society, but this is only used as a frame, or canvas, in which to portray the narrative and structure of plot and characters, which hold the key to understanding the minds of the ideas behind Akira.

In the place called Neo-Tokyo, where revolutionists wage war and street gangs run wild, Tetsuo is introduced. Not the clich protagonist but that of the runt’ of the bosozoku, a gang of bikers hedged on beating there rivals using force and unflinching violence. The first time Tetsuo is significant in many ways to character development and as a reflection of many subtle characteristics of Japan. Struggling to understand or operate the gang leader and best friend Kaneda’s bike serves multiple purposes. As film scholar Jon Lewis points out that the motorcycle is a “phallic symbol of power and authority” Napier J. S. (2000) it becomes obvious that there will be a struggle between Tetsuo and Kaneda for the power that the latter so obviously maintains. It also brings into light Tetsuo’s characteristic, which is that of isolation and alienation, key points that drive the narrative forward. When looking at Tetsuo’s character; how it forms, changes and the reactions to this; are all taken from ideological light behind the stained glass. At its release in 1988 Japan was at its peak of post-war rise from the ashes and many feared it as being the worlds next super-power. Much like Tetsuo’s minor part becoming the central, most powerful role. More apparent at the beginning though is that social label; the outcast. Just over a third of the cinema-going Japanese went to see animated features pre-1988. Catering to a fan base that rivaled trekkies in notoriety; the derogative term otuka was given to them and they were frowned upon by conservative Japan. Fanatical about anime the sub’ culture consisted of a certain type of person, the loner, the social outcast. Relating to the onscreen anti’ hero Tetsuo and his onslaught of the people around him may seem hard when looking at it from a point of view of anyone other than what he represents. This is what gives Tetsuo, and Akira its universal appeal because most people have felt inadequate or helpless in their lifetime, and hoped for the power to change things. It is especially effective in a country that suffers a great overbearing sense of victimization mentioned before. The film doesn’t just give a two dimensional look at gaining power and overcoming inadequacy, there is a more subversive tone to the change Tetsuo undergoes, showing another side to Japanese culture.

Anime itself contains certain undercurrents that run through their stories; among them are the obvious philosophical debates, science and religion, but also certain aspects that take a more open mind to grasp. Apocalyptic views and cyberpunk action fests are among the most common titles, but one area is most important when talking about Akira and that is of metamorphosis. The bond between Tetsuo and Japanese society is strongest through the subject of metamorphosis, and the linear development and degradation of both. The “shifting nature of identity in a constantly changing society” Napier J. S. (2000) has been an issue for the people of Japan for many years. Torn between many beliefs and an ever evolving culture, the people of Japan are finding it hard to keep up. Everything from technology to fashion passes through at breakneck speed, in one second out the other. Mass audiences or pop’ culture are constantly seeking new things and constantly changing, this struggle is shown psychologically and then physically through Tetsuo in Akira. At first, Tetsuo rejects his powers in favor of the old and what he knew, this is shown by the way he goes back to take Kaneda’s bike. This also shows that although Tetsuo has grown in power and dominance he still lacks something more, so he cannot completely control the phallus’. This has connotations of a country; that although it is gaining strength, it is just waiting to fall apart from the inside out and a country still trying, in an age of technology, to grasp hold of its history. Reminders of the past litter Akira also, dating back to the Edo period, when the Ronin existed outside government and rules, much like the biker gangs of Neo Tokyo.

At the pinnacle of Tetsuos form he is a grotesque combination of man and machine, helpless to stop his own growth and screaming for help from Kaneda, realizing that although he has become strong, the authority lies back with Kaneda, and that is who he should turn to. This shows the Japanese hesitance in it’s power as a nation, drawing on it’s feud with America over the war and the bombings, that something with too much power can cause destruction that will ripple through time. America, being a superpower, bombed Japan, leaving it wounded, not only for that generation but for the next, Japanese social consciousness picks this up and knows that with growth in economy comes mass power. Although it is ever forming new faces, Japanese culture still shows these traits of advancement with caution.

As anime became ever more popular in the lead up to Akira, Douglas Kellner comments that in America “mass culture articulates social conflicts, contemporary fears, and utopian hopes and attempts at ideological containment and reassurance.” This shows that American animation, brings about stories that are well rounded, happy in there conclusion and show a better world for the events that took place. He then goes on to comment on Japanese animation saying “much of the best anime resists any attempt at ideological containment’ and could well be a cinema of de-assurance’ rather than reassurance,” showing that Japanese animation as a whole, is open to such acts as the hero falling, or of an open ending that doesn’t tie up all the loose ended. This reflects the societies in themselves, where America would deny any fault in there society and hesitate to point this out directly on animated film, Japanese animation embraces it and makes it the battle ground for most of there films questions. In Akira the lone anti-hero Tetsuo is isolated and alone, much like a lone nation, struggling against all the odds. All these facts account for the success of Akira, and its effect on animation can be seen today.

Once Akira had been released, the percentage of cinema anime viewing gained 10 percent and came to equal odds with live action film in Japan. Animation started not only to be a sub culture but became a pop’ culture, taken in by the masses in Japan. Its international release in 1990 introduced the world to a different kind of story, on that would lay the path for a tsunami of anime for America and Europe. In 1997, the stock market collapsed in Japan, the biggest since the great depression. Society in Japan cracked under the strain as no money was coming into projects that had been commissioned with the assumption of funds. This ate away banking funds, and the growing super-power that was Japan started to crumble from the inside out. So it could be said that Akira in its attempt to show what would happen if a country become to powerful actually predicted’ of sorts, the collapse of market. This hasn’t stopped animation though; in fact it has just encouraged it, as it’s a cheaper alternative to actors and locations. Studio Ghibli sold the rights to distribute their films to Disney, sealing the eastern mastodon of anime into western history. A film by Hayao Miyazake, Spirited Away also won an Academy Award for best animated feature, beating all the western counterparts. Goliaths like Pixar and DreamWorks, with all there glorified three dimensional CGI, failed to beat a hand drawn complex emotional story. The offspring’ of the Akira generation of animation also inspired masterpieces like Ghost in a Shell, and even cyberpunk thrillers of western action films, most in particular The Matrix. So important this is, that when the special edition DVD of Akira was released in Japan it came with the tagline, “No Akira, No Matrix”.

So Akira not only used Japanese society as a canvas to paint a masterpiece, it changed the way people, not only culturally but internationally; perceived anime. Tetsuo’s journey shows undertones of a struggling nation, changing identity all the time and never slowing down. Referring back to the window analogy, and using the light of ideology to bring the film to life, even if there are many more windows, brighter and more glorious, there will always be a place for the first, that truly captured the culture.

Word count 2301 (With Quotes)

Bibliography

Napier, J. S. (2000) Anime: From Akira to Princess Mononoke. Palgrave, New York

Standish, I. (2005) A New History of Japanese Cinema. Continuum International Publishing, New York

Hendry, J. (1987) Understanding Japanese Society. Croom Helm, New York

Levi, A. (1996) Understanding Japanese Animation. Open Court, Illinios

Gomery, D. Allen C. R. (1985) Film History: Theory and Practice. McGraw-Hill, New York

International Movie Data Base[Internet] Available from: [Accessed 08 December 2006].