- What was the cultural impact of Akira (1988), and why does it occupy a key place in the canon of anime greats?
Anime began to gain recognition and popularity in Japan by the late 1960s and 1970s; it became a popular culture by the 80s and 90s wherein the Japanese anime culture was seen cross pollinated into western culture through cosplay conventions and a number of western films that have been inspired (Napier, 2005). The release of the quintessential cyberpunk anime Akira (1988) marked a turning point for films later to come, wherein its themes of cyberpunk, high technology and production quality were inspired to be adapted in numerous plots. Akira’s (1988) international success indicated the cross cultural awakening of anime and its transformation into the western film and popular culture (Napier, 2005).
Prior to the release of Akira, the Japanese art form anime was considered a minor form of art suitable for audiences of children; examples such as Astro Boy (1963) and Jungle Emperor Leo (1965) were popular in the field of anime (Mountfort, 2020). Akira stands out from the canon of successful anime productions because of its futuristic plot and its presentation as a live action film (Napier, 2005). Akira’s features of a futuristic cityscape and its suggestive story of telepathic powers and telekinesis have notably inspired a number of contemporary science fiction and cyberpunk productions (Chu, 2018). The multimodality of Akira being a blockbuster with elements of warfare and destruction had pushed the boundaries of the time’s construct of animated films, which then enabled the film to be a benchmark in the history of animated productions with multiple dimensions (Napier, 2005).
Manga, known as the Japanese form of American comic, began to make strides in becoming influential in the western culture. The manga form of Akira began gaining recognition post the filmic release of Akira (Covil, 2017). Akira (1988) paved way for mature audiences, wherein such examples of productions can be seen in Ghost in the Shell, and Netflix original series Stranger Things, where the main character is also isolated from fully exploiting her telekinetic abilities (Covil, 2017; Chu, 2018). Not only did Akira shatter the conventional construct of animation films, its continuous inspiration led to the creation of the television and manga series Sailor Moon in the mid 1990s, and its popularity was seen to be spread as merchandise, paraphernalia of its theme and main character, Usagi, which also inspired young girls to look up to a character of incredible cuteness and powers (Napier, 2005). Without the production of Akira, the field of film-scape as seen today would not be a feast and influence for growing audiences.
References
Chu, H. (2018). Why the pioneering Japanese anime ‘Akira’ is still relevant 30 years later. https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/why-the-pioneering-japanese-anime-akira-remains-relevant-30-years-later/2018/07/12/b7577c74-813f-11e8-b851-5319c08f7cee_story.html
Covil, M. (2017). ‘Akira’ Is Frequently Cited as Influential. Why Is That? https://filmschoolrejects.com/akira-influence-12cb6d84c0bc/
Mountfort, P. (2020). ENGL602 Popular Genres: Lecture 4/Week: Anime 1_Akira_2020 [PowerPoint slides] AUT Blackboard. https://blackboard.aut.ac.nz/
Napier, S. (2005). Anime and Local/Global Identity. In Anime: from Akira to Howl’s Moving Castle (pp.15-34). Hampshire: Palgrave/Macmillan.
Pop Genres 2020 