Akira (1988 Film) Katsuhiro Otomo

Akira is widely regarded as one of the greatest animated movies of all time and prompted an increase in popularity of anime movies in the US and, generally, outside Japan. It is still admired for its exceptional visuals. In Channel 4's 2005 poll of the 100 greatest animations of all time featuring both film and television, Akira came in at number 16.[117] On Empire magazine's list of the 500 greatest movies of all time, Akira is number 440.[118] It showed again on Empire's list of The 100 Best Films Of World Cinema, coming in at No. 51.[119] IGN also named it 14th on its list of Top 25 Animated Movies of All-Time.[120] The Akira anime also made Time magazine's list of top 5 anime DVDs.[121] The film also made number 16 on Time Out's top 50 animated movie list[122] and number 5 on the Total Film Top 50 Animated Films list.[123] The film was ranked No. 1 by Wizard's Anime magazine on their "Top 50 Anime released in North America" list in 2001.[124] It was ranked No. 4 on The Hollywood Reporter critic's list of "10 Best Animated Films for Adults" in 2016.[125] Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times selected Akira as his "Video Pick of the Week" in 1992[126] on Siskel & Ebert and the Movies. For its wider 2001 release, he gave the film "Thumbs Up".

Akira has also been regarded as one of the greatest action and science fiction films of all time. It was ranked number 22 on The Guardian's list of best sci-fi and fantasy films,[8] included on Film4's list of top 50 science fiction films,[9] and ranked number 27 on Complex magazine's list of 50 best sci-fi movies.[10] The Daily Telegraph listed Akira as the fifth greatest action film of all time.[4] Phelim O'Neill of the Guardian draws a parallel on Akira's influence on the science-fiction genre to Blade Runner and Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey.[13] Akira is considered a landmark film in the cyberpunk genre, particularly the Japanese cyberpunk subgenre.[11] The British Film Institute describes Akira as a vital cornerstone of the cyberpunk genre, along with Blade Runner and Neuromancer.[127] Rob Garratt of South China Morning Post calls Akira one of "the most influential sci-fi visions ever realised" on film, comparable to the influence of Blade Runner.[128] Akira is also credited as a breakthrough for adult animation, proving to global audiences that animation was not just for children.[12]

Akira slide

The "Akira slide" refers to a scene where Kaneda slides into view with his motorbike, as he uses a sideways slide to bring his bike to a halt, while the bike gives off a trail of smoke and electric sparks caused by the slide. It is regarded as one of the most iconic anime scenes of all time, widely imitated and referred to in many works of animation, film, and television.[129] The Akira slide appears in many dozens of animated works, including Batman: The Animated Series (1993), You're Under Arrest (1994), Gargoyles (1994), I My Me! Strawberry Eggs (2001), Air Master (2003), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2003–2009), Yakitate!! Japan (2004), Super Robot Monkey Team Hyperforce Go (2005), Teen Titans (2005), Gurren Lagann (2007), Kurozuka (2008), Michiko & Hatchin (2008), Star Wars: Clone Wars (2003), Yu-Gi-Oh (2008–2016), Fresh Pretty Cure (2009), Lupin III vs. Detective Conan (2009), Pokémon: Diamond and Pearl (2009), Durarara (2010), Adventure Time (2011), Nisemonogatari (2012), Hyperdimension Neptunia (2013), Clarence (2014), Punch Line (2015), Anti-Magic Academy: The 35th Test Platoon (2015), Magical Circle Guru Guru (2017), Yokai Watch (2017), The Lego Ninjago Movie (2017), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2017), Ready Player One (2018), Bungo Stray Dogs: Dead Apple (2018), FLCL Progressive (2018), FLCL Alternative (2018), Jorel's Brother (2018), Marvel's Spider-Man (2018), Doraemon (2019), Duel Masters!! (2019), Holo Graffiti (2019), Carmen Sandiego (2019), Mao Mao: Heroes of Pure Heart (2019), Steven Universe: The Movie (2019), Xavier Riddle and the Secret Museum (2019), No More Heroes III (2019), Rocket League (2019), Kamen Rider Zero-One (2019), Akudama Drive (2020), Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken! (2020), Big City Greens (2020), Chico Bon Bon: Monkey with a Tool Belt (2020), Lego Marvel Avengers – Climate Conundrum (2020), The Hollow (2020), The Casagrandes (2020–21), The Fungies! (2020), Jorja Smith's music video for Come Over (2020), Amphibia (2021), Centaurworld (2021), Craig of the Creek (2021), Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir (2021), Luca (2021), PAW Patrol: The Movie (2021), Sherlock Holmes and the Great Escape (2021), Maya and the Three (2021), Palworld (2021), Black Clover (2021), Pui Pui Molcar (2021), The World Ends with You: The Animation (2021), SD Gundam World Heroes (2021), Digimon Adventure (2021), Case Closed (2021), and "Ninjago (TV series)" (2021), among many others.[130][131] Several live-action films have also paid homage to the Akira slide, notably in X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009) and Nope (2022).[129][132]

Cultural influence

Akira is regarded by many critics as a landmark anime film, one that influenced much of the art in the anime world that followed its release with many illustrators in the manga industry citing the film as an important influence.[133] Manga author Masashi Kishimoto, for example, recalls becoming fascinated with the way the poster was made and wished to imitate the series' creator Katsuhiro Otomo's style.[134] The film had a significant effect on popular culture worldwide. The film led the way for the growth in popularity of anime outside Japan as well as Japanese popular culture in the Western world. Akira is considered a forerunner of the second wave of anime fandom that began in the early 1990s and has gained a massive cult following since then. It is credited with setting the scene for anime franchises such as Pokémon, Dragon Ball and Naruto to become global cultural phenomena.[12][3] According to The Guardian, the "cult 1988 anime taught western film-makers new ideas in storytelling, and helped cartoons grow up".[135]

Akira has influenced numerous works in animation, comics, film, music, television, and video games.[12][3] It inspired a wave of Japanese cyberpunk works, including manga and anime series such as Ghost in the Shell, Battle Angel Alita, Cowboy Bebop, Serial Experiments Lain,[11] and Elfen Lied,[136] live-action Japanese films such as Tetsuo: The Iron Man,[137] and video games such as Hideo Kojima's Snatcher[138] and Metal Gear Solid,[11] and Squaresoft's Final Fantasy VII.[139] Outside of Japan, Akira has been cited as a major influence on Hollywood films such as The Matrix,[140] Dark City,[141] Kill Bill,[142] Chronicle,[143] Looper,[144] The Dark Knight,[145] Midnight Special, Inception,[3] Godzilla,[146] Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse,[147] and Puss in Boots: The Last Wish,[148] television shows such as Batman Beyond and Stranger Things,[136] and video games such as Core Design's Switchblade,[149] Valve's Half-Life series,[150][151] and Dontnod Entertainment's Remember Me.[152] John Gaeta cited Akira as artistic inspiration for the bullet time effect in The Matrix films.[140] Akira has also been credited with influencing the Star Wars franchise, including the prequel film trilogy and the Clone Wars film and television series.[153] Todd McFarlane cited Akira as an influence on HBO animated television series Spawn.[154]

Akira has also influenced the work of musicians. The music video for the Michael Jackson and Janet Jackson song "Scream" (1995) features clips from Akira.[155] Kanye West cited Akira as a major influence on his work,[155] and he paid homage to the film in the "Stronger" (2007) music video.[3] Lupe Fiasco's album Tetsuo & Youth (2015) is named after Tetsuo Shima.[156] The popular bike from the film, Kaneda's Motorbike, appears in Steven Spielberg's film Ready Player One,[157][158] and CD Projekt's video game Cyberpunk 2077.[159] Deus Ex: Mankind Divided video game developer Eidos Montréal also paid homage to the film's poster.[160] The season four premiere of Rick and Morty ("Edge of Tomorty: Rick Die Rickpeat") features a scene in which Morty, and then Rick, are transformed into a giant tendrilled monster that Jerry and Beth later refer to as "an Akira". The 2000 South Park episode Trapper Keeper has references to Akira,[161][162] such as one of the characters transforming into a giant blob organism before absorbing several other characters, not unlike the movie. The stage name of pornographic actress Asa Akira also comes from Akira. The music video for Grimes' Delete Forever pays homage to Tetsuo's penultimate moments on the Olympic throne.

When Tokyo was chosen to host the 2020 Summer Olympics in the 2013 bidding process, several commentators claimed that Akira predicted the future event.[163][164] In 2017, Akira was referred to in several Tokyo Olympic promotions.[165][166] In February 2020, during the coronavirus pandemic and 147 days before the Olympics, a scene in Akira which calls for the cancellation of the 2020 Olympics (147 days before the event) led to a social media trend calling for the cancellation of the 2020 Olympics.[167][168] The Summer Olympics were eventually postponed to 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic.