Katsuhiro Otomo's 1988 animated film — set in a cyberpunk Tokyo after a nuclear explosion — about motorcycle gangs, psychic powers, and government conspiracy — the film that introduced anime to Western audiences and defined the cyberpunk aesthetic.
Creates the global template for anime and cyberpunk aesthetics — Akira's hand-drawn animation quality (produced at a level never matched before), its neo-Tokyo design, and its psychedelic finale established the visual and tonal conventions that Japanese animation and Western cyberpunk both drew from.
Discussing
Ask anything about Akira — their ideas, influences, contradictions, legacy.
Sign in to start a conversation.