Akira is a hand-drawn animated movie released in 1988 and directed by Yasuomi Umetsu. Akira falls into the genres of adult animation, Cyberpunk, action, fantasy, science fiction, and political themes. All of that means it is not just a terrifying cyberpunk movie, but also one meant for a mature audience, due to the scenes of gore and fighting.
Reviews of the movie labeled it a psychological horror, with themes of dystopia or a post-apocalyptic world. As evidenced by the reviews, Akira is certainly one of Yasuomi Umetsu’s masterpieces, and what he is famously known for working on.
Yasuomi Umetsu
Yasuomi Umetsu is a Japanese animator, animation director, writer, character designer, author, and screenwriter. He worked as a freelancer in the art and animation departments, having been involved in many projects ranging from video games to animations, etc.
Not only is he known for his work on Akira, but also three other films with dark themes. One major example of his skill in creating a depth of terror in cinema, is the disturbingly educational yet beautiful movie, Grave of the Fireflies. Yasuomi Umetsu has a talent for creating a feeling of horror, even when the film isn’t framed as dark.
Akira
In the movie’s setting, it’s the year 2019, thirty-one years since World War III broke out. Neo-Tokyo has authorities struggling against the underground, which rules the decaying city, making it a place of corruption and terror. Amidst this power struggle, a secret child experiment escapes and gets a motorcycle gang involved in the experiment he’s a part of. Within the gang, a member named Tetsuo, who is weak, is triggered by the event and awakens psychic powers.
Due to the entanglement with an Esper, Tetsuo is taken to a hospital that is revealed to be a military lab and is experimented on. His mind becomes traumatized by these experiments. Adding to his history of always being called weak by the world, his morality becomes warped, and his head is fueled with revenge. He soon eventually uses his powers to cause mass destruction in society. Kaneda has attempted to save him from the army’s experiments, but it ends badly, with Tetsuo having a gruesome body horror event.
The Film’s Use of Cyberpunk and Dystopia
One of the most memorable and horrifying moments of Akira is near the end of the film when Tetsuo’s body begins to expand gruesomely with blobs of veins, muscle, and skin. Even his face grows and expands as he’s screaming in terror and panic, unable to control it, while his friend Kaneda has no choice but to flee. This doesn’t discredit Akira being in the category of Cyberpunk since the major element in Akira is science gone wrong and the effects of human experiments. There are giant animated toys made from machine scraps, body parts in separate containers, human experiments on children, and more.
That’s how many of the terrifying scenes happen because of a world that turned to cyberpunk technology. Tokyo changed into Neo-Tokyo, a decaying place set post-apocalypse, due to a bomb and an Esper named Akira. The bomb that hit Tokyo was what caused World War III, and war is always terrifying. Espers with psychic abilities roam the decaying city, and some torment Tetsuo, who eventually wishes to kill all of them. The military has been hunting down these Espers for their project, the usual idea of creating super soldiers, which has always gone wrong.
It all goes downhill, with more fighting and reveals of inhumane scientific experiments. Akira comes back to life and pieces himself together even though his organs were separated in glass containers. He gathers the other Espers as they help Tetsuo, who at this point is getting consumed by his grotesque expanding body. Tokyo is destroyed again, with a new giant void filled up by the ocean.
Non-Traditional Horror
Akira is not categorized as horror nor would a majority of the fans consider it a horror movie. Yet no one can deny that the film gives viewers scary thoughts. Instead of jump scares or a large dependence on figures visually designed to disturb viewers, Yasuomi Umetsu uses pieces of reality. Akira gives realistic examples of people in a post-apocalyptic world and respectfully avoids romanticizing the dystopian world. Death happens due to everyone trying to survive with low resources and the animation of each death is very gruesome.
In other animations, characters who can cause mass death are romanticized and depicted as cool, but Akira shows the reality of it. While he had his reasons for wanting to kill all Espers, he was still terrifying to watch. The psychology of the other characters, such as Akira, Kaneda, and the other side characters is complex and realistic, enough for a character analysis.
Using A Futuristic World
Akira is still the perfect film to represent cyberpunk themes in a dystopian world. There are the Espers, the labs, and an ongoing war with streets filled with biker gangs. Cyberpunk is similar to steampunk in that it is a type of science-fiction with a certain aesthetic of technology. In this case, computer technology, however, wouldn’t have made the film interesting. The iconic bike slide used for the trailer and the movie poster acts as an example of the types of technology still present in a cyberpunk dystopia.
Bikes are realistically the most practical and useful mode of transportation in an apocalypse. The model of electronic bikes in Akira are are high-powered models, allowing riders to do many stunts. Since Kaneda, the one who does the famous bike slide, is the leader, he was given the most technologically advanced and aesthetically pleasing vehicle.
Conclusion
The entire movie is terrifying with its inhumane science experiments and deaths, but a great example of cyberpunk technology aesthetics. Yasuomi Umetsu has created many films that took on dark themes, and he knew how to unnerve the viewers. Not much information can be found on his discussions of Akira, or the ideas and process of creating Akira. It was simply clear that he knew there were more horrifying elements than simply made-up monsters, and that was the realistic horrors of war, the reality of a post-apocalyptic world, and how scary science can be when pushed too far.
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