In 2019, 31 years after World War 3 destroyed Tokyo it has been rebuilt and renamed Neo Tokyo. Rival biker gangs fight in the streets whilst widespread protests against the government take place. 

When a young teenage biker gang led by Kaneda attacks a rival gang they find themselves in the destroyed section of Tokyo and a member of their group, Tetsuo is injured. Taken by the government he is subjected to tests and develops psychic powers and learns of the possibility that Tokyo was not destroyed by World War 3, but a young boy by the name of Akira. 

Akira is a phenomenal film. Written and directed by Katsuhiro Otomo and based on his manga it was released in 1988. I watched it as a teenager in the 1990’s and it sparked an obsession with Japanese Anime and motorbikes. Watching it again on an IMAX screen was just as exhilarating now as it was then. When the opening music with its tribal chanting kicks in and the bike chase began I literally felt the hairs on the back of my neck lift up and had a broad grin spread across my face. 

Even though the film is 32 years old and we are now past the date it’s action unfolds in the animation, sound and story all still hold up to scrutiny and it is still as gripping as ever. As an adult the depth of the story is much more apparent, this isn’t just about cool motorcycle gangs and awesome telekinetic powers. The entire film is an explanation about how the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki impacted generations of Japanese people and informed their opinion of government and society. 

For now this is the final film I will see at Cineworld as they close again because they consider the industry to be currently economically unviable and if it was the last film I ever see at this chain of cinemas at least it was a cinematic giant.