Akira (1988 film)

Akira is a 1988 <a href="/facts/Anime/d5j1by0m">Japanese animated</a> <a href="/facts/Cyberpunk_film/3MIjfHNL">cyberpunk</a> <a href="/facts/Action_film/5TjVB0kf">action film</a> directed by <a href="/facts/Katsuhiro_Otomo/epsUW0u7">Katsuhiro Otomo</a>, produced by Ryōhei Suzuki and Shunzō Katō, and written by Otomo and <a href="/facts/Izo_Hashimoto/aYlVfbl3">Izo Hashimoto</a>, based on Otomo's 1982 manga <a href="/facts/Akira_(manga)/7DTPq0Mm">Akira</a>. Set in a <a href="/facts/Dystopia/c5dGl7Ap">dystopian</a> 2019, it tells the story of Shōtarō Kaneda, the leader of a <a href="/facts/B%25C5%258Ds%25C5%258Dzoku/RuaHSyXE">biker gang</a> whose childhood friend, Tetsuo Shima, acquires incredible <a href="/facts/Telekinesis/sDhMYr6r">telekinetic</a> abilities after a motorcycle accident, eventually threatening an entire military complex amid chaos and rebellion in the sprawling futuristic <a href="/facts/Metropolis/s0mIpkgD">metropolis</a> of Neo-Tokyo.
While most of the character designs and settings were adapted from the manga, the plot differs considerably and does not include much of the last half of the manga, which continued publication for two years after the film's release. The soundtrack, which draws heavily from traditional <a href="/facts/Music_of_Indonesia/mgSLKgPn">Indonesian</a> <a href="/facts/Gamelan/660zJnv3">gamelan</a> and Japanese <a href="/facts/Noh/XqdCbdte">noh</a> music, was composed by <a href="/facts/Tsutomu_%25C5%258Chashi/p8prKM3v">Shōji Yamashiro</a> and performed by <a href="/facts/Geinoh_Yamashirogumi/Cn1l9H6g">Geinoh Yamashirogumi</a>.
Akira was released in Japan on July 16, 1988, by <a href="/facts/Toho/uKLDF4vP">Toho</a>; it was released the following year in the United States by <a href="/facts/Streamline_Pictures/hzNqxXMF">Streamline Pictures</a>. It garnered an international <a href="/facts/Cult_following/bzUD4beU">cult following</a> after various theatrical and <a href="/facts/VHS/aN1lffdC">VHS</a> releases, eventually earning over $80 million worldwide in <a href="/facts/Home_video/0Uw329Kj">home video</a> sales. 
Akira has since been cited as a masterpiece and among the <a href="/facts/List_of_films_considered_the_best/pGV2gfUG">greatest films ever made</a>, especially in the field of animation and the action and science fiction genres. A landmark in Japanese animation, and one of the most influential and iconic anime films ever made, it is also considered a pivotal film in the cyberpunk genre, particularly the <a href="/facts/Japanese_cyberpunk/RplKlG6F">Japanese cyberpunk</a> subgenre, as well as <a href="/facts/Adult_animation/DGuCzlkp">adult animation</a>. The film had a significant effect on popular culture worldwide, paving the way for the growth of anime and <a href="/facts/Japanese_popular_culture/zv1UeJx4">Japanese popular culture</a> in the Western world as well as influencing numerous works in animation, comics, film, music, television, and video games.

Akira (1988 film) open-in-new

Akira (1988 film)