WATCH PARTY: Akira (1988) directed by Katsuhiro Otomo @ Richard Tucker Library
Details
We'll be in the Collaboration Room in the far right corner of Richard Tucker Library.
RUNTIME: 124 minutes
SYNOPSIS: In 1988 the Japanese government drops an atomic bomb on Tokyo after ESP experiments on children go awry. In 2019, 31 years after nuking the city, Kaneda, a bike gang leader, tries to save his friend Tetsuo from a secret government project. He battles against anti-government activists, greedy politicians, irresponsible scientists and a powerful military leader until Tetsuo's supernatural power suddenly manifest. A final battle is fought in Tokyo Olympiad exposing the experiment's secrets.
BLURBS:
"Akira's strangeness is very startling and sometimes bewildering. But there is a thanatonic rapture to its vision of a whole world ending and being reborn as something else." - Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian
"A phenomenal work of animation with all the hallmarks of an instant cult classic. Its post-apocalyptic mood, high-tech trappings, thrilling artwork and wide array of bizarre characters guarantee it a place in the pantheon of comic-strip science fiction." - Janet Maslin, New York Times
"Easily the most breathtaking and kinetic anime ever made." - Michael Atkinson, The Village Voice