Akira
15
July 1988: World War III breaks loose. 2019: Years later in Neo-Tokyo...
The leader of a group of young delinquents, Kaneda spends his nights tearing through the urban wastes, racing his motorbike against rival gangs. One night, his friend Tetsuo suddenly encounters a strange boy and is injured in the ensuing crash and a military squadron appears on the scene to take the boy and Tetsuo away to an army research facility. Determined to free Tetsuo, Kaneda sneaks into the lab, however, a regimen of extreme experimental procedures has awakened a new power in his friend that threatens to completely destroy Neo-Tokyo.
Obliterating the boundaries of Japanese animation and forcing the world to look into the future, Akira's arrival shattered traditional thinking, creating space for future generations of ground-breaking movies.
Based on one of the all time greats of manga, also written and drawn by Otomo, Akira is one of the biggest and best-known anime films of all time, it's animation featuring meticulously hand-drawn cells with innovations in sound, colour and computer animation. The film's seismic cultural impact continues to inspire artists, video game designers and filmmakers.
Details
Cinema Then and Now
All ages
Plus Yorkshire Film Archive Screening
Garth Marenghi's Darkplace
15
All six supernatural (ish) episodes