Coats - Akira

The story takes place in a post-WWIII, post-apocalyptic, city called Neo Tokyo, in the year 2019 AD (not to far off from our own time). The city of Neo Tokyo seems to be a place of violence and struggle between citizens, the police and military force, government, and terrorist organizations. However, it seems as though there’s an overlying struggle for power that drives the story.

As the story progresses, it uses very fast-paced and intricate animation as well as quick scene changes to emphasize the fast-paces, and almost anxious, living conditions of New Tokyo. Not too far into the movie, we are introduced to two of our main characters, Tetsuo and Kaneda. Both of these boys belong to a nameless bosozuko, in which, Kaneda is the leader. Because of his role as the gang leader, Kaneda looks to protect his fellow members from harms way, but Tetsuo feels as though his sheltering only holds him back from being the best biker he can be. This conflict of interest between Kaneda and Tetsuo only progresses as the movie continues. We also learn early on that Tetsuo fills the role of a sort of “runt” or weak-link of the gang, which explains his character’s lust for power and control (which we’ll get into in a moment).

After running into an opposing bosozuko called the “Clowns”, Tetsuo becomes victim of a nearly fatal crash that lands him in an experimental facility, run by the Neo Tokyo government. They conduct experiments on Tetsuo, and this is where we first learn of the all-powerful “Akira”. Not much is explained right away, except that if Tetsuo shared the same qualities as Akira, he could have endless, boundless power: the power of a god.

When Tetsuo is released from the experimental facility, he rejoins the gang, at first oblivious of his new power. Over time, he experiences horrible flash backs, alluding to the destructive force he was bound to become. Once Tetsuo realizes his new power, he rebels against his former leader, Kaneda, and begins to lay waste to a city that is already a wasteland. Tetsuo becomes lost within his power, corrupted by his constant lust for power, and is eventually consumed within himself. Towards the end of the movie, Tetsuo begins to realize the error of his ways, realizing that the power he longed for so badly would be the end of him and his loved ones. Kaneda, in a last desperate attempt, tries to save Tetsuo, but they both slowly come to terms with their inevitable fate. But at that same moment, a blinding light consumes both Tetsuo and the other telepathic children, saving Kaneda, and revealing Akira for the first and only time. Once the light fades, only a shell of the city is left, but by some miracle, Kaneda, Kei, Kaisuke, and Colonel survive. As they ride their bikes away to the city, you can hear Tetsuo’s voice say, “I am Tetsuo.” This leaves a lot up in the air as far as the fate of Tetsuo. Is he truly gone? Is he now a god-like entity, watching over the rest of his friends? The only thing for certain is that the physical end of Tetsuo means a new beginning for the rest of the world.