Akira (anime)

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Anime movie
title Akira
Original title ア キ ラ
Akira logo.svg
Country of production JapanJapan Japan
original language Japanese
Publishing year 1988
Studio Tōkyō Movie Shinsha
length 124 minutes
Age rating FSK 16
Rod
Director Katsuhiro Otomo
script Katsuhiro Otomo,
Izō Hashimoto
production Ryōhei Suzuki ,
Shunzō Katō
music Shōji Yamashiro
synchronization

Akira ( Japanese ア キ ラ ) is an anime film from 1988 and the film adaptation of the manga of the same name . Three video games emerged from the film. A remake or a remake of the manga as a real film had been planned since 2002, but was repeatedly postponed and finally discarded in 2012. The production of Akira happened to significantly higher costs than for all Japanese animated films previously and it was experimenting with new stylistic devices. The film is considered an anime classic and a major trigger for the popularization of the anime in America and Europe in the 1990s.

The science fiction and action film is set in 2019 in a Tokyo that was rebuilt after an atomic explosion . Kaneda and Tetsuo, young members of a motorcycle gang , are drawn into political power struggles and a military research project. The project investigates people with supernatural abilities, which Tetsuo also acquired in an accident and which led to an explosion in Tokyo many years earlier.

action

Replica of Kaneda's motorcycle

In 1988 there was an atomic explosion in Tokyo that destroyed everything and started World War III. 30 years later the city has been rebuilt as Neo-Tokyo. In the futuristic city with all its huge skyscrapers a certain prosperity has developed again, but there are also gangs and gangs. There are repeated student unrest and bomb attacks in the streets.

The youth Shōtarō Kaneda ( 金田 正 太郎 ) is the leader of a motorcycle gang in which his friend Tetsuo Shima ( 島 鉄 雄 ) is a member. Both grew up together in the orphanage. One day when they get into a street fight with another gang, Tetsuo meets a very short and old-looking man who he almost runs over. This man had fled a military research facility and just as the gang came to his aid, the military reached the scene of the accident. The man, Takashi, and Tetsuo are taken away by the military, the others are handed over to the police. At the military facility, Tetsuo is examined and found to have the same supernatural powers as the other people held here. The other three, Takashi, another man and a woman, are small, almost like children, but still look very old. But Tetsuo's powers are special; his strength is compared to that of Akiras, who triggered the explosion 30 years earlier. When Tetsuo comes to, he flees.

The other gang members are interrogated by the police, but released again. Kaneda meets the girl Kei - a member of a revolutionary movement - and tries to hook up with her. But she lets him off and the group goes back to school. Tetsuo also goes there, who takes Kaneda's motorcycle with his girlfriend and drives away, but is attacked by another gang. Kaneda and the others follow him and are able to save him. Tetsuo is angry: he is tired of Kaneda always bailing him out. A moment later he is picked up again by the military. The investigations into Tetsuo are continued in order to understand the powers contained in him and to use them for humanity. For this reason the powers of the other three and the Akiras were trained and examined. They also have to take a lot of medication to keep their powers from getting out of hand. Tetsuo disgusts all of this and comes into conflict with the three others who don't want him to cause harm. Little by little he learns how to use his powers. Soon he wants to free himself again and look for Akira, whom he blames for his misery.

Kaneda is involved in the revolutionaries' mission through Kei: They want to collect information about the military's new test object, Tetsuo. He joins them to free his friend. They break into the research building and finally manage to meet Tetsuo. He has already fought his way through the building and is again fighting with the three others. Tetsuo goes mad from his supernatural powers and is driven to find Akira. After learning that Akira is at the newly built Olympic Stadium, he makes his way there. In doing so, he causes ever greater destruction. Kaneda and Kei follow him. In this dangerous situation, the military takes power in the country and directs all efforts to stop Tetsuo.

Arriving at the Olympic Stadium, Kei, used as a medium by the woman with supernatural powers, stands in the way of Tetsuo. A fight ensues that destroys the environment. Tetsuo defeats Kei and opens Akira's vessel. Inside are containers in which Akira's body parts are kept for research. Akira herself has not lived for 30 years. The fight against Tetsuo continues when Kaneda takes on him with a laser rifle and the military uses a satellite with a laser cannon. Finally, Tetsuo can control his powers less and less and mutates into a giant being that devours everything around him. Meanwhile, the others bring Akira back to life. He triggers another huge explosion to destroy Tetsuo. In doing so they save the commander and Kaneda, Neo-Tokyo is destroyed again.

Finally, a ray of light and an explosion can be seen, followed by the words: “I am Tetsuo”, and in the background of the credits a new universe develops from the explosion.

production

Production history and people involved

When the manga series writer Katsuhiro Otomo was asked to make a film, he insisted on keeping control of the material. So he also became a screenwriter and director of the film. To finance the budget of about 1.1 billion yen, the companies Bandai , Hakuhōdō , Kodansha , Mainichi Broadcasting System , Sumitomo Corporation , Tōhō and the studio Tōkyō Movie Shinsha formed a production consortium called "Akira Committee". Ryōhei Suzuki and Shunzō Katō were hired as producers , the film was made at Tōkyō Movie Shinsha. In addition to Otomo, Izō Hashimoto also wrote the script. The character design was created by Takashi Nakamura and the artistic direction was Toshiharu Mizutani . The Studio High Tech Lab Japan was commissioned for the computer animation.

The plot of the film comes from the parts of the manga series that had been published until then, which was still running after its film adaptation and was not completed until 1990. The content has been streamlined and, due to a different course than in the manga, brings many characters into a different context. Unlike the manga, the time of the plot was set in 2019. The script was 738 pages. Previously, Otomo had written several script versions in which he performed every imaginable scene that resulted from the manga series. Then he deleted all scenes that he found unnecessary. Since he put so much effort into the script and storyboard, this work took a particularly long time.

Technical and stylistic aspects

In contrast to most anime productions, the film was not produced in cheaper limited animation , in which only a few parts of the image are animated and image slides are used over and over again. Instead, over 160,000 animation slides were created in order to achieve the smoothest possible animation. Computer animation has been used to animate falling objects, lighting effects, and other physical processes. In order to achieve the fades from scene to scene desired by Otomo, the cameraman Katsuji Misawa filmed the individual drawings and the respective backgrounds overlapping. Over 1,000 different houses and city elements were drawn for the background. The greatest possible sharpness and brilliance of the pictures was achieved by using the 70 mm film, which is otherwise unusual in animation. 327 tones were used for the color scheme, 50 of which were specially set for this production. These are mostly dark colors as large parts of the film are set in the dark. Instead of the blue tones that are common in night scenes, dark red and green tones were used. The Quick Action Recorder was used extensively to test complex scenes. However, contrary to what the producers claimed, this was not a new development, but had been common in animation for about 10 years.

The sounds for the film were recorded with a synthesizer. The music was composed by Shōji Yamashiro and sung by his choir Geinoh Yamashirogumi, among others. In addition to polyphonic choral chants, sounds of traditional Japanese instruments and a mixture of Asian, European and African elements were used. The production of the music extended over six months, without time pressure or budget restrictions. For the Blu-ray version of the film, both the image was remastered and the music was replayed in Dolby TrueHD . High-frequency sounds were also recorded, which are inaudible, but according to Yamashiro's controversial theory of hypersonic effects can develop a neurological effect and thus offer the listener a more comprehensive experience.

synchronization

The dialogue direction for the Japanese version was also in the hands of Otomo. For the first time in an anime production, the voices were recorded before the animation was completed. In this way, the mouth movements could be precisely matched to the spoken text. Simple animations were already available to assist the speakers. After the first German dubbed version in 1991, a new dubbing was produced for the DVD release in 2005, the content of which is closer to the original. The spokesman for Tetsuo in the first draft, Julien Haggége , became the spokesman for Kaneda in 2005.

The first synchronization was done at Michael Eiler Synchron GmbH in Berlin based on a dialogue book and directed by Mario von Jascheroff . The second dubbed version was made in the G&G Studios in Kaarst , with Christian Schneider writing the dialogue book and directing the dialogue.

role Japanese speaker ( seiyū ) German speaker (1991) German speaker (2005)
Tetsuo Shima Nozomu Sasaki Julien Haggège Gerrit Schmidt-Foss
Shotaro Kaneda Mitsuo Iwata Alexander Doering Julien Haggège
Colonel Shikishima Tarō Ishida Raimund Krone Erich Rauker
doctor Peter Groeger Hans-Gerd Kilbinger
Kei Mommy Koyama Bianca Krahl Sarah Riedel
Yamagata Masaaki Ōkura Thomas Nero Wolff David Nathan
Ryu Tesshō Genda Bernd Rumpf Detlef Bierstedt
Nezu Hiroshi Ōtake Karl-Heinz Grewe Karlheinz board
Quay Takeshi Kusao Heiko Obermöller
Kaori Yuriko Fuchizaki Marie Bierstedt
Kiyoko (No. 25) Fukue Itō Daniela Brabetz-Thuar Sarah Brückner
Takashi (No. 26) Tatsuhiko Nakamura David Nathan Maximiliane Häcke
Masaru (No. 27) Kazuhiro Kamifuji Mario von Jascheroff Corinna Riegner
Underground fighters Joachim Kaps Hans Bayer

Release history

A first trailer for the film was released in 1987. The film itself was released in Japan on July 16, 1988. On February 17, 1989, Akira was shown at the Berlinale in the Forum des Junge Films. An English version produced by Electric Media Inc. for the Japanese publisher Kodansha was licensed by Streamline Pictures and was seen occasionally in the USA from December 25, 1989, and in Canada in 1990 as well. ICA Projects released the film in UK theaters on January 25, 1991. The cinema release in Germany was on May 9, 1991, and the film was in the cinema for two weeks. The day before it had already come to French cinemas. This was followed by film releases in Brazil, Australia and the Netherlands. Even after its first theatrical release, the film was repeatedly shown in universities, arthouse cinemas and as special screenings in large cinemas in the USA.

In Japan the film was released on VHS cassette and laser disc . Streamline released its licensed version on VHS in May 1991 . In order to prevent the spread of illegal copies, an animation film was enclosed with every cassette sold. In February 1990 Streamline had already released a dubbed version of the documentation Akira Production Report on VHS. Various other publications followed in English-speaking countries. A second English dubbed version was also created for Pioneer LDC at Animaze. On October 9, 1992, a German version was released on VHS by Warner Bros. On July 24, 2001, it was released on DVD in Germany . On October 31, 2014, a digitally revised edition was released on Blu-ray and DVD with the Japanese dubbed version and the two German versions from 1991 and 2005.

ProSieben first showed Akira on German television on June 25, 2002. Other dubbed versions were also broadcast on television. So the English at Adult Swim , Animax and several times on the Sci-Fi Channel , the French from Canal + and the Italian from Rai 4 . In Japan itself, the film was broadcast on the Bandai Channel . The Spanish version was shown several times by various broadcasters in Spain and Latin America and was later published via streaming media .

Anime comic

The Tokyopop publishing house published an adaptation of the film as an anime comic in 2003, a comic composed of still images from the film and speech bubbles.

Video game adaptations

In December 1988, Taito published a video game based on the film for the Famicom console from Nintendo . In the visual novel , the player takes on the role of Kaneda after Tetsuo was picked up by the military and his motorcycle gang by the police. By choosing one of the proposed actions, the player moves on in the plot.

Games for Super Nintendo Entertainment System , Sega Genesis and Sega CD, as well as Game Boy and Game Gear were in development, but were never completed and released. In 1994 a British game based on the film was released by International Computer Entertainment for Amiga / CD³² . In 2002, Bandai released the pinball machine simulator Akira Psycho Ball ( ア キ ラ ・ サ イ コ ・ ボ ー ル ) for the PlayStation 2 . There are four levels of pinball in the game, the design of which is taken from scenes from the film: Neo Tokyo , the A-room , the Olympic Stadium and the laboratory. If the player can hit a special target with the ball or if he has completed a level, an excerpt from the film is shown.

analysis

References and influences

According to Anime Encyclopedia , the film shows some references to Blade Runner - the year of the action is already the same. The plot also repeatedly refers to the counterculture of the 1960s with student riots (such as the Ampo riots ), motorcycle gangs ( Bōsōzoku ) and others. The Olympic Games in Tokyo also point to this time, to the Olympic Summer Games in Tokyo in 1964. In its choice of topics, the gloomy, dystopian mood and the open ending, the film is typical of the science fiction anime of the time, according to Antonia Levi.

Freda Freiburg sees Akira's “intoxicating mix of death and desire” as a reflection of the atomic bombs being dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki . These are deeply anchored in the national consciousness of Japan and appear as a topic, directly or indirectly, in many works. According to Susan J. Napier , such a cinematic processing of the atomic bombs is also reflected in the fact that the theming of the atomic bombs was banned in Japan after the war until 1952 and could therefore only be done through the use of symbols such as Godzilla . However, in relation to the manga, Katsushiro Otomo himself had rejected that Akira was to be interpreted as an allegory of the atomic bombs.

According to Susan J. Napier, the film is in several ways a “postmodern festival of the apocalypse”, it contains both apocalyptic and “festive” aspects - both recurring concepts in Japanese film after Napier. This can be seen in four elements: the fast narrative style, changeable identities, imitations of elements from Japanese history as well as from other films and his ambiguous attitude to history. In addition to postmodernism, the structure of the film reveals elements from satirical Greek theater ( Menippeian satire ) and Japanese festival culture: bold, unrestricted use of the fantastic; an organic combination of the fantastic with naturalistic representation; the representation of abnormal, immoral psychological states of people through dreams or the representation of scandals and eccentric, abnormal behavior.

Themes, motifs and interpretations

Japanologist Susan J. Napier

Susan J. Napier analyzes several aspects of the film. According to Napier, an essential motif of the film is the metamorphosis of the human body, especially as a symbol of the conflicts and changes during puberty. These transformations are depicted in a drastic way and culminate, as in Ghost in the Shell , in the preference for disembodiment. In this sense, Napier interprets the end of Akira in such a way that Tetsuo overcomes his physicality in the last explosion, creates his own new universe through his power and thus also his own, new form of identity. The mostly threatening transformation of the body that is clearly in the foreground makes this part of the film fall into the genre of body horror , which creates horror from the transformation of a person from within. Tetsuo becomes a monster for others and for himself.

The development of Tetsuos is primarily a story of the successful rebellion of a young person against authority and control and one of growing up. The conflict of power and control that appears in it is the main theme of the film. Tetsuo initially suffers from an inferiority complex towards Kaneda, who always has to help him out of a tight spot. With his new power he can overcome his helplessness. But when he himself loses control of his power and the mutations get out of hand, he calls Kaneda for help again, even if Kaneda can no longer help him. If one assumes that Tetsuo survives the explosion in the end and is resurrected as a disembodied, divine being, the finale can be interpreted as the liberation of Tetsuo from all compulsions, which, however, is purely selfish. He can take revenge on society for rejecting him. The loss of his physicality and the friends he had is the price Tetsuo has to pay. If his development is interpreted as a symbol of growing up, he has achieved this at the end of the film, but with great damage. Napier also understands the scenes of Tetsuo's mutation, in which he sometimes takes the form of an embryo, as symbolic, renewed fertilization and birth of Tetsuos. Especially in the form of the embryo, he is temporarily helpless again and asks Kaneda for help, but then overcomes this again. Mother characters do not appear in the film, the mutation can therefore be interpreted as Tetsuo's attempt to find his mother or to create a new one.

The recurring motif of the motorcycle, which Napier interprets as a phallic symbol according to Jon Lewis, is also symbolically charged - after all, Tetsuo's inability to control it is also an expression of his inferiority at the beginning of the plot. Napier also sees the motorcycle as a symbol of change and flexibility as a contrast to the menacingly massive buildings of Neo Tokyo and the state power that they embody. In connection with the motorcycles, the gang could also be understood as a modern rōnin , wandering, abandoned samurai. The crater of old Tokyo, near which the gang meets the psychically gifted for the first time and where the fights usually take place, can be interpreted in terms of their role as outcasts of society.

The apocalyptic portrayal of destruction is initially a spectacle, similar to that in American disaster films. The medium of animation film with the emphasis on single images, speed and movement is particularly suitable for such representations. In addition, this apocalyptic representation also contains a socially critical, in the case of Akiras, nihilistic aspect. Postmodern aspects can be seen in the fact that the parents do not appear ex negativo and apparently left their children alone, as well as in the destruction of the newly built Tokyo at the end of the film. The rebuilt Yoyogi Hall is a symbol of the reconstruction of Japan after the Second World War and Akira also shows the destruction of Japan's recent past in the destruction. Japan's search for an identity in the 1980s, when the country gained new economic strength, is therefore one of the film themes. The social debate of that time is symbolized in Tetsuo's metamorphoses, which become more and more threatening as the plot progresses. Similarly, Japan's growth in (economic) power in the 1980s was viewed with concern by its neighbors, and the country's future role was controversial - a stronger role for Japan was both glorified and feared in Japanese society. The themes of uniqueness, isolation and self-sacrifice that dominate Japanese self-perception also determine the life of the protagonist Tetsuo.

Using elements of Japanese festival culture and Greek theater, Akira creates a world of chaos and disorder. This is particularly evident in surreal, nightmarish images and hallucinations in scenes in which the supernaturally gifted use their skills against each other. The terrifyingly distorted representation of toys undermines the Japanese concept of kawaii and at the same time shows how the experiments in the research laboratory rob the child-like test subjects and the toys of their innocence. These representations, but also the drug consumption of the protagonist, refer to hallucinogenic drugs and substance abuse. The link between drug use and technology taking place in Akira has also been the subject of discussion in Japan. The criticism of a science without borders, which exploits the supernaturally gifted and thus becomes a danger to humanity, is understood by Napier as a way of addressing the conflict between human progress and nature. In this way, Antonia Levi sees the dangers of genetic manipulation as an issue in Akira . She also highlights the role of strong women in the film, especially the rebel Kei, who "is not only stronger and meaner than most men, but also [...] never loses her idealism and belief in the future."

In the surrealism and chaos of the film, its “festive” aspect also shows itself, so Napier. The gangs can be seen as a representation of the young men who carry the local deities through the streets at a shrine at Japanese festivals. In the film, some of them, including a true religious group, worship Akira the way the deity is worshiped at festivals. In contrast to these festivals, which serve to confirm the existing order, everything in Akira strives to overthrow the situation. This is another expression of the European influence on the work, especially the Greek satire.

Compare to other contemporary works

Susan J. Napier compares the film with the series Ranma ½ from 1989. Both works address the problems of young people such as the conflict between generations, rivalries with peers and the development of one's own identity. Another common feature is the portrayal of these conflicts in the form of bodies getting out of control, mutating or changing. However, while this happens in a happy manner in Ranma , Akira is dominated by a somber mood. The threats built up in Ranma will eventually be resolved, while in Akira they will remain through the open end. Despite the different modes of representation, both works serve the audience for entertainment, albeit for a short time in Akira and by contemplating the overcoming of the boundaries of the physical as well as the viewer's delight in destruction.

In comparison with the 1984 film Nausicaä from the Valley of the Winds , Napier notes that both heroes perish and rise in the end in an apocalyptic catastrophe. For Tetsuo, however, this happens out of sheer self-interest, while the heroine Nausicaä sacrifices herself for other people and becomes their savior. Tetsuo works purely destructively with his powers, Nausicaä is always constructive. Although only Nausicaä offered a positive ending, both films would likely have a cathartic effect on the viewer through their portrayal of destruction and reconstruction. But it almost seems that Akira is celebrating the destruction of the sheer joy of her. Both films address the conflict between human progress and nature.

aftermath

Success and reviews

In the year of its premiere, Akira was the most successful film in Japanese cinemas and was thus ahead of the internationally successful Return of the Jedi . By 1991 the film had sold 60,000 videos and 40,000 laser discs in Japan . In the US, the film grossed US $ 1 million in cinemas. In Siskel & Ebert by Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert , Akira was selected as film of the week in 1992 and received positive reviews in the country's major newspapers in the period that followed. The Washington Post called it an “example of the future of animation” and Time described it as a “virtuoso piece of speculative fiction, a brutal, adventurous story, a head-turning science fiction morality ”. Akira received the Silver Scream Award at the 1992 Amsterdam Fantastic Film Festival .

After the German premiere at the Berlinale in 1989 , the reviews were divided. The “technical mastery” was admired, but “its brutality and alleged glorification of violence” was criticized, summarizes ICOM Info . The film was not taken seriously. In ICOM Info itself, Walter Truck praises the "smooth and effective animated cartoon drama", the filigree and complex backgrounds, the convincing synchronization and the sounds that "mystical and hypnotic at the same time [...] give Otomo's end-of-time version a classic and dark touch". As an animated film, according to Andreas Dosch, Akira is looking for its own kind, even if the movements are a bit more angular than in the best Disney films. The characters engaged in a “duel that fluctuated between pure aggression and highly scientific metaphysics”. He continues: “The scenes in which street gangs, demonstrators and the military fight against each other are realistically portrayed impressions of violence: very fast, very hard, very straightforward. The metaphysical sequences, on the other hand, flow into one another in a visionary manner, become independent, dream boundaries disappear. ”The film culminates in“ a half-hour frenzy of images, an orgiastic fantasy trip ”. The film could be placed in a row with Blade Runner and Robocop , explain how this immorality is the leitmotif and show the resulting violence without retouching. At the same time, Akira is sympathetically naive. In its contemporary review, the Lexicon of International Films describes Akira as a "monumental cartoon action film with a pseudo-philosophical undertone." Although the film is "formally remarkable", it is "insignificant in terms of content" and "sometimes annoying."

Frederik L. Schodt writes of a great audience success and considerable success of the film with American critics, despite a "too long and confused" plot. According to Antonia Levi, the film was already one of the best-known anime in the USA in the mid-1990s. In 1999, Fred Patten counted the film among the 13 most notable anime films from 1985 to 1999. Miriam Brunner writes about the film in 2010 that it “captivates with a gloomy apocalyptic mood, with spectacular perspectives and with an exciting, dense plot. "

On the occasion of the film's republication in the 2000s, it was reviewed by German magazines. In 2001 the MangasZene praised Pioneer's English new edition of “Katsushiro Otomos Meisterwerk”, in which both the image revision and the new dubbed version were well done. The AnimaniA calls the film 2006 German DVD release of "image and tongewaltigen sci-fi trip in a class of" one true classic. The sound quality and synchronization of the new German version are praised, but the revision of the picture is not free of errors. With regard to the Blu-ray version from 2009, the fan magazine Funime states that although the picture has been improved a bit and a much more detailed soundtrack is included, the quality differences compared to the revised DVD version are still barely noticeable for normal viewers.

meaning

The film is credited in the specialist literature with having led to the first boom of anime in English-speaking countries in the early 1990s. Trish Ledoux and Doug Ranney even refer to Akira's release in the US as the birth of anime as a genre in American pop culture. Ralf Vollbrecht calls Akira “a turning point for the acceptance of anime as an art form”. Daniel Kothenschulte and Bernd Dolle-Weinkauff also consider the film, along with Ghost in the Shell, to be one of the door openers for Japanese animation in the western world of film, but neither of them was the breakthrough for anime. This only happened around the year 2000 with the films by Studio Ghibli and successful television series.

The success of the publication in Great Britain led its British publisher Island World Communications to license more animes and rename them Manga Entertainment , the largest anime publisher in the UK. Subsequent attempts in Japan or outside of Japan to replicate this success on a smaller budget failed. Jonathan Clemens describes different perspectives on the film: While it was still an investment for his producers that has not paid off, Akira initially became an exception and a flagship of Japanese animated films for his foreign licensees and later a long-term investment that through their status as a classic promises permanent income. Older fans see the work as a timeless classic, but for some younger fans the film is overrated. The originality of the film is judged differently after it has often been copied, and viewed on smaller screens it is less impressive than on the big screen.

Analysis of success

With its many experimental effects and combination of traditional and computer animation, Akira has overwhelmed viewers worldwide, according to the Anime Encyclopedia . The success comes less from the cyberpunk elements, but more from the youth perspective from which the plot is told. Susan J. Napier says the most appealing aspect of the film to international audiences is the successful rebellion of a youngster against the authorities, even if it ends in disaster. After all, viewing the Apocalypse from a safe distance is also entertaining and enjoyable. With the choice of topic, the gloomy atmosphere and the open ending, the film often seems particularly original or unusual to Western viewers and was something completely new for American viewers, write several authors. Antonia Levi emphasizes that this mixture is typical for science fiction anime of this time. In addition to the “technical excellence”, she explains the success with the more aggressive marketing of the film. Akira was the first Japanese animated film to be perceived as such. And it was “as good as Disney” or even better by technical and artistic standards, but aimed at an adult audience.

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Release certificate for Akira . Voluntary self-regulation of the film industry , August 2014 (PDF; test number: 65 560 V).
  2. ↑ a b c d e Jonathan Clements, Helen McCarthy: The Anime Encyclopedia. Revised & Expanded Edition. Stone Bridge Press, Berkeley 2006, ISBN 1-933330-10-4 , pp. XIX, 13.
  3. ↑ a b Napier, 2001. pp. 40-41.
  4. ↑ Akira Production Report (DVD). Madman Entertainment. November 13, 2001.
  5. ↑ a b Production insights, Akira # 3. Epic Comics, 1988.
  6. ↑ Jonathan Clements: Anime - A History . 2013, ISBN 978-1-84457-390-5 , pp. 194 .
  7. ↑ a b c David Hughes: Comic Book Movies. Virgin Books, 2003, ISBN 0-7535-0767-6 , p. 27.
  8. ↑ a b c d e f g ICOM Info 52, June 1991, pp. 20-23.
  9. ↑ Jonathan Clements: Anime - A History . Palgrave Macmillan, 2013, ISBN 978-1-84457-390-5 , pp. 195 .
  10. ↑ Blu-ray 版 「AKIRA」 で 体 験 す る 24bit / 192kHz サ ラ ウ ン ド の 衝 撃 -AV ア ン プ の 設定 に 注意。 「2 層 50GB デ ィ ス ク が カ ツ カ ツ」 . In: AV Watch. February 18, 2009, Retrieved April 30, 2015 (Japanese).
  11. ^ Welcome to the Hypersonic World of Akira. Yamashirogumi, accessed March 4, 2015 .
  12. ↑ a b AnimaniA 03/2006, p. 24.
  13. ↑ German synchronous index | Movies | Akira. Retrieved March 22, 2019 .
  14. ↑ German synchronous index | Movies | Akira. Retrieved March 22, 2019 .
  15. ↑ Interviews with Streamline Pictures' co-founders Carl Macek and Jerry Beck in Protoculture Addicts # 9 (November 1990), and company portrait in Protoculture Addicts # 18 (July 1992).
  16. ↑ a b c d e Antonia Levi: Samurai from Outer Space - Understanding Japanese Animation . Carus Publishing, 1996, ISBN 978-0-8126-9332-4 , pp. 91-93 .
  17. ↑ Jonathan Clements: Anime - A History . Palgrave Macmillan, 2013, ISBN 978-1-84457-390-5 , pp. 182 .
  18. ↑ Trish Ledoux and Doug Ranney: The Complete Anime Guide . Tiger Mountain Press, Issaquah (Washington) 1995, ISBN 0-9649542-3-0 , pp. 190 .
  19. ↑ Akira- NES / Famicom game at Mobygames.com . Retrieved May 7, 2015.
  20. ^ John Szczepaniak: Jim Gregory interview - AKIRA - SNES. (No longer available online.) Hardcore Gaming 101, December 22, 2012, archived from the original on January 2, 2014 ; Retrieved August 27, 2013 .
  21. ↑ AmigaCD game at Mobygames.com . Retrieved May 7, 2015.
  22. ↑ Akira Psycho Ball. In: Tothegame.com. Retrieved May 6, 2015 .
  23. ^ Freda Freiburg: Akira and the Postnuklear Sublime. In: Mick Broderick: Hibakusha Cinema. Kegan Paul, London, 1996. Adapted from: Napier, 2001. p. 197.
  24. ↑ Napier, 2001. pp. 165 f.
  25. ↑ Paul Gravett, Andreas C. Knigge (Ed.): 1001 Comics You Should Read Before Life Is Over . Edition Olms, Zurich 2012, ISBN 978-3-283-01157-4 , pp. 436 .
  26. ↑ a b c d e f Napier, 2001. pp. 204-207.
  27. ↑ a b c d e f g Napier, 2001. pp. 37, 39-48.
  28. ↑ Napier, 2001. p. 198.
  29. ↑ a b c Napier, 2001. pp. 215 f.
  30. ^ Antonia Levi, 1996. p. 125.
  31. ↑ Napier, 2001. p. 62.
  32. ↑ a b c Trish Ledoux and Doug Ranney: The Complete Anime Guide. P. 42 f.
  33. ^ Silver Scream Awards. (No longer available online.) Imagine Film Festival, archived from the original on September 17, 2013 ; Retrieved November 8, 2019 (Dutch).
  34. ^ Lexicon of International Films
  35. ^ A b Frederik L. Schodt: Dreamland Japan. Writings On Modern Manga . Stone Bridge Press, Berkeley 2012, ISBN 978-1-933330-95-2 , pp. 314 .
  36. ↑ Fred Patten: Watching Anime, Reading Manga - 25 Years of Essays and Reviews . Stone Bridge Press, 2004, ISBN 1-880656-92-2 , pp. 125 .
  37. ↑ Miriam Brunner: Manga . Wilhelm Fink Verlag, 2010, ISBN 978-3-8252-3330-3 , p. 70 .
  38. ↑ MangasZene No. 5, p. 21.
  39. ↑ Funime 2/2009, p. 28 f.
  40. ↑ Helen McCarthy: A Brief History of Manga . ILEX, 2014, ISBN 978-1-78157-098-2 , pp. 45, 56 .
  41. ↑ Trish Ledoux and Doug Ranney: The Complete Anime Guide. P. 1.
  42. ↑ Ralf Vollbrecht: Anime - a phenomenon from Japan . In: German Film Institute - DIF / German Film Museum & Museum of Applied Arts (Ed.): Ga-netchû! The Manga Anime Syndrome . Henschel Verlag, 2008, ISBN 978-3-89487-607-4 , pp. 26 .
  43. ^ Daniel Kothenschulte: Opulence and Limitation - Styles of the Early Anime and Bernd Dolle-Weinkauff: Fandom, Fanart, Fanzine - Reception in Germany. In Deutsches Filminstitut - DIF / German Film Museum & Museum of Applied Arts (Ed.): Ga-netchû! The Manga Anime Syndrome. Henschel Verlag, 2008. p. 26.
  44. ↑ Fred Patten: Watching Anime, Reading Manga - 25 Years of Essays and Reviews. P. 131.
  45. ↑ Jonathan Clements: Anime - A History. Palgrave Macmillan, 2013. p. 7.
This version was added to the list of articles worth reading on May 10, 2015 .