The impact of “AKIRA” on the world was truly massive.
Especially in the realms of anime and sci-fi, it was a revolutionary work.
Impact on Japanese Anime Culture
First, talking about its influence in Japan, it proved that anime wasn’t just “entertainment for kids”.
AKIRA’s themes weren’t only about psychic powers and dystopian worldviews, but also about social anxiety and runaway technology – very adult content.
This brought a new layer of viewers, especially adults, to appreciate anime.
Also, the quality of the animation was incredibly high.
It proved that such movement could be hand-drawn, putting pressure on other anime productions to “make higher quality stuff!”
In particular, the futuristic cityscape of Neo Tokyo and the bike chase scenes are still considered “amazing!” even today.
Huge Influence Overseas
The influence on foreign countries, especially in the West, was enormous.
After AKIRA was released in 1988, Japanese anime started gaining worldwide attention, and the previously little-known culture of “anime” spread dramatically.
It’s no exaggeration to say this was the catalyst for Japanese anime’s popularity spreading worldwide.
As a cyberpunk genre, AKIRA had a massive influence too.
For example, you know movies like “The Matrix” and “Blade Runner”? These works are said to show AKIRA’s influence.
Especially the futuristic cities, the presence of psychics, and storylines involving government conspiracies have a lot of similarities.
Also, among Western anime fans and creators, there are really many people who say “I started making anime after seeing AKIRA” or “AKIRA was a turning point in my life”.
That’s how impactful it was.
Influence on Subculture
AKIRA influenced not just anime and movies, but also fashion, music, and art fields.
The futuristic design of Neo Tokyo, Kaneda’s bike, and the characters’ fashion styles had a big impact on later works and real-world culture.
For example, as street fashion and cyberpunk styles became popular, Kaneda’s red rider suit and Tetsuo’s cyborg-like visuals became iconic.
Also, AKIRA‘s logo and symbols started being used a lot in the art and design world.
Influence on the Gaming Industry
AKIRA‘s influence is also huge in the gaming industry.
AKIRA’s worldview and character designs have influenced many video games.
For example, games with cyberpunk worlds like “Cyberpunk 2077” or works like “Final Fantasy VII” have parts inspired by AKIRA.
Especially the ruined future cities and characters with psychic powers are very similar.
Evolution of Anime Technology
There was also a big impact on the entire anime industry, with AKIRA‘s success leading to further evolution of anime technology.
Because it was made with a high budget, it could push the limits of hand-drawn animation possibilities, influencing subsequent anime production.
Especially the background art and action scene depictions are still standards even now.
Impact on Society
The future society depicted in AKIRA and themes of runaway technology give us things to think about in the real world too.
Especially in the midst of rapid technological development, how to handle and control it is still a debated topic.
Many people might think after watching AKIRA, “The advancement of technology isn’t necessarily always a good thing, huh.”
In short, AKIRA isn’t just mere entertainment, but a really important work that had a profound influence on society, culture, and technology.
(Note.)
This text was something I asked an AI, but the AI’s answers aren’t always necessarily correct, so please make sure to verify important information!
AKIRA probably has nothing to do with Wakayama. Since the character in the previous two articles was a girl who spoke in Wakayama dialect, we set the character in the same way for this article.
The same reason for setting up the image.
Thank you!
