Antonio Flores, Johan Melecio, Tahmida Hasan, Henry Harris, Jasmine Pal

English 21003

Professor Zayas

Akira Group Paper

Sept. 29th, 2024

Akira Group Paper

Pioneer in cyberpunk animation, Akira is a movie directed and written by Katsuhiro Otomo and Izo Hashimoto, produced by Ryohei Suzuki and Shunzo Kato. The movie is based on the manga Akira (1982) by Katsushiro Otomo. The film presents us with a futuristic post-apocalyptic Tokyo  destroyed after WWII and now what little remains is dominated by the militia, gang violence and terrorism. A leader of a biker gang, Shotaro Kaneda and together with his childhood friend Tetsuo Shima are the main characters. After fighting an enemy gang, Tetsuo has a strange accident in which he obtains psychic powers, while running away from the Japanese self-defense army, Tetsuo realizes his power is as strong as Akira, the person who destroyed Tokyo last time. Kaneda’s constant struggle to recover his old friend is presented by brutal and dramatic scenes Life and death fights, arrogance and envy fill this film, from beginning to end, where after intense battles against the army, losing numerous friends and losing and control of his own powers, Tetsuo becomes a god himself.

Methods: In Akira, the science comes from the government’s experiments on psychic powers, advanced technology, and genetic manipulation. The government not only uses scientific experiments such as genetic manipulation but also brain implants and drug therapies to enhance and control the brain’s potential. The government experiments on children, trying to unlock powerful psychic abilities like telekinesis (moving things with the mind) and psychokinesis (controlling matter). This leads to people having amazing abilities, but also causes big problems. Akira’s world is different from ours because it has real psychic powers and extreme genetic changes. There are also powerful beings with incredible abilities. The movie is set in a dystopian Neo-Tokyo, rebuilt after a massive explosion that triggered World War III, creating a corrupt, highly militarized society. Neo-Tokyo is filled with advanced technology, from the huge skyscrapers and futuristic motorbikes to the advanced military weaponry used to try and stop Tetsuo. This combination makes Akira’s world an exciting and unsettling place.We have modern military tech and futuristic cities, but they’re nothing like what’s shown in Akira. The movie’s laser guns and huge space stations are way more advanced than what we have today. Characters like Tetsuo and Akira gain god-like powers, enabling them to reshape reality and create new universes. By the movie’s end, Tetsuo’s powers reach a level where they trigger the creation of a new universe—a concept purely fictional compared to our world. 

The film presents us with a post-apocalyptic Tokyo destroyed by nuclear bombing in 2019, 31 years after the Third World War. At present, humanity faces two wars, the war between Russia and Ukraine, and the war between Israel and Palestine, both wars have escalated to the point of requiring the involvement of countries outside the conflict, or organizations such as the UN. It has also been necessary to take drastic measures such as the economic isolation of Russia due to the aggressive  one-sided declaration of war. Or the social media, and society  backlash to American Companies who support Israel. How likely is it to have a WWIII like in Akira (1988)? All of the countries that are currently at war have access to nuclear plants or are supported by countries that have at least one. So we can conclude there is at least a possibility to repeat the scenario presented in Akira (1988): WWIII.

Tetsuo’s body undergoes extreme and often distorted enhancement as a result of his psychic abilities. This depiction serves as a metaphor for the dangers of unchecked scientific experimentation and the potential loss of humanity. Tetsuo’s transformation is not just physical but also an internal psychological struggle illustrating the overwhelming nature of his newfound powers. In contrast, real-world human augmentation aims to enhance physical and cognitive abilities through ethical and regulated means. Innovations like prosthetics, implants, and gene editing are designed to improve quality of life and restore functionality, rather than turning individuals into superhumans. 

Another significant difference lies in the consequences of augmentation. In “Akira,” Tetsuo’s powers lead to catastrophic events, showcasing a world where science spirals out of control. In reality, while there are ethical concerns and risks associated with human augmentation such as the potential for discrepancy or misuse, efforts are made to regulate these technologies to prevent harm and ensure equal opportunity. Ultimately, Tetsuo’s transformation serves as a cautionary tale about the extremes of scientific exploration and the potential loss of humanity. In contrast, real-life human augmentation strives to improve lives within an ethical framework, focusing on safety, consent, and enhancement of human abilities without compromising identity. 

Results: The movie Akira was released in 1988, in a time where political protest and unrest was at a high due to global conflict, which the movie reflects in its setting. Also at the time, genetic technology was beginning to pick up in pace, and discussions were held regarding the morality of those studies (Tamura R, Toda M, 2020). This is where Akira draws its main representation of technology, as the sci-fi aspects of the movie—in the ESP or electrosensory perception powers of the main characters—expand upon the principles of gene altering. It is true that up to the 1980s and 1990s state government programs—such as with the CIA in the United States—were experimenting with ESP in order to advance technology amidst the Cold War (“Government Sponsored Research on Parapsychology,” 2024). Since these experiments were seen by the public eye in the time Akira was created, the story focuses on what these attempts at advancing human perception could end up becoming—as the story takes place some 40 years after it was released. However, these depictions are vastly fictitious and impossible. Psychic powers are entirely not scientifically accepted and are also backed by little science, often unrepeatable (Todd Carroll, 1994). Pseudoscience such as the ones depicted in the movie do not have backing and are thus included in the fiction half of the genre; however, it does not mean that these ‘sciences’ can not be used meaningfully as a tool to explain other scientific aspects of the movie such as the evolution of consciousness or body augmentation.

Discussion: Overall the film has several complex meanings or themes. It dives into themes of power, control and humanity’s relationship with technology. The message being conveyed in the film is that if we push too far in science and try to accelerate evolution beyond our limits, there are infinite disasters waiting to happen. There are ethics in science and when the ethical conducts aren’t followed it often leads to catastrophe. Tetsuo’s past of being a helpless kid creates more tension and destructiveness thus arising more power from his emotional trauma and when the experiment went wrong he almost destroys the entire world. This highlights the dangers of absolute power and the inherent chaos it brings.  Essentially AKIRA serves as a warning to humans that if we fail to consider the consequences of our actions that we are potentially bringing about our own destruction.  Science fiction acts  a testee for complicated concepts like psychic powers, advanced biotechnology, and dystopian societies. By displaying Neo-Tokyo as a high-tech but broken society, the film reprehends the drastic technological advances and their consequences, reflecting Japan’s own industrial and technological surge in the 20th century. The film emphasizes on the risks of unchecked scientific experimentation, the results of political corruption, and the loss of individual identity in having too much power then one can take. 

Resources:

Tamura R, Toda M. Historic Overview of Genetic Engineering Technologies for Human Gene Therapy. Neurol Med Chir (Tokyo). 2020 Oct 15;60(10):483-491. doi: 10.2176/nmc.ra.2020-0049. Epub 2020 Sep 8. PMID: 32908085; PMCID: PMC7555159.

“Government-Sponsored Research on Parapsychology .” Encyclopedia of Occultism and Parapsychology. Retrieved September 11, 2024 from Encyclopedia.com: https://www.encyclopedia.com/science/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/government-sponsored-research-parapsychologyRobert Todd Carroll ESP – extrasensory perception – The Skeptic’s Dictionary – Skepdic.com.. https://www.skepdic.com/esp.html