Akira (15)

(Subtitled)

The landmark Japanese cyberpunk anime from 1988 re-emerges as a deeply strange nightmare about destruction and rebirth.

Thirty years on from a devastating explosion that razed the city, a new capital – Neo-Tokyo – has been born: sprawling, chaotic, like the LA of Blade Runner. The city is beset with violence from warring motorbike gangs, and by protesters rioting against unfair taxes.

Biker teen Kaneda (Mitsuo Iwata) is in the middle of a confrontation with a rival mob, when his friend Tetsuo (Nozomu Sasaki) accidentally crashes into a bizarrely wizened child-goblin figure who has apparently escaped from a top-secret government research facility investigating this race of troll-infants with bizarre powers.

Right from the outset, what stands out is how visually striking and timeless the animation is. The film utilised 160,000 hand drawn cels, and every frame feels like a visual marvel. From the light trails streaking behind the bikes as they tear through the city, to the breathtaking background art, to the fluidity of the character animation, the craftsmanship is astonishing. Despite being almost 40 years old, nothing about Akira feels dated; if anything, it feels ahead of its time.