History YMMV / Akira

* FunnyAneurysmMoment: [[https://soranews24.com/2020/02/18/did-the-akira-manga-predict-the-coronavirus-epidemic/ A blurb]] in the manga claiming that the World Health Organization was being criticized for its handling of a pandemic was even more prescient in 2020 during the UsefulNotes/COVID19Pandemic. In addition, the story is in a backdrop of the 2020 Neo-Tokyo Olympics, and Akira was apparently buried below the unfinished Olympic stadium. On September 9, 2013, Tokyo was selected as the host of the 2020 Summer Olympics, which would almost happen... until the coronavirus delayed it by a year (with the strong possibility of it being cancelled altogether). Despite the difficulties of COVID-19, the Olympic games finally started on July 23, 2021.

* HarsherInHindsight: As Tetsuo advances towards the city we see a young man standing down a tank, an anti-government demonstration, government censorship of the media, and the massacre of countless civilians. Remember that the movie was released in 1988. [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1989_Tiananmen_Square_protests Guess what happened]] [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tank_Man in China the following year.]]

* TooBleakStoppedCaring: While the movie had its rough edges due to being set in a post-apocalyptic world where violence and corruption are rampant and with a few scenes of [[{{Gorn}} nasty imagery thrown in for good measure]], the manga makes it look tame in comparison due to how far more nihilistic it is! Case in point, Shotaro and Tetsuo are far more mean-spirited and cruel than they are in the movie, Kaori is treated as one of Tetsuo's sex slaves rather than his MoralityPet, and while the movie ended on a bittersweet, but still hopeful, note since it adapted Volumes 1 to 3 as it source material, things go FromBadToWorse in the Manga starting with Volume 4 where a post-apocalyptic war is incited by Tetsuo, who becomes even nastier than he was in the previous 3 Volumes!

* TooBleakStoppedCaring: While the movie had its rough edges due to being set in a post-apocalyptic world where violence and corruption are rampant and with a few scenes of [[{{Gorn}} nasty imagery thrown in for good measure]], the manga makes it look tame in comparison due to how far more nihilistic it is! Case in point, Shotaro and Tetsuo are far more mean-spirited and cruel than they are in the movie, Kaori is treated as one of Tetsuo's sex slaves rather than his MoralityPet, and while the movie ended on a bittersweet, but still hopeful, note since it adapted Volumes 1 to 3 as it source material, things go FromBadToWorse in the Manga starting with Volume 4 where a post-apocalyptic war is incited by Tetsuo, who becomes even nastier than he was in the manga!

* TooBleakStoppedCaring: Given that the story is set in a post-apocalyptic world where violence and corruption are rampant, with nearly every character being a reckless criminal, an authoritative megalomaniac, or a helpless victim suffering from poor living conditions, it is entirely possible for an audience member to become completely hopeless and indifferent towards their struggles. The fact that many of the characters look very similar to each other visually does nothing to help viewers distinguish between those who are at least somewhat likable and those who are simply not likable at all.

* ToughActToFollow: ''AKIRA'' was such an influential and massively successful piece that Creator/KatsuhiroOtomo never rose to the same level again afterward. To wit, ''Manga/TheLegendOfMotherSarah'' which he wrote and completed afterward was also popular and took much longer to complete (16 years) but was always overshadowed by its predecessor, despite its high-brow and intricate plot. Likewise, his first major manga ''Manga/{{Domu}}'' is also not as known despite its quality.

* AdaptationDisplacement: The movie is undoubtedly more well-known than the original manga, in part because the source material had a really screwed up release. Creator/MarvelComics bought the rights to translate it/bring it over to America when the movie was released in the US in 1989, but Katsuhiro Otomo's decision to redraw the last 1/6th of the manga led to the US version seeing a massive delay in the publication of the last eight issues and by the time the last issue came out in 1995, the series was out of print as well as the trade paperbacks, of which only 10 of the proposed 13 volumes ever saw the light of day. It was not until Dark Horse Comics got the rights to the series in 2000 that the manga received wide release, in terms of availability.

* SignatureScene: The one scene where [[http://kotaku.com/everyone-wants-to-ride-motorcycles-like-in-akira-877851402 Kaneda stops his motorcycle]]. It's the single most famous scene that has been homaged countless times and will be remembered forever in pop culture. Bonus points if they use their foot as a brake.

* TheProblemWithLicensedGames: Two of those, a Japanese one for the Famicom that was a frustrating VisualNovel, while a British game for the Amiga was NintendoHard and buggy (one level is even UnwinnableByMistake because one platform is beyond reach!).

* DarknessInducedAudienceApathy: Given that the story is set in a post-apocalyptic world where violence and corruption are rampant, with nearly every character being a reckless criminal, an authoritative megalomaniac, or a helpless victim suffering from poor living conditions, it is entirely possible for an audience member to become completely hopeless and indifferent towards their struggles. The fact that many of the characters look very similar to each other visually does nothing to help viewers distinguish between those who are at least somewhat likable and those who are simply not likable at all.

* FunnyAneurysmMoment: [[https://soranews24.com/2020/02/18/did-the-akira-manga-predict-the-coronavirus-epidemic/ A blurb]] in the manga claiming that the World Health Organization was being criticized for its handling of a pandemic was even more prescient in 2020 during the UsefulNotes/COVID19Pandemic. In addition, the story is in a backdrop of the 2020 Neo-Tokyo Olympics, and Akira was apparently buried below the unfinished Olympic stadium. On September 9, 2013, Tokyo was selected as the host of the 2020 Summer Olympics, which would almost happen... until the coronavirus delayed it by a year (with the strong possibility of it being cancelled altogether).

** [[https://soranews24.com/2020/02/18/did-the-akira-manga-predict-the-coronavirus-epidemic/ A blurb]] in the manga claiming that the World Health Organization was being criticized for its handling of a pandemic was even more prescient in 2020 during the UsefulNotes/COVID19Pandemic.
*** In addition, the story is in a backdrop of the 2020 Neo-Tokyo Olympics, and Akira was apparently buried below the unfinished Olympic stadium. On September 9, 2013, Tokyo was selected as the host of the 2020 Summer Olympics, which would almost happen... until the coronavirus delayed it by a year (with the strong possibility of it being cancelled altogether).
** The violent anti-government demonstrations/riots depicted in the movie have become this in 2019 in the real world with the anti-government demonstrations in Hong Kong and moreso in 2020 with the widespread anti-PoliceBrutality demonstrations in the USA.
** While the effects of Akira's power are of course intended to look like an atomic bomb, the Beirut warehouse explosion of August 2020 bears a remarkable resemblance to the climax of the movie, with its [[https://youtu.be/DwRF5liTGB4?t=10 white hemispherical shockwave]] [[https://youtu.be/T4sz69SYsDw?t=88 sweeping across the city.]]

** It's kind of humorous to see the Soviet Union around in 2019 given how [[TheGreatPoliticsMessUp the whole government collapsed like a house of cards just one year after the manga's completion]].

** The 1989 dub: "Do it NOW!"

** While the effects of Akira's power are of course intended to look like an atomic bomb, the Beirut warehouse explosion of August 2020 bears a remarkable resemblance to the climax of the movie, with its [[https://youtu.be/DwRF5liTGB4?t=10 white hemispherical shockwave]] [[https://youtu.be/T4sz69SYsDw?t=124 sweeping across the city.]]

** While the effects of Akira's power are of course intended to look like an atomic bomb, the Beirut warehouse explosion of August 2020 bears a remarkable resemblance to the climax of the movie, with its [[https://youtu.be/DwRF5liTGB4?t=10 white hemispherical shockwave]] [[https://youtu.be/LNDhIGR-83w?t=54 sweeping across the city.]]

** [[https://soranews24.com/2020/02/18/did-the-akira-manga-predict-the-coronavirus-epidemic/ A blurb]] in the manga claiming that the World Health Organization was being criticized for its handling of a pandemic was even more prescient in 2020 during the Coronavirus crisis.
*** In addition, the story is in a backdrop of the 2020 Neo-Tokyo Olympics, and Akira was apparently buried below the unfinished Olympic stadium. On September 9, 2013, Tokyo was selected as the host of the 2020 Summer Olympics, which would almost happen... until the coronavirus delayed it by a year.

* ToughActToFollow: ''AKIRA'' was such an influential and massively successful piece that Creator/KatsuhiroOtomo never rose to the same level again afterwards. To wit, ''Manga/TheLegendOfMotherSarah'' which he wrote and completed afterwards was also popular and took much longer to complete (16 years) but was always overshadowed by its predecessor, despite its high-brow and intricate plot. Likewise, his first major manga ''Manga/{{Domu}}'' is also not as known despite its quality.

** China's aggressive invasion of Japan hits a little close to home with China building staging point islands starting in the early to mid 2010s.

** Also in the film, [[spoiler:Kaori's death - she's pulled inside Tetsuo's mutating, expanding body and ''squashed like a bug.'' '''Onscreen.''']]

* SeinfeldIsUnfunny: The 1989 dub, which was well regarded when it first came out, but is disliked by newer fans who are used to hearing the 2001 dub or original Japanese audio. Likewise, older fans who are used to the 1989 dub dislike the 2001 dub.

* TheyChangedItNowItSucks: Many fans of the manga have this complaint because the film tries to cram the first third of the manga into a single movie (many for first two acts it has plotlines following three to four characters at a time) and doesn't use the rest due to a divergence in plot.
* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter: Kaori is Tetsuo's girlfriend and probably one of the few people who really understood/cared for him. She only gets a few lines and screen-time before being [[spoiler:killed off unceremoniously]].

--> Kaneda: Let's sit down and talk about the Revolution and stuff!
--> Kaneda: Hey, your bike's still burnin', man!

* RetroactiveRecognition: Creator/MatthewMercer, who would become better known in the 2010s, appeared in the 2001

* RetroactiveRecognition: Creator/MatthewMercer, who would become better known in the 2010s, appeared in the 2001 dub.
* RomanticPlotTumor: Just narrowly averted with Kaneda and Kei's romance, because it's not really developed that much onscreen.

* AndYouThoughtItWouldFail: While they were both fans of the film, Creator/StevenSpielberg and Creator/GeorgeLucas thought the film would be unmarketable in the United States. The movie became a cult hit, and its arrival in the West became one of the defining moments in leading to the growth of the anime market outside of Japan.

* GenreTurningPoint: In the West, the film kicked off interest in anime for adults. Ironically, its financial failure in its home country of Japan meant that it was not only almost a GenreKiller, but alongside ''Anime/RoyalSpaceForceTheWingsOfHonneamise''-- which saw a similar notorious failure to live up to box office expectations [[AcclaimedFlop despite being hugely acclaimed by critics]]-- it even threatened to put the entire future of anime production in serious jeopardy.
* GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff: For some reason, the film was overlooked in Japan while it received positive reviews in the Americas and Europe, basically introducing anime aimed at adults in those regions. The film version was also cited, along with ''Anime/GhostInTheShell'' and ''Anime/SerialExperimentsLain'', as influences for American films like ''Franchise/TheMatrix'' and ''Film/{{Chronicle}}''.

* GenreTurningPoint: In the West, the film kicked off interest in anime for adults. Ironically, its financial failure in its home country of Japan meant that it was not only almost a GenreKiller, but alongside ''Anime/RoyalSpaceForceTheWingsOfHonneamise'' -- which saw a similar notorious failure to live up to box office expectations -- it even threatened to put the entire future of anime production in serious jeopardy.

** The 1988 dub: "Do it NOW!"

* SeinfeldIsUnfunny: The 1988 dub, which was well regarded when it first came out, but is disliked by newer fans who are used to hearing the 2001 dub or original Japanese audio. Likewise, older fans who are used to the 1988 dub dislike the 2001 dub.

** The violent anti-government demonstrations/riots depicted in the movie have become this in 2019 in the real world with the anti-government demonstrations in Hong Kong.

--> Kaneda: ''"Let's sit down and talk about the Revolution and stuff!"''
--> Kaneda: ''"Hey, your bike's still burnin', man!"''

* GatewaySeries: Towards adult-oriented anime and animation in general. Remember, the movie hit western theaters around the time that ''Disney/TheLittleMermaid'' (the film that kicked off the [[UsefulNotes/TheRenaissanceAgeOfAnimation Disney Renaissance]]) was first playing, so its arrival outside of Japan came at the perfect time.