At one point, where they're being transported by a gorilla in a sports jacket in his kart, a kid in the audience exclaimed "It's just like the game!".
Yes, yes it is.
Anyway, I went to the cinema last night to see a cartoon!
Now, it's not like those kiddy cartoons, this one comes from Japan and is definitely not aimed at kids!
It's a little film called "Akira".
My local cinema is showing some older films like Alien/Aliens and The Mummy and one of them was Akira (1988 via the cinema) for it's *gulp* 25th anniversary.
Showing my age a bit, but I convinced my dad to take me to see Akira at the cinema around 1988.
I'd heard about it, possibly in C&VG at the time and definitely in a magazine like Starlog or Starburst and it sounded amazing.
As a kid, I'd always clicked with cartoons that had that unique style from Japan, like Battle of the Planets, Thundercats and Transformers, so I knew a film made in that style that was strong sci-fi would be right up my street.
I spotted that it was being shown at Aston University's cinema, The Triangle and my dad was able to be badgered enough to take me.
It's one of those niche nerd things you always remember - a film nobody really had heard of, let alone seen in the UK and I managed to get to see it, years before Manga Entertainment existed because their first release was Akira in 1991 on VHS.
I was a bit panicked when the Clown Gang rip off the top of Tetsuo's girlfriend, worried my Dad would be unimpressed, but as I looked over, I was relieved to see he was already fast asleep, catching flies!
Anyway, it was a joy to see on the big screen again and it was wonderfully loud.
I think that opening 15 minutes where we're introduced to Kaneda's gang and we race through Neo Tokyo is one of my all-time faves.
Such a thrill and finishing with a mysterious boy able to destroy buildings with just a scream.
The animation is gorgeous too. I know there are ways to cut corners in animation, but there's none of the classic Hanna-Barbera repeating backgrounds and it predates computers filling in between frames, heh, even shipping it off to Korea for the in-between frames to be filled in on the cheap!
So, for me, this is still and all-time classic that's a thrill to spend some time with.
Yes, yes it is.
Anyway, I went to the cinema last night to see a cartoon!
Now, it's not like those kiddy cartoons, this one comes from Japan and is definitely not aimed at kids!
It's a little film called "Akira".
My local cinema is showing some older films like Alien/Aliens and The Mummy and one of them was Akira (1988 via the cinema) for it's *gulp* 25th anniversary.
Showing my age a bit, but I convinced my dad to take me to see Akira at the cinema around 1988.
I'd heard about it, possibly in C&VG at the time and definitely in a magazine like Starlog or Starburst and it sounded amazing.
As a kid, I'd always clicked with cartoons that had that unique style from Japan, like Battle of the Planets, Thundercats and Transformers, so I knew a film made in that style that was strong sci-fi would be right up my street.
I spotted that it was being shown at Aston University's cinema, The Triangle and my dad was able to be badgered enough to take me.
It's one of those niche nerd things you always remember - a film nobody really had heard of, let alone seen in the UK and I managed to get to see it, years before Manga Entertainment existed because their first release was Akira in 1991 on VHS.
I was a bit panicked when the Clown Gang rip off the top of Tetsuo's girlfriend, worried my Dad would be unimpressed, but as I looked over, I was relieved to see he was already fast asleep, catching flies!
Anyway, it was a joy to see on the big screen again and it was wonderfully loud.
I think that opening 15 minutes where we're introduced to Kaneda's gang and we race through Neo Tokyo is one of my all-time faves.
Such a thrill and finishing with a mysterious boy able to destroy buildings with just a scream.
The animation is gorgeous too. I know there are ways to cut corners in animation, but there's none of the classic Hanna-Barbera repeating backgrounds and it predates computers filling in between frames, heh, even shipping it off to Korea for the in-between frames to be filled in on the cheap!
So, for me, this is still and all-time classic that's a thrill to spend some time with.
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