Retro Duo, anime edition: Akira (1988); Ninja Scroll (1993)

Akira (1988)

Director: Katsuhiro Otomo

One of the granddaddies of modern anime, and this one still holds up quite well.

Like Fist of the North Star and Vampire Hunter D, Akira was one of the titans of anime film that I watched many times back in the early 1990s. Not having seen it in over two decades, though, I wasn't sure how it would feel. I needn't have worried.

Based on director Katsuhiro's Otomo's equally-lauded, massive manga work of the same name, the story is a science-fiction action tale that takes place in Tokyo in 2030, now "Neo-Tokyo," nearly four decades after a mysterious and immensely powerful weapon had destroyed much of 1992 Tokyo and triggered World War III. The main story follows a few adolescent biker gang members, led by Kaneda, who become enmeshed in a bizarre and terrifying confluence of events and powerful figures. At its center is a long-buried, secretive science program that had, several decades earlier, been experimenting on children in order to harness energies no less powerful than the Big Bang itself. Kaneda's best friend, Tetsuo, is accidentally imbued with similar powers, but he has no training or assistance in controlling them. The result is a devastating variety of psychokinetic abilities which, though at first granting Tetsuo immense power, eventually overwhelm and threaten to consume not only him, but also the entire city of Neo-Tokyo.

At its heart, Akira is a cautionary tale about mankind meddling with the forces of nature. The way that it tells this story, though, is truly a sight to behold. The film melds several conventions of speculative fiction, horror, and action extremely well, and it does it on as epic a scale as one could imagine. When Tetsuo is first afflicted by the side effects on his newly-acquired powers, we get several nightmarish hallucination scenes that are as creepy as some of the best shows in the horror genre. As his abilities rapidly crescendo, the military and science groups who try to rein in Tetsuo find themselves hopelessly outmatched. But as they try ever-more powerful methods of stopping the young man, the scenes of destruction grow larger, more devastating, and more captivating for us viewers. What starts as a few soldiers and doctors being carelessly dismembered eventually escalates into Tetsuo destroying entire tank regiments, city blocks, and even a massive laser satellite in space, all with mental powers that have been unleashed.

Freaky, handsy teddy bears are just the beginning of Tetsuo's
problems. The eerie music that accompanies these scenes just
makes them that much more horrifying.

Scale is one thing, but it isn't everything (I site every Michael Bay Transformers movie as evidence). What makes the movie enthralling much of the time is the aesthetic. Katsuhiro Otomo was actually trained as an architect, and it shows in both in manga and animation. He had an excellent sense of how to use negative space and scale to create sequences which, even if chaotic and packed with action, make an impression beyond objects and people simply flying around the screen. To put it simply, there are a ton of gripping action scenes that are a blast to watch.

The story has always felt rushed, even if mostly compelling. This isn't really a big surprise, given that Otomo's original, serialized manga was a sprawling, 2,000-plus page tale that delved into multiple storylines involving Tokyo society, political corruption, and several other grand themes, along with the gradual erosion of Tetsuo's sanity and his friendship with anti-hero Kaneda. Otomo did a commendable job in condensing many of the main points of his larger story into a 2-hour movie, but the pace can often seem too brisk, not offering us enough time to know or care much about the main characters.

I would be remiss if I did not mention one of the movie's greatest strengths - the soundtrack. I had forgotten just how haunting and evocative it is. This movie is very nearly three decades old, but the score has not aged a day. It is still an amazingly slick fusion of electronica and traditional Japanese sounds, including driving taiko drums and even deep-throat Buddhist chanting. Like any great soundtrack does, it immensely enhances every scene during which it is played, from the motorcycle street races, to Tetsuo's earliest nightmares about the toys, to the finale during which the titular Akira emerges to try and stop the seemingly unstoppable, cosmic and destructive forces exploding from within Tetsuo. The music always hits just the right notes and tones demanded.

I was glad to fire this one up again. Far more than just bringing me back in time nearly three decades, it proved to still be an impressive work of film making.

Ninja Scroll (1993)

Original Japanese Title: Jubei Ninpucho

Director: Yoshiaki Kawajiri

Back in the mid-1990s, MTV would occasionally air brief, one- to two-minute clips of animation from fringe artists or foreign countries. I recall being stricken by a phenomenal clip of a quiet samurai crossing a bridge, only to be assaulted by a trio of thieves whom he dispatches with lightning-fast sword work and a few slick one-liners. I was dazzled, but also frustrated by not knowing what it was or where I could get more of it. Luckily, not long after that initial exposure, I discovered the source to be Ninja Scroll, a feature-length samurai/fantasy film. After watching the full movie, I was borderline obsessed. I bought the VHS tape and watched it at least once every year through the rest of the decade. My viewing rate slowed down after that, so familiar was I with the film, but this recent viewing renewed my appreciation for this anime masterpiece.

The story follows Jubei Kibagami, a drifter samurai/ninja for hire in the mold of classic lone gunmen/samurai in the films of Sergio Leone or Akira Kurosawa. Jubei is a master swordsman with a keen wit and a soft spot for the little guy. Through little fault of his own, Jubei becomes embroiled in a sinister power play to overthrow the local government by the "Eight Devils of Kimon," an octet of villains possessed of bizarre, supernatural powers. Jubei teams up with a female ninja, Kagero, and a crafty old government spy, Dakuan. As the trio try to fend off the lethal Devils and their otherworldly abilities, Jubei discovers that their leader is an old nemesis whom he had thought dead. This turns a mission of survival into one of revenge.

Jubei's duel in a quiet bamboo forest with the blind sword
master Mujuro is my favorite stand-off against one of the
lesser Eight Devils. It's relatively short, but has a fantastic
atmosphere and one of several clever turns in the film. 

To this day, this is my favorite anime film. As a viewer in his early forties now, I still appreciate the clever little turns in the plot and the overall tight storytelling. In my experience, most anime puts more emphasis on aesthetic, at the expense of thoughtful or mature plotting or character development. Ninja Scroll is a rare exception. I won't suggest that it can stand up to high-quality live-action movies, but there is still something genuinely moving and engaging to be found in this period tale. Jubei is well-constructed character, and when he finally loses his cool in the final sequences, his rage is fully palpable.

Of course, great ninja/samurai anime shouldn't just be solid story and characters. We came to see some sword-swinging action striking visuals, right? Right. Well, Ninja Scroll is tough to top in this department. The concept of having a set of villains with abilities like rock-hard skin, being able to literally melt into shadows, or unleash a horde of deadly wasps from a hive built into one's back is a great start. Couple such bizarre attributes with hyper-slick, dynamic animation, and you have an action movie that is simply a blast to watch. The duels and fights are thrilling, and there are even some trippy visual sequences that make for a nice change of tone. Director (and chief animator) Kawajiri's semi-rough style may not be for those who enjoy the more pleasing, smoother animation of legends like Hayao Miyazaki or Katsuhiro Otomo, but I think his style is the perfect representation for his brand of adult-oriented violence and action.

Speaking of violence, Ninja Scroll has it in spades. Without going into detail, this one is absolutely not for kids. On top of that, there are a couple of sexual assault scenes that unfortunately bear the stamp of misogyny all-too often found in anime. It is only this latter blemish that I can criticize in this movie. Fortunately, the scenes do pass rather quickly, minimizing the discomfort they are likely to cause any thoughtful viewer.

If you enjoy any form of mature anime but haven't yet seen this movie, you owe it to yourself to give it a shot. It is simply tough to top.