Why "AKIRA" isn't right for Hollywood
Anyone who has ever been a fan of ANYTHING before having it touched by Hollywood knows exactly where the rest of this article is going. Ninety percent of the film industry of today consists of ideas taken from previous sources- novels, comics, remakes, video games- anything that's already been made and saves studios the trouble of having to actually put forth any effort during the creative process is automatically considered before anything (God forbid) original. Because original ideas are too risky. Take a comic and turn it into a video game and you've already got an established fan base, 80% of your script, 99% of your story, and a 100% chance at profit since the production value wasn't very high to begin with compared to that of built-from-the-ground-up films. Even those movies that debut at #3 on the weekend boxoffice list and drop completely out of sight the following week make money. Not much, but it's profit, and in today's world, that's really all that matters.
"AKIRA" will make money. It already has a story that's not just an animated movie, but an insanely in-depth comic series which will be where they draw most of their ideas from. Not only is it great source material, but it has nothing short of a mythical reputation among the Anime community. Even if you have no idea what anime is, chances are, you've seen some small bit of Akira somewhere. Ever seen Michael Jackson's music video for "Scream", or the commercial for Absolut Vodka that's still in circulation? Or how about the entire Kanye West video for "Stronger"? If not, a quick Youtube visit will remind you that you most likely have indeed seen some part of this legendary film and didn't even know it. It's widely accepted as the greatest anime film ever made, and the most influential (I'll get into that later). So why shouldn't Hollywood take a shot at it? The established fan base alone is enormous, and we all know that the movie studios will only accept a "hip, stylish, modern re-telling" of the story that appeals to everyone, not just fans of the comic/anime. And that, as usual, is where the film industry will fail us as viewers.
All films that have been based on video games and comics have failed in the eyes of the fans. Most times miserably. And as I said, the excuse of the movie studios is always the same: they have to dumb everything down for people who know nothing about the particular comic/video game, and update the story/characters/script/soundtrack/themes to appeal to the general movie-going audience. I cannot fault them for this, as I am not the unrealistic type to believe that movies such as this have to be 100% faithful to the original content. Don't get me wrong, that is what I would definitely PREFER to see, but I've come to terms with the fact that this just isn't how the industry works, as unfortunate for us fans as it may be. Thus will be the case for Akira. The following will be an in-depth look at the many aspects that make the "Akira" saga what it is, and how they will most likely be altered for the live-action version of the film.
Story
Strip away the characters, dialog, soundtrack and visuals and you have a creation that is, at its heart, more deep, complex, and meaningful than even more attentive viewers of the original animated film can initially grasp. At the end of watching the original film, you may not be able to fully explain what just happened and why, but deep down you'll feel that it was something powerful... whatever it was. Yes, the most challenging aspect of the live-action film will definitely be the reshaping of the story to "make sense" to most people. This is why I doubt they will use the structure of the animated film, because that structure is entirely different from the comic (considered to be the only "complete" telling of the story). I have even heard talk of a two-part saga that would involve two films, which, strangely enough, would work perfectly. In the animated version, the movie ends with Tetsuo's power destroying the city, but in the comics that event takes place in the middle of the story. This would be the perfect ending for the first film, with a dazzling special-effects barrage of the kind of awe-inspiring destruction seen in the anime being the perfect climax for a big-budget, live-action, CGI-soaked film. So the split-point is there, should they go the two-part route. And even a multi-part film (not "sequels") is, in itself, a huge and unique event. Every film story that is released in multiple parts gets a lot of press, and is always built as an "epic motion picture journey" because of the way they're broken up. This could work very well in its favor, no doubt.
But then there's the story itself. Structure aside, there are MANY underlying themes and aspects of the story that stray very far from the sci-fi elements that you know will be the focus of the live-action film. These are things that will undoubtedly be removed from the new film simply because they will be seen as things that the average sci-fi moviegoer "simply doesn't care to see". Take politics for example. The politics of Neo-Tokyo are extremely interesting (to me at least) and really give the city itself depth and a true "soul", even when it's not directly affecting the main characters. The decaying state of politics in the city and how they relate to the incidents surrounding "World War III", as well as the current state of affairs with the project known as "AKIRA", sets up a political chessboard that sadly many casual viewers simply wouldn't be interested in playing on. Then there is the power of Akira itself. Where it comes from, what it is, and how it relates not to the cliche idea of "psychic powers", but rather to a much deeper tracing to perhaps the origins of life itself and "consciousness" as a whole; these are the things that become somewhat lost even in the animated version.
A hundred other factors could be easily named in this section alone, but what it all comes down to is that this is not a story like Batman or Resident Evil that can be broken down into common themes and relatable conflicts. Not without doing it an extreme injustice and completely straying away from every subtle detail that makes "Akira" what it is. "Man vs himself" could not even begin to categorize the complexity of this story. The science, politics, inner struggles, religious tones, philosophical aspects, and overall dark nature of the comic almost ensures that Hollywood has but a single choice when handling this film. Complex aspects must be removed, more common explanations must be put in place of the things that truly made you think and reflect in the comic and animated versions. In the end, I think fans such as myself fear that it will be a Silent Hill effect: people will walk away talking about certain scenes, but have absolutely no desire to experience the original source material. It will not make them think, it will hand-feed them sci-fi action and special effects and will amount to nothing more than a dim chapter in the storytelling evolution of this otherwise timeless story.
Characters/Cast
This isn't where I offer my casting suggestions for the characters; I try to stay away from getting my hopes up with "what if". What I think will happen with the characters is what usually happens with most remakes and adaptations, which is they are given scattered lines here and there from the source material and made to be more stereotypical in their roles. My hope is that they will try to retain the emotional flaws of the characters. Kaneda is a teenager living in a world far beyond his years, as are most of the main characters. The young characters in the story have all grown up in a world littered with terrible violence, gang culture, and extreme political unrest. The actors in the live-action version will most likely be in their 20's, but it would have been interesting to see these shocking events through the eyes of young adults forced to grow up faster than anyone rightfully should.
And speaking of emotional flaws, Tetsuo is without a doubt the most crucial aspect of the film as far as characters are concerned. His character is stereotypical in many ways in that he fits the "bullied kid that never really fit in finally gets his chance to get even" role. But beyond that is the absolute brutal mental torture that he endures once he awakens to his power. I can only imagine it feeling like wanting to rip your brain apart while on the floor yelling in a fit of rage and confusion, and I hope that Tetsuo's balancing act of sanity is powerfully conveyed and not made a mockery of. Not only the mental torture, but the physical as well, as the mind loses its grip on reality and begins manifesting all sorts of things within and around Tetsuo. The extreme pain that surely must come with having every nerve and tendon in your arm fused to the cold metal and wires of a self-manifested prosthetic arm made from scrap, along with the unimaginable suffering that must come from the mind losing control of the body in such a terrible and inhuman nature as shown in the film and comic. Without a doubt Tetsuo is the most powerful centerpiece to a live-action adaptation of this story, and while I'm sure most fans will never fully be satisfied by the casting or how he is portrayed, we can only hope that full attention is paid to his character and that he is not made as the scapegoat for the movie studio needing a heartless, careless, lifeless villain.Soundtrack
Perhaps the most heartbreaking things that I have had to come to terms with as a result of learning of this film's creation is the soundtrack. The "score" for the original animated movie is not a "score" at all, and definitely not contemporary by any means. One could hear it for the first time and hear nothing but noise, strange chanting, and more noise. Much of the music does not even have a "musical" quality to it, meaning much of it is completely devoid of harmonies, chords, and all around basic "listenability". When people ask me about the soundtrack or ask to hear it, I hesitate, only because I know that it is not for everyone. It is not something that can be played for someone and have them say "Wow, that sounds great". But buried beneath the exterior of this music is truly what I believe to be the most powerful force behind the film. It takes a while to hear it. It takes a long time to be able to feel it. But once you tune into the strange chanting and the explosion of percussion hitting you from all angles, you just may begin to see this "score" for what it truly is.
I would love to see the original soundtrack used in the film somehow. But the problem with the soundtrack is that it's not very well mastered. Volume levels, mixing, normalization, peaking- a lot of it would need some touch-up work, which is not impossible. The biggest problem with the soundtrack, however, is that it's too much for most people, in the same way the complex story is too much for most people. So expect to hear electric guitar riffs and a remade orchestrated score (if we're lucky), because I've all but given up hope on anything being reused for the live-action film, with the exception of a possible remake of the "Kaneda" track, which is all I can hope for.
The "Akira" Legacy
Some consider Akira overrated. Some say that simply because it "introduced the West to anime" doesn't make it "the greatest thing ever". People who are bandwagon-haters seem to think that most people only call it the greatest because it's like having "Gone With The Wind" on your top 10 film list- it's only there because it's on everyone else's. Granted, in the hardcore anime world of today, Akira may seem extremely tame, even borderline boring. The action isn't the same action as people flying across the screen with swords clashing, and the characters aren't the same kind of video-game-cutouts of the current animated generation. So I can understand why some, especially those who didn't have Akira as their first anime experience, paint it as overrated, confusing, and dull. But for the rest of us, it's not just about the film's influence. From a technical standpoint, the film is absolutely staggering. Watch the opening scene again and pay close attention to every detail on every piece of furniture in every window of every building, or the sheer number of pieces of debris that those same buildings crumble into at the end. No corner was cut, no texture was drawn flat, nothing in the background was blurred out or drawn plain. Even if the film is not your #1, as it is mine, anyone capable of appreciating great art, deep story, or groundbreaking ideas simply cannot deny the incredible power of Akira.
In Closing
I know that it is unfair to write off any aspect of a film that is so far from release. However, having followed these kinds of films for many years now, I've become accustomed to the routine. You have the "doomsday scenario" group who bash Hollywood and insist it will be crap, then you have those who say "Well [name of person] is doing the [script/effects/direction/producing], they also worked on[name of decent movie], so it could actually turn out well", or "Judging from the initial screenshots and teasers, it actually looks like they could pull this off". And, in short, they never do. They never pull it off, the films always get terrible reviews, and people like myself end up hating Hollywood just a bit more. So I would love to be proven wrong, but I try to be realistic. I firmly believe that if the film stayed 100% true to the source material, had a director and production team that truly "got" the story and poured actual emotion into it and didn't care about dumbing it down for people or making it "hip" for all viewers, then we would have the truly groundbreaking, Oscar-winning two-part epic that the story ultimately deserves. Needless to say, regardless of how bad it is, it will still end up in my collection. It will be interesting to come back to this 2-3 years from now when the first teaser is released, and see if my views have changed. Only time will tell.
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