【Technology Romance: Night 3】 Why does the near-future depicted in "AKIRA" never fade? Future gadgets seen from the 80s and the charm of a world view that still feels fresh today
Good evening, everyone! This is Hade-san, an IT support engineer in his late 40s.
In this third installment of "Technology Romance," a series where I talk about my fascination with technology, I would like to focus on the 1988 animated film masterpiece, "AKIRA."
I still vividly remember the shock I felt when I first watched "AKIRA."
The depiction of Neo-Tokyo, which is near-future yet somehow decadent and raw, and the bike action and psychic battles that unfold there.
This time, I would like to focus on the technology that appears in "AKIRA" and talk about its charm and its timeless freshness.
A world without smartphones or flip phones. The unique reality exuded by the gadgets in "AKIRA"
The setting of "AKIRA" is Neo-Tokyo in 2019. Although it is the near future, there are no smartphones, which are indispensable to modern society, nor even flip phones.
The main means of communication are public phones, landlines, and radios. This point is very interesting from our modern perspective.
Since it was a future depicted in the 80s, it is natural, but unlike a sparkling, clean future city, the streets of Neo-Tokyo, with their glaring neon lights and somewhat devastated atmosphere, approach the viewer as a raw future image that seems like an extension of reality.
The gadgets that appear also strongly reflect that worldview.
Futuristic depictions that leave a strong impact: EV bikes and portable laser rifles
One thing that cannot be left out when talking about "AKIRA" is the streamlined red EV bike ridden by Kaneda.
The low form that crawls along the ground and the overwhelming sense of speed were symbols of the future for us at the time.
The sprinting scene, which makes you feel the quiet power of an electric motor rather than exhaust noise, still gives us excitement that does not fade even today.
And another thing that leaves a strong impression is the portable laser rifle used by the government army and others.
It is a standard weapon in science fiction works, but in "AKIRA," descriptions such as an external battery and the rifle body itself are depicted realistically, making one feel the challenges of technological development.
Car TV monitors that were the future at the time
When the movie was released, car navigation systems were not yet common in private cars.
In such an era, the cars that appear in "AKIRA" are naturally equipped with TV monitors.
Isn't this one of the depictions that made the audience at the time feel the future?
The concept of not only displaying information but also enjoying entertainment inside the car could be said to be a prophecy that leads to modern connected cars.
Music playback via CD jukebox: The sense of temperature of the future as depicted by the 80s
The music jukebox placed in Snack Harukiya, where Kaneda and his friends gather. The fact that the media was a CD also reflects the era.
In the 80s, when music media was transitioning from analog records to CDs, the CD was the latest technology.
The fact that such CDs are depicted as the music media of the future brings a sense of nostalgic warmth even now.
Summary: The future depicted in 'AKIRA' is always new, no matter the era
Many of the technologies that appear in 'AKIRA' have not been realized from our modern perspective.
However, its worldview and visual expression do not feel old at all, even more than 30 years after its release. Perhaps this is because it depicts society and human psychology deeply, rather than just predicting the future.
The near future of 'AKIRA,' depicted against the backdrop of the 80s, feels like it highlights human relationships and raw emotions precisely because there are no smartphones.
Now that the speed of technological evolution is accelerating, it might be an interesting experience to occasionally engage with such works and compare the gap between the depicted future and reality.
See you then