Akira’s Ending, Explained
As influential anime go, especially in the west, Akira is at least in the top five of that list, if not at the very top. But it was at an extreme disadvantage in the west when it was first released in 1988. Back then, there was no internet to explain what was going on during its very surreal ending, never mind much of what was going on with the story at large. That the manga it was based on wasn't available was certainly no help either. The latter was at least within the realm of possibility compared to the former. Given the ending, it could be argued that no matter how much time the anime adaptation had, there'd be no making sense of it. But much like Evangelion, this is one of those films best experienced emotionally, rather than logically.
In Akira's dystopic, cyberpunk city of Neo-Tokyo, science is pioneering, but that pioneering doesn't appear to reach those who have fallen through society's cracks. And those cracks have been getting bigger. Motorbike gangs running amok in the streets, their disaffected teenage members beating on each other with pipes and throwing each other through restaurant windows, all appears to be par for the course in the inner city. The education system seems to be failing as well, with equally crumbling school infrastructure. Meanwhile, as far as pioneering science goes, it's joined hands with a corrupt government that, while not entirely explained, is at least shown to be worth reforming considering they can get away with their scientists scraping up random boys like biker gang member Tetsuo off the road and subject him to psychological experiments without suffering any legal repercussions.
Akira: How Katsuhiro Otomo Directed His Own Manga's Adaptation
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