AKIRA: A Dream of Catastrophe

The theatrical version of AKIRA was released 38 years ago today, on July 16, 1988. The film is set in a Tokyo preparing for the 2020 Olympics, as opposition to the Games gathers momentum. During the pandemic, when our generation was awaiting those same Olympics and their postponement was being debated, the film’s prophetic quality became a topic of conversation again in Japan.

Thinking about it now, it feels like we’ve been dreaming of catastrophe ever since then.