VIDEO REVIEW: Akira

REVIEW: Memories

Memories
Directors: Koji Morimoto, Tensai Okamura, Katsuhiro Otomo
Year 1995

Memories is a truly amazing animated film comprised of three separate science-fiction tales that depict strange and twisted worlds where anything can happen. Each enthralling story is directed by three equally talented masterminds of the animation world, Koji Morimoto, Tensai Okamura, and Katsuhiro Otomo.

Morimoto is best known for his work on the interesting Animatrix and Robot Carnival films and in Memories he brings us an absolutely haunting tale of grief and loss in the vast void of space. Okamura, the talented creator of the Wolf's Rain series, tells a strangely intriguing story about a man who's stink literally threatens to choke the world. Lastly, Otomo, director of Neo Toyko, Akira, and Steamboy, brings together the last tale in this series of stories. In his piece, he depicts a world that is stuck in a never ending war against an unseen enemy, bound to their endless duty to their country.

This film and its series of stories was an absolute joy to watch. I'm going to do a short review for each story, because they really should be treated as three separate films. There's so much going on in each story and there are so many interesting themes going on, that they really warrant an individually analyzed look.

Magnetic Rose

Director: Koji Morimoto

Magnetic Rose is simply amazing and it's one of my personal favorites among the other stories. A small crew of space travelers suddenly come across an SOS signal moments after completing their current mission. They agree to check out the source of the beacon and to their surprise, come across a seemingly deserted and decaying spaceship surrounded by a claustrophobic cluster of debris. This rescue mission turns out to be more then they could have bargained for when an unknown entity begins manipulating their minds, showing them their deepest desires and most dreaded fears.

Heinz asks the question, "Who's bad?" 

What's great about this story, is that it has so many levels to it. We're given a great science fiction tale about a mysterious and abandoned spaceship in the middle of nowhere, but underneath this seemingly straight forward narrative, is a story about memories and how they cling to us. Director Koji Morimoto takes something abstract like memories, that only exists within ones mind, and gives it a physical presence that threatens to bring about the demise of our main characters. The premise is solid and provides some extremely tender and often horrific moments that make you question if you'd be able to handle the emotional strain that delving into these seductive and heartbreaking memories tend to inflict on their recipients.

A friendly greeting from a creepy little statue. How nice. 

The narrative for this piece unfolds as we wade through this mystery and come to realize the haunting outcome and cause of all this insanity. The story is beautifully told, giving us enough sympathetic pull for the main character of this tale, Heinz. His past is filled with tragedy and we are slowly given hints on what has happened to him in his life before taking on the long lonely job in space. The small and ingeniously applied hints are placed with perfection, drawing in the intended emotion that we need to understand that something horrific has happened in Heinz's life, but without giving away the specific event, that is until the closing sequence of the story. It's an excellent combination of mystery and humanistic intrigue that keeps us wanting to know more about his love scarred character.

A tender moment on the soap opera, "As the Spaceship Turns".

The setting for this story is also something of an original mix. We are presented initially with a space tale, rooted in the trappings of every science fiction setting filled with harsh metallic living quarters and wide open expanses of a star filled void, but we are suddenly taken for a whirl when our main characters board the abandoned spaceship only to find that it has a lush victorian decor that instantly propels us into another film from a far distant past. At times it feels like you are watching an animated period piece as the only thing that stands out as being science fiction is the cumbersome space suits that our main characters wear. It's a clever combination and a great commentary on memories and the worlds and moments that they can transport us back to.

Just one of the many mind boggling scenes in Magnetic Rose.

Make no mistake, this science fiction tale does have a heavy dose of horror. It mirrors many of the more interesting science fiction horror hybrid films out there like both Andrei Tarkovsky and Steven Soderbergh's versions of Solaris. All films deal with a main character who is being haunted by his past, never being able to let go of what once was. The cause of main character Heinz's suffering, is rather unique and offers many forms of interpretation for any viewer that is willing to just let their mind go wild. I love the subtle use of fleshing out Heinz's back story and the fact that we don't get a defined and definitive version spelled out for us. It makes it more personal when you begin to fit the puzzle pieces together and come up with your own conclusion on what everything is all about.

Sleep well Sleeping Beauty.

Koji Morimoto has crafted an amazing story with Magnetic Rose and has given it a visionary look that keeps up with its ambitious narrative. This is truly one of the highlights of Memories and the only thing I wish the filmmakers had done, is to have put this one at the end of the series of short films. Ending on this story would have really brought the whole thing together and gave a better representation of the overall title, Memories.

Stink Bomb

Director: Tensai Okamura

Stink Bomb is an odd little story that really exceeded my expectations when I first found out it was a story about a man's stink taking over Japan. It sounds silly, and it is, but director Tensai Okamura presents this crazy premise in the vein of a viral plague that quickly dwindles down the population. There are some strikingly morbid shots in this film that seem to have been a great inspiration for the likes of Danny Boyle and his 28 Days Later film and basically any viral outbreak film that has come out in recent years. In a nut shell, Stink Bomb is a dark comedy with an epic scale.

Can you smell what the Nobuo is cooking?

The story follows a young lab assistant, Nobuo Tanaka, who in trying to cure his small cold inadvertently transforms himself into a walking version of the Black Death. By swallowing an experimental pill that his company had been manufacturing, Nobuo begins to give off an odor that when inhaled, causes instant death. Throughout the story Nobuo haphazardly travels across the countryside, unknowingly causing a wave of death in his wake, all the while dodging the hundreds of attempts by his government to stop him dead in his tracks. The story is out there and that's one of the main drawing points and overall charming qualities that Stink Bomb brings to this series of stories.

Break time is over everyone. Get off your asses and get back to work!

The character of Nobuo, is quite frankly, an idiot. After contracting the fatal ability to kill everything in breathing range, he doesn't for once think that he is the cause of all of the death around him. He keeps running towards anyone that he comes into contact with and in doing so he kills anyone that could potentially save him. His stupidity is what makes the story so entertaining and the fact that with every interaction he has with seeing someone keel over at the sight of him, his odor becomes that much more potent and widespread. It's both entertainingly rewarding and excruciatingly annoying that his character can't put two and two together and see that he is bringing about the apocalypse.

I hope that they had stink insurance.

Another entertaining factor of this story is the attempts of the government to quell this overbearing stink. They throw everything they have at stopping the odor from spreading, but can't seem to contain the pungent aroma. They even try to get Nobuo's grandma to talk Nobuo into hiding out in the mountains and away from the city, but seeing that grandma is as thick headed as Nobuo, her incessant ranting over the loud speaker spooks Nobuo into chasing the chopper towards the city, thinking his grandmother is in danger and being kidnapped.

There's even a highly hilarious scene where there are hundreds of jet fighters and army helicopters trying to blow the crap out of our anti hero Nobuo as he drives down the highway towards Tokyo. Every missile misses and the pilots and their machines begin to malfunction from the literally breathtaking odor. It's just wacky fun.

 Raise your hand, raise your hand if you stink.

The mayhem of showcasing the fall of civilization and the devastation that Nobuo's stink causes on the population is projected perfectly by director Tensai Okamura. We get some beautifully rendered images of cars overturned on the highway and lifeless stretches of countryside with only the bodies of the dead to populate its frame. It's a dismal visionary masterpiece with a tongue and cheek nature that never seems to take itself too seriously, but at the same time keeps that tone for its entire run time. There really isn't anything out there like it, that I've come across at least.

Blinded by the stink.

Tensai Okamura brings a much needed sense of comedy to Memories, that lightens the mood a bit and throws something entirely unexpected at the audience. The dark comedic moments juxtaposed against the all too real visuals of what a viral outbreak would look like, really add to the overall sense of this unique piece. The bumbling antics of the main protagonist as he thwarts the advances of the government and army never cease to get old and always add to the ridiculousness factor of the story. Stink Bomb is definitely a great addition to this collection of stories and one that you won't soon forget.

Cannon Fodder

Director: Katsuhiro Otomo

Canon Fodder is probably one of the most obtuse of the stories in this compilation. It follows the everyday actions of a single family as they perform their daily routines in a war torn society, hellbent on waging a war against an unknown enemy. The world in this piece is dark and depressing and the citizens that inhabit it are oppressed beyond the limits of imagination. The endless years of fighting have turned them all into lifeless robots, just going through the motions while they forge the progress of industry and feed the machine of war. It's a bleak piece and one that doesn't really have a structured narrative.

And BOOM goes the cannon.

The lack of having a traditional story line both helps Cannon Fodder and hurts it. It helps it by making it stick out from the rest of the pack by presenting something wholly original, but at the same time it hurts it because we never truly get lost in the story or caught up with its character's lives. It branches off in random areas and blends the three characters, father, mother and son, as they go about their daily routines, and the transitions between each character is beautifully blended. It almost feels like a montage of random scenes as we get an inside look at this tyrannical society as they go about their cyclical existence. It's interesting, confusing, imaginative, and soulless, but it brings all of these conflicting descriptions together into a story that feels original and unabashedly fresh. 

Probably one of the creepiest kids you'll ever come to know.

One of the best things that Cannon Fodder has going for it is the poetic nature of its shots and editing. Scenes flow into each other as slow fades introduce us into the next family members proceedings. There are some great moments like when the young son is day dreaming during class and the large window behind him begins to fade into a cloudy sky that depicts a rather large cannon preparing to fire. This then brings us into the fathers day as he and his team begin loading the cannons for their first barrage of attacks. The story almost has a dream like quality to it, one that never seems apart of the world, only seen through a young child's eyes as he tries to come to terms with the society he lives in. It's rather engaging, but still suffers from a lack of purpose.

And I ran... I ran so far away.

The world, depicted through the eyes of Katsuhiro Otomo, is stunningly detailed and thoroughly lived in, as we are witness to the cities expansive landscape and the intricate propaganda that litters the walls of the towns congested streets. The visuals pop with an overbearing sensation that this is indeed a harsh society where your only pleasures in life come from doing your duty for the victory of the nation. Otomo paints a world without personal freedoms and luxuries. One that is choked by tradition and obedience, never halting for love, life, or individual pursuits. If there's one thing that Cannon Fodder does well, it's depicting a society where joy is a thing of the past.

Now that's one crazy looking city.

An interesting aspect of Cannon Fodder is that it visually resembles nothing of Katsuhiro Otomo's other masterful works. Akira and Steamboy both shared similar subject matter in dealing with a society that feels oppressed and over governed, but the animation was strikingly different from what Otomo brings to the table on Cannon Fodder. In this story, the animation is strangely rugged and worn, almost disturbingly off, staying true to the nature of the dark tale. Another stylistic choice for going this route, might be to resemble the child like nature that the main boy feels while growing up in a society like this. We always feel like we're viewing the world through young eyes in this story and beginning the tale with the boy waking up in bed and then ending it with him going to sleep at night drives this notion even closer to home. It makes sense of the disjointedness feeling throughout and the dream like nature of the entire piece.

Dad didn't have the heart to tell his son his drawing sucked.

Even though Katsuhiro Otomo's Cannon Fodder is a far cry from the previous two stories, it still is an interesting look into a society that is focused on one thing, war. The tone that he sets up in the beginning moments of the story, stay constant throughout the entire run time. The obtuse nature of the narrative and the total randomness of the piece helps to bring something new to the series, but at the same time might draw a lot of people away from appreciating its subtleties. It's still one amazingly crafted tale, though strange at times.

Memories as a whole, is a highly enjoyable series that has so many great moments that I would love to see a follow up created by the same three directors. All stories in their own right had something to say and had an interesting way of saying it. Out of all three, I would have to go with Magnetic Rose as my favorite, because of how well the story was executed and for the level of immersion it was able to create in such a short span of time. I highly recommend this series of short animated stories to anyone interested in seeing something new and for lovers of anime, both veterans of the medium and newcomers with a curious mind. Memories is a great collection that deserves to sit upon your shelf of favorites.

4 out of 5 stars    A Great Collection of Awe Inspiring Stories.

REVIEW: Akira

Akira
Director: Katsuhiro Otomo
Year 1988

Akira is an artistically graphic and dark Anime that weaves a story full of Sci-Fi elements and horrifying visions that delivers an epic masterpiece on a grand scale. The story exists in an alternative universe where an atomic bomb has been dropped on Tokyo on the date of July 16th 1988. We then skip ahead to the year 2019 in Neo-Tokyo, 31 years after World War 3, where we get our first glimpse of what the city has become since the dropping of that atomic bomb all those years ago. The designs and look of the city are amazing and it's a great locale for this fantastically twisted film.

The beautiful lights of Neo-Tokyo.

We are then introduced to our main character Kaneda as he gets involved in a gang bike race across the city. This is where we get our first glimpse of how violent the society of this film is. The blood flies and bodies are tossed from their bikes as they scatter across the pavement in a blood trail, like a paintbrush across a canvas. This is definitely an adult Anime and one that proves that point, over and over again as the film progresses. This is what first caught my eye when viewing this film years ago and its brutal effects have never diminished since that first viewing. There's also a sleek style that is presented throughout the design of the film. The animation moves in a dynamic style giving many sequences of frenetic action that really set the pulse of the film rushing with adrenaline.

Kaneda showing us some cool tricks on his futuristic bike.

The story is actually intriguing and quite original with its strange complexities. The story is centered around a small group of strange children that look like shrunken and wrinkly senior citizens. These odd kids have immensely powerful abilities and are being studied by the government in able to find a way to harness their power. In the beginning of the story, one of these kids have escaped by the help of an underground resistance, and Kaneda and his gang end up colliding with this faction in a very chaotic way. One of Kaneda's friends, Tetsuo, ends up running straight into the escaping kid at full force on his bike. The impact sends an explosion sky high on the freeway, but amazingly enough the child is not hurt and stands there untouched. Tetsuo on the other hand is mangled by the wreckage, but surprisingly enough he is still alive. In a freak accident, the strange child's powers are transfered over to Tetsuo and that is when things start to get a little crazy.

Kaneda and friends are stupefied at what they are seeing.

After the accident, the government sweeps in and scoops up the child and Tetsuo and then they quickly disappear in their helicopters, leaving Kaneda and his gang to wonder what happened to their friend. Determined to find out the truth, Kaneda searches for answers and ends up joining with the underground resistance to find his friend and get to the bottom of things.

There are some very entertaining action sequences throughout this film and each one progresses the story to its ultimate finale that really blows anything you've seen out of the water. The scale of this film is big and it shows in the closing segments of this off the wall piece.

Kaneda the bad-ass.

The gore is also present in this adult tale of a government controlled city where people can disappear in a drop of a hat. There are limbs ripped, faces disfigured, bones broken, people exploding, and even people imploding. It really runs the gamut in showing new ways of how this society really is out of control and heading for a breaking point. The tone of the film really sets it apart from its more relaxed brethren and I believe it started a new trend in the Anime world, bringing more adult content to the forefront and introducing new people to this animation style. I for one started my dive into Anime with this film and I've had a hard time finding a film that topped the quality in this one. It really is in a world of its own.

There goes your face dude.

There is also some trippy sequences that occur when we are officially treated to the group of powerful children that are now under the governments watchful eye. They have an ability to get inside your head whether it's through dreams or just presenting something to you in the waking world. The visions that they bestow on to their intended targets are quite visceral and nightmarish in their content, that many of these sequences will leave you squirming in your seat on how unsettling they are. It's definitely nothing that you've ever seen before, when a giant teddy bear is attempting to crush your skull in while your drowning in what appears an ocean of milk. Weird stuff and something that catches you off guard when it finally comes crashing onto the screen.

Another hellish moment is when Tetsuo imagines that his body is disintegrating before his eyes, like he is being ripped apart by an atomic blast. This scene is downright creepy and the scream he utters is chilling. It's all very serious stuff and it's treated with a serious respect to the material making it that much more thrilling to see played out.

These hands used to be such strong hands.

Another one of the impressive action sequences that this film throws at you is when Kaneda and the resistance are trying to infiltrate the government's headquarters to save Tetsuo and they are in a kind of sewer system that spans for miles under the facility. They are ambushed by a security force that flies around on a kind of speeder, like from Star Wars. These hovering bikes are fast and deadly, as we are shown when a resistance fighter is splattered with gun fire and is left bleeding in the sludge filled waters. The movement of the frame and applied angles from the director are very impressive and give chase to a slew of great sequences that make the mind race. The film brings some highly memorable and kinetic moments that really make an impression.

Everyone hold on to your butts!

Visually this film is stunning and the things they are able to accomplish with their animation is quite impressive. The display of Tetsuo as his powers grow, really bring an impact to the audience. The force that he wields always seems lethal and on the brink of taking him over. The scenes of him as he attempts to escape the government facility is both brutal and astonishing as he rips apart hallways and spontaneously explodes a group of soldiers, showering their innards from the ceiling. Crazy stuff and all really impactful on the overall viewing of the film.

When Tetsuo has a tantrum you better watch out. The big baby.

There's also a fare amount of emotion that the characters display, giving the piece some dramatic flare to stand on. The scenes are highly entertaining as they struggle to come to terms with all the supernatural occurrences that keep happening to them. There's a main story arc that threads itself throughout the film that deals with Kaneda and Tetsuo's brotherly relationship. Tetsuo has been jealous of Kaneda's abilities and skills his whole life and after obtaining these super powers he then proceeds to abuse them, trying to show Kaneda that he is much more powerful then him now. It's a childish perceptive that is taken into gargantuan proportions, but it is reasonable that Tetsuo would choose this path after being the little guy for all of those years and living in the shadow of Kaneda. This little added touch with their relationship really helps to flesh out their connection with each other and gives us more information about them to help bring us deeper into their world.

The remaining gang tries to wrap their head

around Tetsuo's newfound power and attitude.

These powers that rage inside Tetsuo start manifesting themselves within his mind as he believes he is a god, unbeatable and uncontrollable. As the film progresses we can see the toll that these powers take on him. His persona grows more bold and demented as he takes on the government in a balls to the walls fashion, yet you can still feel this inner struggle that battles for the old Tetsuo to come to his senses and stop the rampant destruction that he has been unleashing within the city. 

We don't need no water let the

Tetsuo burn. Burn mother Tetsuo, Burn.

All of this devastation and destruction comes to a head as the final confrontation between Tetsuo and Kaneda commences upon the tattered landscape of Tetsuo's unchecked power. The film has been building up to this point like how professional boxing matches are promoted to the brink of insanity, piling on the anticipation for the inevitable bout. Well, unlike boxing, this match does not disappoint and it morphs from one round to the next as the stakes keep getting raised with each new confrontation.

In this corner, wearing a red cape and spiked hair,

is powerful demigod Tetsuo. In the other corner is

laser rifle wielding Kaneda in his red jump suit.

Let's get it on!

The battle is paced at a break neck tempo as the earth is cut apart from the devastating blows that are delivered upon it. The war rages up into the stratosphere as the government's satellite laser joins the carnage, raining beams of death from high above onto the battlefield. It's fun to see Kaneda, a normal guy, dealing with these two other superpowers as they display their muscle with earth shattering force.

Kaneda, wondering what the hell he's gotten himself into.

There's no shortage of limbs lost in this battle and each exertion of Tetsuo's power seems to increase his descent into madness all the more. At this point he has totally lost the person that he was and is now exuding his full strength in all its glorious and reckless abandon. The impact of this fight is on a global scale as the city of Neo-Tokyo is literally torn apart. The interesting part about this stupendous finale is that just when you think it can't get be any more of a spectacle, something happens that dwarfs the previous encounter and leaves it looking like an ant from a human-being's perspective. In other words, this shit is starting to get nuts.

Someone give this guy a hand. Oh and an arm while you're at it.

As the battle reaches it's climax, Tetsuo's powers become so uncontrollable that they begin to consume him and all the surrounding landscape, as it begins taking on the image of a giant blob. This grotesque and obtuse mass is quite disgusting with veins throbbing and pink fleshy chunks overlapping its bulbous form. If there was anything to make you throw up, this would be it, but that in fact would just be adding to its mass, because it looks like a giant ball of barf. This nightmarish creature threatens to consume all life around it, that is unless Kaneda can save the day and possibly his friend's life, which lies somewhere in the fatty bowels of this puke come to life.

Holy shit is that gross.

Of course I won't give the ending away to this over the top battle, but it's safe to say that you won't be disappointed with this film. It does everything right in making a stupendous vision and an impactful film, full of so many original ideas that it's literally busting from the schemes by the end of the movie. After viewing this film, you'll never believe that a cartoon is just for kids, or that an animated movie can't bring you such visceral images of a nightmarish world, where horrors of unimaginable scale dwell. This Sci-Fi blend is so satisfactory that I highly recommend it to anyone that wants to view something that they've never seen before and will likely never experience ever again. This movie is a must and it truly is an animation masterpiece that has set the bar too high to be topped.

5 out of 5 stars    A Classic Anime That Is A True Masterpiece!