Neo-Tokyo is about to explode! A 35mm presentation of the original theatrical release of AKIRA by Streamline Pictures.

Thirty years after a devastating explosion engulfed all of Tokyo, a new monster looms in its place. Neo-Tokyo, a mega-city inhabited by street thugs and drug pushers; a city in the pocket of corrupt politicians and capitalists. The lifeblood of the city, though, are the bike gangs that crash through its arterial streets, waging a violent war against the the system and each other. Caught up in an everyday turf war with a rival gang, two kids, Kaneda and Tetsuo, fall on the wrong side of the law; but while Kaneda gets churned out by the courts, Tetsuo catches the eye of a group of scientists who awaken in Tetsuo an incredible untapped psychic power. As this power grows, Tetsuo goes rogue and lashes out a society that abused him, all while Kaneda and a group of rebels begin uncovering a secret that could tear Neo-Tokyo apart.

Gorgeously animated — without computers, mind you — Akira is an absolutely essential piece of science fiction. Cool, complex, and epic, Akira is a film that demands attention. An early cross-over success for anime in America, and as genre defining to cyber-punk as Blade Runner and William Gibson’s novel Neuromancer.

Part of Nitehawk’s November ANIME AFTER DARK 2 midnite series.