AKIRA - Opening Sequence Analysis
My detailed breakdown of the opening sequence to AKIRA (1988) - Click HERE to view sequence.
Who/what has been selected? What can you see? Why is it there?
DENOTATION
Aerial pan of Tokyo in the year 1989, exploding. Followed by aerial shot of New Tokyo with a title that translates to "31 years after the 3rd world war in the year 2019, New Tokyo." At 1:20, a large red font appears, reading "AKIRA" over an image of a large crater in the ground.
CONNOTATION
These two shots give an audience an idea of where the story is set, and most importantly, the context of the story. The explosion of the former Tokyo is shocking as it is said to have occurred in 1989, a year after the films release. It is hinted that this is linked to the mentioned, "3rd world war." This gives the audience a foothold in the story. The final shot of the large crater shows the audience the remains of 1989, offering more context and showing how 'Neo Tokyo' is in a new location and is incredibly different. The title loge - 'AKIRA' is striking and memorable due to the bold red. The image appears as a drum beats, making the title more dramatic.
Mise-en-Scene - Locations, Costumes, Props, Casting, NVC, Lighting, Colour
DENOTATION
The first and second shots of Tokyo contrast greatly in regards to the colors used. Heavy use of faded browns and reds in the second of shot present it Neo Tokyo as greatly run down. Lighting is unsaturated.
CONNOTATION
Pre-Explosion Tokyo is portrayed as picturesque. It looks a beautiful, clean and orderly city. Simple, pretty colours illustrate this. The colours are faded however, this could highlight the fact that it is the Tokyo of the past. Neo Tokyo much uglier, the camera descends through sprawling red and brown cloud, showing Neo Tokyo to be dirty and perhaps dangerous. The contrast between the two cities underlines the devastation of the explosion and the events of 'The 3rd World War'.
Technical Construction - Camerawork, Special Effects, Resolution, Framing
DENOTATION
A low aerial shot of 1989 Tokyo, panning up to an explosion near the horizon which destroys the city. An incredibly high aerial, bird's eye view shot of Neo Tokyo, zooms down. Finally an extreme long shot of a huge crater.
CONNOTATION
The aerial framing in the first two shots displays the scale of Tokyo (more so 1989 Tokyo) and the power that the explosion much have had to destroy such a vast city. The birds eye view shot of Neo Tokyo portrays it as an isolated and sprawling city, it is shown to be cold and bleak from such a height. Furthermore, The camera appears to resemble a military device; insinuating the city could be a 'warzone' or simply very dangerous.
Audience - Demographic, Psychographic
The film is an anime. In 1989 anime was a far less popular genre of film. The term relates to Japanese animation films. Akira has an interesting demographic as it is considered a ground-breaking film for anime and Japanese film. In the US and much of the West animation was, and often still is considered to be angled towards children and families. However, in Japan, anime has long been considered an art form and are far more sophisticated, often with more adult themes than Western cartoons. In Japan, the demographic would have been mainly young adults and not children due to the films mature story and deep themes. When the film arrived on US shores due to the buzz it had created in Japan its demographic was somewhat unknown. Few films like it had been seen by a US audience and Stephen Spielberg and George Lucas; huge hollywood directors labelled the film "Unmarketable." The film slowly became a massive hit in Japan and since 1989 gained a cult following in the West.
Part Three to follow shortly...
Begins with iconic title crawl explaining context of film. Shows rebel ship trying to escape through space from an enormous imperial star destroyer. Ends with battle on rebel ship in which the rebels appear to lose. Finally, the main villain, Darth Vader emerges.
Opening shot of space shows the visually stunning (for the period) setting as well as the enormity of the imperial starship, which stretches further and further across the screen. The size of the imperial starship conveys it to be extremely powerful and thus shows the rebel starship to be an underdog with massive opposition. The one sided fight onboard rebel ship further extends portrayal of Vader's men as extremely powerful. From the smoke and wreckage of the battle emerges the villain Darth Vader. His entry at the end of the fight shows him to be the leading and prevailing antagonist. 
These two shots give an audience an idea of where the story is set, and most importantly, the context of the story. The explosion of the former Tokyo is shocking as it is said to have occurred in 1989, a year after the films release. It is hinted that this is linked to the mentioned, "3rd world war." This gives the audience a foothold in the story. The final shot of the large crater shows the audience the remains of 1989, offering more context and showing how 'Neo Tokyo' is in a new location and is incredibly different. The title loge - 'AKIRA' is striking and memorable due to the bold red. The image appears as a drum beats, making the title more dramatic.
The film is an anime. In 1989 anime was a far less popular genre of film. The term relates to Japanese animation films. Akira has an interesting demographic as it is considered a ground-breaking film for anime and Japanese film. In the US and much of the West animation was, and often still is considered to be angled towards children and families. However, in Japan, anime has long been considered an art form and are far more sophisticated, often with more adult themes than Western cartoons. In Japan, the demographic would have been mainly young adults and not children due to the films mature story and deep themes. When the film arrived on US shores due to the buzz it had created in Japan its demographic was somewhat unknown. Few films like it had been seen by a US audience and Stephen Spielberg and George Lucas; huge hollywood directors labelled the film "Unmarketable." The film slowly became a massive hit in Japan and since 1989 gained a cult following in the West.
