A few months ago, I proposed to the editors at The Japan Times that we do a piece paying tribute to the classic cyberpunk anime film "Akira," which turns 30 years old on July 16. They were enthusiastic and the pitch ballooned (not unlike Tetsuo in the film's final scene) from a single article to an "Akira"-themed weekend to an entire Akira Week (or rather, #AkiraWeek).
Actually, lots of great anime was released in 1988 — Studio Ghibli's "My Neighbor Totoro" and "Grave of the Fireflies" are just two — but "Akira" turning 30 feels particularly significant. Its setting, after all, is a 2019 Tokyo gearing up for the 2020 Olympics — and its themes of disaffected citizens rallying against a corrupt government while the threat of nuclear destruction looms doesn't exactly feel unfamiliar, either.
#AkiraWeek has only a few days to go. By now, readers are either looking forward to seeing what "Akira"-related piece is coming up each day or are tired about reading about a 30-year-old cartoon.