MEET THE CREW

Hayao Miyazaki said, "Whenever someone creates something with all of their heart, then that creation is given a Soul." Few films embody this philosophy more than AKIRA. Every frame of AKIRA is infused with an undeniable energy—an intensity born from the painstaking work of human hands. As a visual artist myself, I am in awe of what the Japanese animators accomplished with this film. It’s a level of craftsmanship that, in today’s industry of digital shortcuts, would be impossible to replicate.

I didn’t truly understand the scope of what went into AKIRA until I attended a panel at Dragon Con, where a collector broke down scenes from the film in a presentation. Every so often, he would pause and pull out actual production art—original pieces from the movie—that we could come up and see up close and personal. I was blown away! I’ll never forget seeing a massive background painting in stunning detail. The sheer number of hand-painted windows in Neo-Tokyo’s towering megastructures was already unbelievable—but what truly stunned me was that the artist had taken the time to paint individual details inside the rooms. Tiny desks, bookshelves, curtains—things you’d never consciously notice. And in the final shot this piece was used for? Only a small sliver of that insanely detailed painting was visible for just a few seconds. That level of dedication, that obsessive attention to detail, is what makes AKIRA a masterpiece.

With this documentary, I want to trace AKIRA’s journey to America from the pages of Katsuhiro Otomo’s groundbreaking manga to its mind-blowing film adaptation and beyond. I want to explore how it shaped an entire generation of artists, filmmakers, and storytellers—including myself. This is more than just a history lesson; it’s a love letter to a film that redefined what was possible.