[Column] Why does AKIRA still sound like the sound of the future? — Avant-garde folk sounds and the resurgence of cyberpunk
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Prologue: Why “AKIRA still sounds like the future”
Text: mmr｜Theme: Why AKIRA still sounds like the “sound of the future”—Prophecies about the city and the body drawn by avant-garde folk sounds
In 1988, an animated film was released from Japan, which was in the midst of the bubble economy. The original work is by Katsuhiro Otomo. The music is by Shoji Yamashiro, who leads the entertainment Yamashiro group. The name of the work is AKIRA.
Even though it’s been nearly 40 years since its release, the sound of this movie never gets old. In fact, in recent years, with the resurgence of cyberpunk, the context of ““Why AKIRA Still Sounds Future’’ has become stronger.
The reason is not just nostalgia. Runaway cities, tensions between the state and technology, youth”s outbursts, and the transformation of the body. The soundtrack, which plays at the intersection of folk music and electronic sounds, eerily resonates with today”s world.
In this article, based on facts, we will decipher how AKIRA’s music became the “sound of the future” through its production background, acoustic structure, cultural influences, and the process of re-evaluation.
AKIRA’s sound anticipated our present, not the future of 1988.
Urban Prophecy: The acoustic space called Neo Tokyo
Original work and film adaptation process
The original manga ““AKIRA’’ began serialization in 1982, and the story unfolds in Neo-Tokyo after a nuclear war. The movie version was released in 1988. The total production cost was unprecedented at the time, making it an outstanding project in the history of Japanese animation.
The story is set in Neo Tokyo in 2019. Military experiments, anti-government demonstrations, motorcycle gangs, and the development of supernatural powers. It depicts the collapse and rebirth of a city, strongly reflecting the atmosphere at the end of the Cold War.
The music was conceived in parallel with the film’s production. Director Otomo sought a more fundamental, religious sound rather than the existing anime-like accompaniment. As a result, the group that was singled out was the entertainment Yamashiro group.
Positional relationship with Cyberpunk
AKIRA is often ranked as a masterpiece of cyberpunk. Blade Runner came out in 1982, six years before the movie was released. This one depicts urban decadence using Vangelis’s synth sounds.
On the other hand, AKIRA did not express the future only with electronic sounds. Rather, it brought to the fore ethnic, ritual, and physical sounds, sounding technology and magic at the same time.
This choice would later update the image of cyberpunk.
Neo-Tokyo was built not only by sight but also by sound.
The structure of avant-garde ethnic sound: The challenge of the entertainment Yamashiro group
What is Geino Yamashiro Gumi?
The Geino Yamashiro-gumi was a musical group formed around Shoji Yamashiro that researched and practiced folk music. His research subjects included Indonesian gamelan, Balinese ritual music, and African polyrhythms, and he attempted to reconstruct them in his own way.
In producing AKIRA’s music, they applied actual vocal techniques and percussion instrument structures, rather than simply creating a “folk music style.”
The opening song ““Kaneda’’ is symbolic. Drums, choruses, and communicative vocalizations. The beats are not simple four-beat beats, but are layered with complex rhythms.
Fusion of electronic and folk sounds
AKIRA’s soundtrack combines ethnic elements and synthesizers. However, electronic sounds are not the main character. It only functions as a space expansion device.
The reason why this structure created a sense of the future is clear.
Much of the ““future sound’’ of the 1980s was centered around synths. However, AKIRA brought to the forefront voices and percussion instruments that could be described as primitive. The result was a sound whose time axis could not be determined.
It was a sound that belonged neither to the past nor to the future.
AKIRA’s future was built not only on technology, but also on the sounds of ritual.
Body and Sound: Sound Design of Runaway and Transformation
Rhythm of the bike scene
The motorcycle chase at the beginning of the movie is more than just an action scene. The emphasis on rhythm, synchronization with the sound of the engine, and the beat of the drums create physical excitement.
Sound does not follow vision, but instead represents the heartbeat of the body. The audience subconsciously synchronizes with the rhythm.
Tetsuo’s transformation and sound
In the second half of the story, Tetsuo’s rampant abilities and physical transformation are powerfully depicted in terms of sound. The combination of high-frequency electronic sounds, undulating bass, and the tension of the chorus creates an audible sense of unease.
What is important here is that the sound is not just a performance, but is ““part of the story.’’
Music is not the background. It exists as a voice that symbolizes the will of the city, the pressure of the state, and the collapse of the individual.
AKIRA”s sound was not the character”s emotions, but the heartbeat of the city itself.
Chronology: Intersection of AKIRA and Cyberpunk
When it was released in 1988, it was shown not only in Japan but also overseas, gaining cult popularity in North America and Europe.
In the 21st century, it is being reevaluated with Blu-ray and 4K remastering.
Furthermore, in recent years, the resurgence of games and anime has strengthened the context of cyberpunk. One of the symbols of this is Cyberpunk: Edgerunners.
Amid this resurgence, AKIRA is once again referred to as the “completed form” rather than the “original.”
AKIRA was not at the forefront of its time, but rather a work that repeatedly challenged its times.
Influence and succession: Spread to global music and visual culture
AKIRA’s visuals and music have influenced many creators. Neon cities, motorcycles, military research, and runaway youth.
In terms of music, the idea of fusion of ethnic elements and electronic sounds was later connected to experimental sounds and club music.
Particularly important is that it breaks down the stereotype that ““the future = cold electronic sounds’’. Rather, it showed that the future could be depicted with a physical and indigenous resonance.
AKIRA’s influence remained on the world not as a quote, but as an update of ideas.
Why is it happening again now?
Real cities have caught up
Coincidentally, 2019 was the stage year for AKIRA. Pandemics, social unrest, national and personal tensions. It seemed as if the real city had caught up with fiction.
Return of Cyberpunk
Cyberpunk aesthetics are being reevaluated in games, anime, and fashion. Neon lights, prosthetic bodies, and a surveillance society. AKIRA is at the origin of that visual code.
But even more important than sight is sound.
In the age of digital, the multilayered physical voice and percussion sounds paradoxically fresh.
AKIRA’s sound was created not by AI or algorithms, but by collective human vocalizations and breathing.
Because we live in a digital age, AKIRA’s physical sounds sound like the future.
Conclusion: A work that continues to resonate the future
AKIRA’s music is not fixed to a specific era. The experimental spirit of 1988, the results of ethnic music research, and the turning point in anime history. They have crystallized and still resonate in a new way.
The answer to the question “Why AKIRA Still Sounds Future” is simple.
That”s because they didn”t depict the future with electronic sounds.
Ritual, chorus, percussion, and urban noise. By mixing them, he created a sound that was free from the time axis.
AKIRA did not predict the future. It presented the future sound.
AKIRA is not a finished work, but a future that continues to resonate even now.
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