In celebration of legendary Japanese film <i>Akira</i>, released in 1988.

It’s not unusual for a film to define an era. For the 1980s it was Back To The Future and the 1990s had Pulp Fiction and The Matrix. As far as defining a genre goes, that’s a little more difficult, but when it comes to anime, there’s one movie that everything will always be compared to. The anime community is notoriously divided, but ask anyone what the most influential anime of all time is, and the answer will likely be Akira.

It is 30 years since the seminal anime was released, and its influence has only grown. Directed and written by Mr Katsuhiro Otomo, the cyberpunk anime tells the story of local biker gang leader Kaneda whose best friend Tetsuo gains telekinetic powers after a motorcycle accident. Beyond that, the plot becomes difficult to explain with any sort of brevity, but it involves secret government experiments, neon-soaked skyscrapers, atomic bombs and children with psionic abilities, all set across the sprawling futuristic metropolis of Neo-Tokyo. Violent, intense and beautiful to look at, Akira is regarded as a cult film insofar as anime is regarded as a cult genre. In reality, it could be credited with bringing anime into the mainstream.

Less palatable than family-friendly anime movies such as Studio Ghibli’s Spirited Away or Howl’s Moving Castle, Akira is much more abrasive and hard to swallow. It’s rumoured online that Messrs Steven Spielberg and George Lucas both turned down the opportunity to bring Akira to the US in the 1980s for fear it wouldn’t resonate with Western audiences. No matter whether this little nugget of internet lore is true or not, 30 years on, the film could not be accused of not being a hit with a Western demographic.

The film’s 30th anniversary (16 July, to be precise) is a particularly important date, not just because it marks three decades since one of the most influential animated films hit the big screen, but because we’re almost living in the year in which the film is set, 2019. Not only that, the film also predicted that the 2020 Olympics would take place in Tokyo (Akira itself is housed inside a cryogenic chamber underneath the stadium). A case of life imitatating art? We hope not – this isn’t the kind of film you’d want to live through – but these coincidental details make its legacy even more impactful.

And its legacy appears in unexpected places. Mr Kanye West has tweeted that it’s one of his favourite movies of all time (of all time!), and heavily referenced the film’s medical imagery in his “Stronger” music video. Once you start to look, Akira’s influence becomes obvious elsewhere, too. Stranger Things creators The Duffer Brothers cited it as an influence. The series revolves around an adolescent with psychic powers fighting against a militarised government laboratory.

If you haven’t seen it yet, consider this the perfect time. This month, to mark the anniversary, Akira will be shown at the British Film Institute in London, as part of its Anime Weekender, alongside Studio Ghibli favourites such as Princess Mononoke and Paprika, the last movie from Mr Satoshi Kon, the director of _Perfect Blu_e. Akira’s pyrotechnic visuals and thundering soundtrack are impressive on an old laptop, but the chance to see it on the big screen is an opportunity that shouldn’t be passed up. And the next time someone asks you what the most important anime of all time is, you’ll know the answer.

Akira is being screened at the BFI Southbank in London on 9 and 14 May

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