A red futuristic motorcycle comes to a sliding screeching stop in the middle of a highway. The glow of the city lights fills the backdrop of the scene. Akira: the poster child of 80s anime.
Released in 1988, Akira still has a lasting impact on pop culture worldwide today. This is due to the movie’s examination of complex topics such as the negative impact of nuclear warfare, a dystopian future, and the overreliance on technology. With its beautiful design, fantastic animation, and excellent plot, Akira connected to its audience on a deeper level, resulting in its perpetual endearment to this day.
Akira is one of many anime shows popular with the seinen crowd. So what exactly is seinen? Seinen (青年), translated as “young man” in Japanese, is the classification of adult males aged 18 to 40. Seinen anime are Japanese animations that target this category of mature audiences who, unlike the preceding shonen (young male teen) audiences, has a more sophisticated taste in the media they consume.
Greater emphasis is placed on character development, and mature themes such as politics and death are showcased, with seinen shows produced during the 80s-00s reflecting this demand. One such example is the Mobile Suit Gundam television series.
Originally starting as a shonen series in the 80s, the Gundam franchise expanded into the seinen territory as their audiences grew up. Their first OVA (original video animation) was the Mobile Suit Gundam 0080: War in the Pocket, which featured movie-like animation and a dark anti-war theme that made the original Gundam series pale in comparison. The success of Gundam’s OVAs and Akira in the 80s laid the groundwork for other seinen anime such as Cowboy Bebop and Ghost in the Shell to flourish in the 90s.
The popularity of these shows meant seinen shows from the 00s have become largely mainstream, with titles like the Puella Magi Madoka Magica series being universally known by audiences for their unique spin on the classic mahou shoujo(magical girl) genre. The introduction of seinen anime in the 80s has only led to its continued popularity, allowing the genre to thrive into the foreseeable future.
For anyone keen to learn more about seinen anime, here is an extensive list of my favourite seinen anime:
Neon Genesis Evangelion, Gurren Lagann, Blue Submarine №6, Hellsing, Last Exile, Ghost in the Shell, Patlabor 1 and 2, Cowboy Bebop, Freedom Project, Spriggan, Tekkonkinkreet, Millennium Actress, Tokyo Godfathers, Paprika
