Welcome back to Double Feature, the IDS film podcast where the powers that be let us in a podcast booth to give you hot takes and maybe some lukewarm ones too.
For the most part, American animation consists of only children's movies. While studios such as Pixar and Laika produce gorgeous and thoughtful films, at a certain point the limitation of ratings can take away from the work itself. The movies are beautiful, yes, but they're still for kids.
Where are the animated thrillers? Where are the animated films that verge on the disturbing, the challenging, the questionable?
The answer: Japan.
This week, hosts Annie Aguiar and Chris Forrester discuss "Akira" and "Perfect Blue," two influential and influential movies that happen to also be anime.
"Akira" tells the story of a youth biker gang in the futuristic, cyberpunk metropolis of Neo-Tokyo, set in the then-impossibly far away year of 2019. Since its release in 1988, the movie has gained a cult following and is occasionally credited with introducing audiences outside of Japan to anime.
"Perfect Blue" is a psychological horror thriller following Mima, a pop star who starts to lose track between reality and fantasy when she quits music to pursue a serious acting career. Released in 1997 and directed by Satoshi Kon, the film is one that leaves the audience as unsure as its protagonist of what's real and what's fake, but in a good way.
This week, special guest Donovan Harden joins the podcast. Harden is an aspiring filmmaker and an IU junior — and he's also an "Akira" super fan.
