Akudama Drive Masters the Art of Defying Expectations

            A good story is a balancing act when it comes to the expectations of the audience: stick too close to what your audience expects, and they’ll grow bored; veer too far and they may be confused or frustrated. This isn’t a knock on those of us who enjoy media so much as a recognition that we like both comfort and surprise. It’s hard to resist a story that lures us in with familiar ideas and themes but turns them on their head in unexpected and exciting ways. So, it is with the twelve episode cyberpunk anime series Akudama Drive

​            On its face, it has several tropes we’ve seen before: a dystopian future, supercool criminals, a big heist, a badass motorcycle. What’s interesting is how the story uses them. In the Kansai region of Japan, ruled by a ruthless totalitarian government, seven Akudama, criminals of extreme notoriety, are hired by a mysterious benefactor in the guise of a black cat to perform a series of jobs for a big payout. We meet the silent, professional Courier (none of the characters have names and are known only by titles), the young, idealistic Hacker, the giant, gregarious Brawler, the alluring, ruthless Doctor, the incompetent, lying Hoodlum, the creepy, psychotic Cutthroat, and Swindler, an unlucky innocent with a terminal case of mistaken identity. The Akudama are hunted by a pair of government-sanctioned Executioners, which tells you everything you need to know about Kansai’s approach to justice. 

​            On its face, it has several tropes we’ve seen before: a dystopian future, supercool criminals, a big heist, a badass motorcycle. What’s interesting is how the story uses them. In the Kansai region of Japan, ruled by a ruthless totalitarian government, seven Akudama, criminals of extreme notoriety, are hired by a mysterious benefactor in the guise of a black cat to perform a series of jobs for a big payout. We meet the silent, professional Courier (none of the characters have names and are known only by titles), the young, idealistic Hacker, the giant, gregarious Brawler, the alluring, ruthless Doctor, the incompetent, lying Hoodlum, the creepy, psychotic Cutthroat, and Swindler, an unlucky innocent with a terminal case of mistaken identity. The Akudama are hunted by a pair of government-sanctioned Executioners, which tells you everything you need to know about Kansai’s approach to justice. 

​Akudama Drive is not for the faint of heart. Characters you care about will die and there’s no clean, happy ending. But lest you think this means it’s a tragedy, or even worse, a bummer, be assured that this is not some nihilistic bloodfest that leaves you empty and frustrated. Through their choices and actions, these misfits and lowlifes and unlucky bastards find meaning, dignity, and yes, even hope. The story defies your expectations up to the very last moments, just as the Akudama themselves defy the fate their inhuman society would choose for them.