Akira

Akira is a film adapted from the manga series of the same name by Katsuhiro Otomo. The film was a huge success, even outside its native Japan, and is often heralded as one of the all-time greatest anime ever produced. I first saw this film in 2007, and I have no desire to see it again. I know "classic" anime and I tend to not mix very well, but I cannot understand why this film was and still is championed as a "great" example of anime. The only thing great about this film is how it teaches you what NOT to film in an action ... film.

Story:


It's the future in Tokyo, or Neo-Tokyo, and everything has gone to Hell. The streets are a warzone between gangs, the government, and everyone else. In between all of this are a number of children with psychic powers that enable them to do pretty much whatever they want. One of these children is a teenager from a biker gang named Tetsuo. He and his friend Kaneda get caught up in the government's attempt to . . .

I'm sorry, I'm giving this plot way too much credit. Do you want to know what I recall this movie being about? It's a series of one senseless act of violence after another. Sure, there are scenes of expository dialog, and an important flashback, but this is pretty much the entire movie right here: someone gets the crap beaten out of them. Someone else gets shot. Someone else gets exploded. Someone else gets the crap beaten out of them. Throw in nonsensical psychic powers, among even more people dying whether they deserve it or not, throw in one of the worst endings in cinematic history, roll credits. The film does not even bother to explain most of the things that happen. It's pretty much like all those mindless action flicks that plagued Hollywood in the 1980s, except animated. Then again, Akira was made in 1988, so I guess it was just following the leader in this regard. 3/10.

Artwork:

Akira is famous for its fluid animation. Indeed, it is the oldest anime I've seen that has motion as fluid as what you would expect from an American animated film. As gruesome as the violence is, it is well-crafted. So why then does this only get a 6? Two problems. One, the coloring. I know, this is a bit unfair, seeing as how Akira is a pre-digital anime, but the coloring is drab for the most part. At times, it is fitting of its dystopian setting, but other times, it's just, well, drab. And two, this film has some of the most bland character designs I have ever seen in a theatrical animated film. It's like the filmmakers weren't even trying in this aspect. This and the coloring bogs down my score, but at least there's no choppiness in the animation. 6/10.

Sound:

The sound is alright. The soundtrack is eccentric, but works. The sound effects do their job. The ending credits song is lame retro 80s synth fluff, but it could've been worse.

I got to see parts of Akira in both Japanese and the English dub by Geneon. The Japanese dub is superb. Unlike most anime, Akira's Japanese dialog was recorded before the animation work was completed, much like an American animation. Unfortunately, because of this, foreign language dubs look off compared to the original. Now, dub purists are probably thinking, "But . . . but . . . Johnny Yong Bosch! Wendee Lee! Joshua Seth!" Yes, I love them too, but honestly, if for whatever morbid reason you do decide to watch Akira, you're better off seeing it in Japanese with the subtitles on. 7/10.

Characterization:

Characterization? What characterization? This, along with the threadbare plot, is what killed Akira for me. Who are these characters? Why are they doing the things they are doing? Why should I care for them? Only one character gets any such development, and that's Tetsuo. We learn his motivation and his desire to strike back at the world, and why he and Kaneda are conflicted with fighting each other at the end, but that is it. Seriously, that's all the characterization you get in this film. When a character dies, you don't care for them, because you know nothing about them. The characters whose names I even remember are Kaneda, Tetsuo, and Akira, and that's only because the first two keep shouting each other's name, and the last has his name in the title. Like, for example, who was that girl Kaneda kept hitting on? The one that, thanks to the lackluster character designs, looks like a boy? What was her purpose in all of this? What about all those government guys? The rival biker gang? The other children with psychic powers? And why does Akira do what he does in the ending? None of this is either elaborated, or done in a way to make me care as an audience member. 2/10.

Enjoyment: If all you want to see are brutal, pointless acts of violence, then you're in luck, because that's exactly what Akira delivers, in spades. If you want more than that, you're going to be sorely disappointed. I know this is a compressed adaptation of a manga, and the manga is supposedly better, (I don't know, I haven't read the manga version of Akira) but couldn't Otomo have made the anime at least stand on its own for those who haven't read the manga? As it is, it is a confusing mess, chock to the brim with sensationalized violence. Now, mind you, I don't mind seeing mature content in my entertainment. What I do mind is seeing "mature" content used only as a means to shock and awe the audience. That's all Akira does, and somehow, it managed to delude a large number of anime fans into thinking it was "deep" and "meaningful", when all it really is is a crappy 80s action flick that dissolves into nothing by the end. That's about as much sense as I can make out of the ending anyways. 3/10.

Now before any of you say "You just hate Akira because you didn't see it back when it first came out!", I want to point out that that is a moot point to make. My favorite film by Hayao Miyazaki, Castle in the Sky, predates Akira by two years, and is a much, much, MUCH more enjoyable film than this. And also, Katsuhiro Otomo would go on to make the film Steamboy, which, unlike Akira, actually has a proper plot, characters worth giving a damn about, really nice coloring, and slightly less bland character art. So really, there's no point in seeing Akira anymore, except to laugh at it, because as far as I'm concerned, the anime version of Akira is nothing more than a joke.

Oh Akira, where would anime be without you? Would Ghost in the Shell ever have come about without your cyberpunk aesthetics that influenced anime more than any other work, this side of Blade Runner? Would The Matrix have ever come about without either of those two works? The answer is probably no, and so I do have to offer some thanks to Akira for helping to inspire people from inside and outside Japan.

That said, I still think that Akira is largely a hodge-podge of crap.

The first few moments of Akira are breathtaking. We take in the lights, the sights and sounds of neo-Tokyo, a hauntingly ... familiar yet eerily distant dilapidated, frustrated city, rife with neon lights, traffic noise, and trash.

Sadly, it's all downhill from there.

See, Akira is a trilogy of 6 hours or so wrapped up in a 2 hour film. It introduces new characters, violence, and important plot devices faster than the motorbikes the characters blaze down the highway with. For a lot of people, this rushed pace, combined with the "weirdness" factor is going to be a turnoff. It is actually rather surprising to me that this anime is as popular and mainstream as it is, because I do not consider it very accessible at all.

The terrible pacing, sadly, becomes a bit of a snowball affect, or feedback loop. The more that is introduced the viewer, the more that needs to be introduced to try to clear up the former, but it doesn't really work out and now you're left with all kinds of new ideas that all feel horribly underutilized or misused. It doesn't help that the dialogue feels a bit like 80s Dragon Ball Z; lots and lots of yelling, little substance or insight into the characters or plot. Banal might be the word to use.

On that note, the central love story of sorts that is introduced halfway through the film is developed so fast, you might not even know it exists until you sit back and think about it for a bit, only to realize it was way too sloppy and feels forced. The characters never had much experience together, but before you know it, their trying desperately to save one another at their own peril.

To be fair, the original manga is a large scale work, but that doesn't eliminate all the blame for this mess.

Problem is, because there are so many characters and loose ends regarding them, it's hard to feel attachment, or even repulsion towards any of the characters. It feels sort of like they are all running like a chicken with their heads cut off, if I can use that term. Kaneda is not a compelling protagonist, and his rivalry with Tetsuo and his rise to power is suitably mishandled and tough to swallow. And the bottom line is, most of these characters are stock stereotypes. Kaneda is a bit of a womanizing gang leader. Tetsuo is... well, we don't really know what he is, but it's apparently enough for him to threaten every living thing on the planet. And yell a lot at Kaneda and everyone else.

A lot of people seem to like the soundtrack and sounds of Akira. While I admit the roaring motorbikes and city noises are great, the music seems inadequate. It peaks at all the wrong times, trying to drum up drama when there is little to go on. Perhaps part of it has been lost in translation over the years and it was more effective in the 80s. I myself am not convinced.

It's all too bad, because their are interesting ideas here; themes of fear of technology, class struggle, and more, but once again, they're rarely actually explored; merely hinted at by the film. We're not ever told why it's relevant or why we should sympathize or feel antagonistic at any of them, besides the shock use of violence. When you throw in the psychic powers and government conspiracy and the like, the whole thing just feels bloated without having real substance. It's a film lacking exposition; the aged psychic children, and powers, Akira, it's all barebones and too little to go on. Relevancy is never established.

I can't leave without saying that the violence is over the top, and not in a cool, stylized way. It more borders on ridiculous. But maybe that's fitting in a film as ridiculous as this. For me? I'll try to find something more thought out and compelling.

'Pioneering', 'classic', 'groundbreaking', 'compelling', 'masterpiece' - all words which describe this film upon a quick Google search.

Really? Reeeeally?

I had very high hopes for Akira - as anyone would - after endless recommendations from friends and being touted as the most important anime film of all time. But after watching, I was incredibly disappointed. THIS is supposed to be the most influential anime film? THIS? Never in my life have I witnessed something so mediocre be so overrated.
Let us discuss the various aspects of the film

STORY~
The plot could have a lot of promise - a secret government project of scientists experimenting upon humans in order to ... give them telekinetic powers. However, it is executed horribly. Little is explained in detail, the narrative is basically a wild goose chase of everyone trying to find Tetsuo and stop his powers spiralling out of control. There are more explosions and violence than actual narrative points and honestly, its just a big big mess. If you just enjoy people shooting at one another and an irritating teenage boy getting incredibly angry and blowing stuff up every scene, then I guess maybe this is for you, but quite frankly Akira offers little else.

ART~
Okay I know the manga was written in the early 80s. BUT WHY DOES THE CHARACTER DESIGN HAVE TO BE SO INCREDIBLY UGLY???? Kaneda, Tetsuo and some other guy from the biker gang (no idea his name because Akira doesn't care about characters at all- but more on that later) all look TOO ALIKE and it took me half of the film to be able to decipher between them. Also, why does the girl look exactly like Kaneda? Did the illustrator have literally no creativity at all? STUPID!!!!!

CHARACTER~
What characters? Absolutely none of the characters are developed, likeable or interesting. They are all incredibly two dimensional, most of them barely have a personality, and quite frankly I didnt even care if the protagonist Kaneda lived or died by the end of it. The withered little children were the only characters who even slightly intrigued me, yet we never find out any backstory for them.

OVERALL~
I honestly can't express what a disappointment this film is. I often heard people talk about how much Kanye West loves Akira and now, it makes sense - an incredibly overrated film for an incredibly overrated man.
It kept me mildly entertained, but I think that's only because I watched it with a friend and had lots of snacks - had I been alone, I would've turned this off way before the halfway point.

Fact: The Wright brothers' airplane was the first ever man made, rideable, controllable, heavier - than - air machine. It revolutionized human civilization on the scales with which only a few discoveries/inventions are comparable.

Question: Was it a GOOD airplane?

No. It was a crapy piece of junk that could barely fly and couldn't make a turn.

Conclusion: not EVERY "first" is the GREATEST. As a matter of fact, not every first is even AMONG the greats.

Akira, in many aspects, did for anime what the Wright brothers' plane did for aeronautics. It revolutionized anime. It changed many viewers' perceptions and expectations of what can ... be done with this weird art form from the land of the rising sun. It proved that it can do a lot more than disproportionate girls with eyes the size of flying saucers and foreheads you can land a 747 on. Heck, to be fair, it even looks a LOT better than the Wrights' ground breaking but rather deformed effort.

It did a bunch of other things too, though. Other, NOT so praise worthy things.

Akira set the trend for countless followers who thought LOOKING cool, IS being cool. Brought about the doctrine of "the hell with logic and cohesiveness as long as you have awesome visuals". It yielded a never ending array of smartass-wannabe anime and manga in which the amount of MEANINGLESS blood and gore and angry pre-pubescent protagonists were directly proportional to how fuckin' philosophically deep! the piece would be.

Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against blood, gore, or philosophical depth. But I need to see an effort on the part of the artist. An effort in creating a universe in which such extremities - or any other plot device for that matter - make SENSE. In creating characters from which such behaviour is justified, or at least understandable. Not a mish-mash of ideas pasted together SO haphazardly that you get the feeling not even the creator knew where he/she was going with it.

All in all, nobody can deny the influence Akira has had on the medium that is Anime. But just like the Wrights' plane, it can barely fly. And I doubt you'd be willing to take a ride on that thing even if Emma Watson would promise to tag along. You'd much rather appreciate it on display, in a museum, with both your feet solidly on the ground. Akira should be approached in the same way. It's a museum piece. A damn important one indeed. But not necessarily a good one.

Akira sucks. Overrated.

So many people saying "It's a great piece of art". OK, I didn't see it.

There's many anime movies and animes who work abstract concepts in the same way that akira's art pretend to do, and they did it so much better and with more (of any) sense. So it seems to me that is very, very overrated.

Art to me, like an old classic, it's not that special (There's other with more stetic)

Furthermore, I find the machism and sexist in the movie disgusting and repulsive. I know, I know, is an 80's film... But fuck, there's others anime and 80's film. And they aren't ... like that.

So in resume, not - in any case - that good as I thought by the amount of good reviews saying it's a wonder, a deception and a movie for dry and smelly machirulos.

1. Do not make this the first Anime you watch.
2. Do not use this anime to introduce someone else to anime

This is a very controversial anime (see the other reviews). For me it was the first anime i watched and i hated it completely.
It was the reason why i then steered well clear of anime for the following years until friends showed me "ghost in the shell".

I can understand why the art was contemporary and attractive, why the dystopian outlook and antisocial main character were hip, back when it was released in the late 80s. So i can guess that people who ... watched it back then may have fond memories but that does not make it any more enjoyable to contemporary audiences.

What i detest about the work:
The Main character is an asshole, the setting is a purely condescending view on the world. The entire story is basically about how the asshole main character lashes out at the world.

When you take into account that the art wasn't very exciting when viewed through my eyes in 2007, you can see why it isn't the best choice to introduce any newcomers to anime.

Long story short:
1. Your friend is a different person than you
2. 1988 is not 2021
3. Please don't ruin someones intro to anime with some hit-or-miss attempt with a controversial anime

Maybe the best format for introductions is a session where you both watch several different anime from different genres together and have the time to talk about them

Watch it once, this has peak art and animation, extremely beautiful, I just have to give credit were credit is due. Now, the film doesn't really give you even a second to breath and digest whatever the fuck is going on, by the end I had a headache and not much satisfaction. Felt rushed and lacked any explanations, if you need to see theories, read the original material or whatever to just understand what is happening, then it's poorly written/adapted.
I'm probably being a tiny bit unfair to this because I expected more, but it's really just a fine movie... (Animation and art is unrivaled though)

Akira is the pinnacle of an era that was filled by blood, gore, and violence. Certainly one wouldn't watch this film with their family by their side or even have a casual outing with friends viewing this film in a theater.

I'd argue, though, that one shouldn't view this film with loved ones not because of its graphic nature and rough artwork. One shouldn't view this film with loved ones because it is not kind to waste people's time.

Akira is definitely not overrated, not in the general sense of the term, anyway. It's a troubled piece of art that garners all the popularity it deserves ... and the controversy it merits is symbolic of its era, catapulting it to the forefront as one of the "best" cyberpunk films ever, even somewhat inventive of the genre and most certainly inspiring. But it does fall short on technical storytelling, so much so that I can't look at the movie in almost any positive facet.

*Some spoilers ahead*

Story: 3
The premise isn't in any way boring. It is important to remember historical context when reviewing films and given the films and shows of its time period, Akira was innovative with sociopolitical commentary while weaving an interesting story into it. What's unfortunate, though, is that the audience doesn't come to care for the story at all going into the film. Who the hell is Ryu? Who are the granny children? Yes, I know that movies are supposed to show and not tell, but I feel quite blind going through the story without a guideline of the limits of their power and exposition. It makes everything being displayed on the screen feel illegitimate, almost un-genuine, and I find myself laughing AT the film trying to kill off characters that I, frankly, could care less about. This isn't a rant about the characters, though, but it is a criticism of how the movie utilizes its characters and it's piss-poor. The plot is interesting and definitely has creative and artistic direction but it is hard to be invested in the story when the first half of the film go by as nonsensically as possible and the second half is just the film doing graphic things to underdeveloped nonsensical things in the first half.

Art: 7
Yes, the art is dull and bland but it is just charming in an inexplicable way. Maybe the way the dark, one noted color palate fit in with the dystopian, technological city. Maybe it's the way how the art-style and animation justifies its position as the poster boy of 80's dark anime. It's something that I can't place my finger on, but that makes it feel all the better. The only downside unfortunately is that by the end of the two-hour duration of the film, seeing the same colors and boring character designs get uninteresting and loses the charm. Still though, if someone were to ask me, "what's the first thing you think of when it comes to cyberpunk dystopian settings?", I respond "Neo-Tokyo".

Sound: 6
Akira sounds dark at times and definitely experiments with its sound. Some of it falls on deaf ears but I think the majority of the soundtrack sounds fine. Sound design? Forgettable, but most films have forgettable sound design in my opinion.

Character: 1
If I got a prompt asking me "what character do you care for?", I'd automatically know my answer. None of them. It's not that simple, though. Other than Tetsuo, we are left to guess the motivations of the other characters. Sadly, we've only seen the other characters for a grand total of 30 minutes and each scene is poorly put together in hopes the fans will make an hour long video of "analysis" as to "what does this scene mean!". In my opinion, if I can't understand a film after thinking about it for a prolonged amount of time (unless the film is a direct continuation such as EoE following NGE) and must read up on the "lore" and watch analysis videos, it just sucks. I know these things are supposed to be subtle but I literally was laughing as that one doctor character overdosed in a alleyway. Who is this guy? But the real violation of the film's integrity is the usage of Kei to save Kaneda from being sucked into Tetsuo's universe-thing or whatever. Kei, the girl who just screamed for Ryu half the movie and got harassed the other half saves one of the major characters and even is implied to like him after like, 25 minutes of screen-time with him, none of it even substantial? Please, save me the semantics, there is no symbolism and there is no excuse, the characters are underdeveloped, unmotivated as far as we know, but there are so many of them that the movie tries to actually hop perspectives. I'd prefer to watch Tetsuo. the character that I know their conflict and motivation rather than goddamn Ryu, thank you very much. Is Tetsuo complex and interesting? Yes, but a single character cannot save this category or even uplift it by a SINGLE point.

Enjoyment: 4
Interestingly, the film has an atmosphere that fits very well and enhances the overall viewing experience tenfold. Still, though, the aforementioned issues aren't just issues after being seen under a microscope, they are abundantly clear on the first watch and every watch after.

Overall, Akira almost, in an ironic way deserves its praise because it really does fit all the good, positive things I've heard about it. Beautiful, dark setting? Check. Controversial but not just for shock value? In my opinion, check. Has a message that accompanies sociopolitical commentary and observations of the government? Check.
But the whole is greater, or in this case, worse than the sum of its parts. A nonsensical story with characters that I don't know, don't care for, and don't like is not worthy of my adoration. Fluid animation that innovated the industry, sure, but nothing excuses the mess that is its story.

If I haven't made it clear, I respect the film for the strides it has taken and would never argue with an Akira fan of its influence and ability to age even into todays world of animation. But the issues it has are way too huge for me to personally treasure it or even give it a half-decent score. Akira, a 2/10 for me.

I went into Akira with these expectations:
First of all, the obvious: this anime is celebrated, highly rated and critically appraised - so it should be pretty good, at least not bad right?
Second, i also heard from reviews, that Akira includes some themes indicative of the time it stems from - which is what got me interested in watching it in the first place.


Story:
My favorite genres being comedy and slice of life anime, i knew that i wouldn't enjoy this movie if it includes action and violence for the sake of including action and violence. Action and violence can be enjoyable ... and meaningful in fiction, but Akira doesn't show that. Violence and action or fights as in Akira can be understood as a dialogue, which means that you as the viewer have to understand WHY they fight and what motivations they stand for - otherwise it's meaningless. And to me the violence apart from a few times where i understood the motivation of either party, the violence/fights and action scenes in Akira, which is most of the movie, were meaningless to me.
You can also make a point as a filmmaker or storyteller to convey a story of meaningless violence, which i don't think this story was going for. But for that it would suffice to show a couple of scenes of meaningless violence as an introduction and then focus on other more important parts of the story. The introduction and first minutes into the movie are in my opinion wuite well done and show the meaningless violence, the fights between the biker-gangs, with the police and also violence occuring in the city seperate from our protagonists.

The story of the movie feels like watching only random selected episodes of a longrunning TV-series. While you understand some things and can kind of follow the most important plotline, some things are confusing and it feels like you skipped some parts. If you want to cram a really long story into a two hour movie, you have to be really careful and deliberate about what you include in the final version and what you exclude - what is necessary and what isn't. Cutting a lot of unnecessary violence would result in more time for the story and circumstances (as well as the characters) that could be more fleshed out.

alas, i don't really get the point - 4/10


Art:
I really enjoyed the extremely detailed artwork. In comparison to many current anime, Akira includes a lot of introcate details, that i just know must have taken a lot of time and effort - which i admire. Especially the backgrounds where incredible.
The animation was really fluid and the colors are overall really pretty and unique.

On the other hand i did not enjoy the character designs. First, they are just not drawn in a style i enjoy. I also had some troubles differentiating the characters between each other, because - as much as we make fun of the "protagonist hair" as a troupe - it makes the characters at least distinguishable from each other.
And i still don't understand the point and creative decision behind making the children characters so hideous looking.

the art, design and animation are surprisingly what i enjoyed the most - 6/10


Sound:
The sound seems to be generally getting a relatively high score. I have to disagree.
I personally don't really notice sound design in movies that often, mostly only if it's really good or really bad. In Akira i thought for the most part that the sound was alright. I also appreciate the movie for trying some more alternative modes or ways of doing and creating the soundtrack.
But some parts of the story i was abruptly ripped out by what seemed like a guy moaning as soundtrack in the background (and this not as a sfx for a guy moaning but motorbike sounds, machinery, fighting, sirens or soundtrack and the like).

which is why i give this a - 4/10


Characters:
The characters in this were dissapointing. It would help if they would get some actual character development.
Kaneda and his friends/gang seemed like one-dimensional characters to me, simply summarized with "student protester/rebel". I don't understand his motivations whatsoever.
Tetsuo makes some more decisions on screen, but his character and his motivation after watching are not entirely clear to me. I think Tetsuo in Tetsuo: The Iron Man had more characterization than any character in this movie.
Those two characters are of particular interest as the movie makes it seem like we should care about these characters as our protagonists - but the thing is i don't care about them. Both of the were barely introduced and far from fleshed out. They are introduced as friends, so i feel like the movie wants viewers to care that they then turn on each other and fight against each other. But the thing with show don't tell is, that while the film TELLS the viewers a lot that these two are good friends and have known each other since they were little, it SHOWS them being at odds with each other from the beginning.

Kei seems like a obligatory female character/potential love interest that can also give some necessary exposition to the viewers aka plot device.
Besides them and the children, because they stand out visually, i couldn't really distinguish and remember the characters which made it incresingly difficult to follow the story.
all in all disapointing and it didn't make me care for any of the characters - 3/10


Enjoyment:
All in all, while i appreciated some of the detailed art and especially the scenery, i didn't really get into the story. In my opinion and experience if you watch more than 20% of a show or film and don't like it, you'll probably not come to like it later either. For me this was the case with Akira as well. While the first couple of minutes were entertaining, it went downhill fast.
With some background knowledge of the historical, societal and political context of the Japan at the time of the production/influences on the story, i really appreciated and enjoyed the themes of the movie indicative of it's time. Aspects include the atomic bomb, symbols surrounding the olympics, student protests, violence and clashes with the police. Especially watching the movie now in 2021 in wake of the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.
- 5/10


Overall:
Tbh i prefered Tetsuo: The Iron Man to this - 4/10

EDIT : For those saying that art is a masterpiece, let have some fun facts for you.
Ok, technically, Akira is the top notch of anime, with every scene very dynamic. But that's it, it's only technical. Why, you should ask ?
Firstly, nearly nobody saw it in 1988 (or 1989 depending on the country) in a theater !! So you were not here for the big show. Don't brag about something you never experienced.
Secondly, if you bought your VHS before 1995 (it was out in 1991), you probably watched it on a cathodic screen ! Woaw *clap* *clap* ; what a beautiful show with 380+ colors ... on a 32 inches CRT screen where all colors are blurred (due to the technology) and having 480p maximum !
Then, if you pick the remaster lately and watched it on a Bluray, then, please don't compare the show with 1980's anime quality but with actual ones.

Sure, in 1988, in theater, it was awesome. But we aren't in 1988 anymore, this argument doesn't stand ; there's no "Technique" mark, just a "Art" one. How it was made doesn't change how it is today.
I love technical stuff too, and I especially love Hardware, but that's not the point here and now.
----- End of this edit for those claiming it's a masterpiece of art. This *is* not ; this *was*.



This review is detached from how I scored the manga. And I would have rated it the same way if I haven't read the manga.
As for a fact I watched both Ghost in the shell, both series and anime (and film), and clearly this ... thing isn't worth your time. I think 3 a good overall mark given that I lost 2h of my time for a dreadful experience.

Story : 1
The story lies in the first few seconds of the anime : There was an explosion in Tokyo, which destroyed the city, and a new one was born out of it, and WW III is over. We are in 2019.
Then, nothing. No more story. Just a curious clog of character in successive events in an inexplicable chaos ; sorry they aren't characters, they are a name combined with a face, they don't have a background, a history, nothing (except for Tetsuo). In a 2h time, you have enough time to reproduce the original story. They should have try another entire approach.

Nothing makes sense, it's just violence, blood, sexual assault, psychedelic delirium, etc. Character barely have names for those not knowing them.
And it's taken from an objective point of view. I you read the manga, it's a shame and doesn't deserve to be written about.

Art : 6
It's not state of the art, except from some parts in the end. Lights are blurry points, drawing is fairly rude. Only the end and the very beginning are really well drawn.
Sure, it's visually moving everywhere, and that's stunning, but there's no clear use of this technique.

Sound : 6
Nothing to say about it, no soundtrack. Japanese voice are ... strange. Really I don't recall anything striking in the soundtrack.

Character : 2
As stated before there's no characters, just names (a few) and faces. They don't have any personality (maybe Kaneda is imbued of himself and Tetsuo wants to take his revenge on life). Tetsuo is basically the only character here.
Kei, Kai (not mentioned in the film), Ryu, the colonel, Miyako (not mentioned either) are just obliterated.

Enjoyment : 2
That wasn't enjoyment at all. None of this.
It was a nightmare to watch and won't watch it again. You can't find any fun since there is neither a story nor characters nor a decent soundtrack, something to rely on.
That's a supermassive black-hole of joy : it attracts all joy inside of you and it disappear.


Overall : 3
I'm very kind since it touches a very complicated story with very complex character that builds up over time. I think that instead of trying to adapt a story that can't fit into a 2h movie, they should have done an anime or do nothing at all.
I give them credit for at least trying, but it ended up nowhere creating a parallel story. Even Otomo didn't liked it.

Fullmetal Alchemist was released early (after tome 8 if I remember correctly) and got a parallel story, which I don't like that much, but at least characters are developed, there's a story, different and with some loopholes, but still it exists. And the OST is one of the best of all anime (probably with Darker than Black) with a pretty neat animation.

Akira in this version is the worst that can happen to a successful story and if you read the manga, you will probably cut the movie after 10 or 15 minutes of barbaric butchery. I personnaly think this is a bad idea to try to adapt it in a movie due to its age. Maybe in an anime, but not in a movie.

Good animation, fantastic art for its time. Much of its iconic scenes, such as its motorcycle tricks and action sequences were hugely inspiring for modern anime. However, it's lacking in everything else. If you're new to anime, I'd recommend staying away. For me, I watched it as a "gateway anime" (according to a friend) after a few Ghibli films, and it sadly turned me off from anime outside Ghibli for years. As a classic that's outdated in modern times, Akira is best watched by hardcore anime fans, to strike off their bucket list. The film has a vague, enigmatic story, jarring sounds, and overall ... it's not the most enjoyable.

I didn't like this movie. Akira, at its time, was something else, but now in the present time, I can't see it holding up. The story was pretty hard to follow because of all of the attention to detail in the background. Based on other reviews, the scenery and background is something that makes Akira Akira, so for the movie to have such incredible scenery and then an indecipherable plot is a letdown. The soundtrack wasn't anything special, and I dreaded the characters. They all felt like they were there for no other reason than to cause trouble. I ... particularly remember one character to be rather annoying and inhumanly stupid and prideful. That really ruined it for me. I didn't enjoy this movie at all, but I can admire the impact it had at its time. I would not rewatch Akira.

······· SPOILER-FREE

Superb fluid animation that doesn't age badly at all but a clusterfuck of a plotline and a very questionable drawing style (why the f do all the characters look the same with different clothes).

A good movie for me is the one that when finished you look for more information and makes you think/talk about it. But if that searching/thinking process is towards it's understanding and 'wtf did I just watch'-feelings, it failed as an entertainment piece. And Akira left me with 0 meditation and 0 debate (I had to search for the manga to try to understand what was it's purpose).

Akira is often credited with igniting the global interest in Japanese animation, making it a popular choice for viewers worldwide. I decided to check it out, and I can understand why it's considered revolutionary. However, I ended up being disappointed and bored in the end.

The first half of the movie was solid. I was intrigued by the mystery up until Tetsuo went on a rampage. The character development for everyone except the protagonist was weak and lacked depth. Tetsuo's erratic behavior was not clearly explained, and it felt like a typical American movie rather than an innovative Asian import. The movie also suffered from excessive ... side characters, making it difficult to keep track of and care about all of them. The plot was not adequately explained, particularly in the final twenty minutes of the movie. The ending was left unexplained, which may have been intentional, but it didn't resonate with me. The movie's theme, however, was clear to me - our dependence on technology and our disregard for its consequences pose a significant threat to the world. The message was good and thought-provoking, but the direction was sloppy, and the story was unengaging.

The animation is where most of my points for this movie went. It was stunning, with every shot displaying incredible movement and style and making for some awe-inspiring action sequences and grotesque moments. However, I have issues with the character design, especially the similarity between Kaneda and his love interest, Kei. It was challenging to differentiate between them. None of the main female characters looked female at all.

Overall, it's not a bad watch, but it's not a good one either. The film is similar to a summary movie based on a six-volume manga or a 2-cour season, which may explain why it felt so lacking. Anyway, I'm looking forward to seeing a complete anime adaptation soon.

After watching Ghost in the Shell, I was convinced I had seen the peak of self-important, abstract filmmaking. It was a film so loaded with its own perceived profundity that it suffocated the story. Akira, however, has shattered that illusion entirely, setting a new and formidable standard for the genre.

This film doesn't just flirt with incoherence, it embraces it. The plot feels reverse-engineered, as if the creators conceived a few key moments: the motorcycle duels, the grotesque body horror, a psychic apocalypse—and then worked backwards, weaving a frayed and unconvincing narrative thread to connect them. Somehow they involved all the elements that I would have ... otherwise and enjoyed and still not made it work. Character motivations shift on a whim, major plot points appear out of thin air.

In the end, Akira triumphantly joins Evangelion and Ghost in the Shell in the holy trinity of abstract anime that prioritizes style over substance. It offers no satisfactory answers and no emotional closure, leaving you with the distinct feeling that you've just witnessed a two-hour visual effects demo rather than a completed film.

Akira is one of those movies that when it came out it was revolutionary, but the more it gets old, the more it's evident of how... basic it is. And I'm being very nice by just saying "basic" (because, to be honest, I really hated it).

The plot is... oh man, WHAT EVEN is the plot? We have 2 hours and 4 minutes of the movie and most of the time I was lost and bored. I had to google so many times to understand what was happening, what was the objective, who was this character on screen and... oh, THE ENDING. WHAT????????!!!!!

Now, to be fair, ... I also googled about the manga and it sounds like it is more interesting, less rushed, more "complete" and just a whole different experience from the movie. I'm still debating whether or not I'll read it, but as far as the MOVIE ADAPTATION goes: I certainly don't recommend it!

The art is... not pretty. I get it: this is old, this is what anime looked like in the 80's, but still. The art didn't please me and it certainly pleased me even less when I focused on a character's mouth "moving" while they spoke (I put that word in between quotes because UGH it is so badly animated! It's like their entire face is still and only their mouths move, and barely so. I hated it.)

The characters are meh. I didn't like anyone, didn't feel a connection with absolutely any of them, I can't even remember most of their names! And some of them, I have no idea why they even existed (for example, Kei. Kaneda meets her for the first time and it's like love at first sight, he's all up for getting in her pants and I'm like: okay, but do you even KNOW this girl? who is she, why is she there, what is she going to do????)

I only started to actually get interested in the story in the last 20 minutes of the film. And by the end of it, I was back into being confused and unsure of what I had just watched.

Overall, Akira is one of the classics that I personally don't like, but as always, I have an unpopular opinion.

While the visuals thematically are great, especially considering it's a hand-drawn animation, the plot of the story is just one big fever dream, nothing makes sense, there are no characters you root for, and at any moment the movie just felt... baffling and confusing. Why would such a large government security building have such a small and poorly secured room for Tetsuo? And how did Kaneda just end up holding a laser gun out of nowhere? Tetsuo is almost worth sympathizing for, but just comes across as annoying and brash to his friends who helped him in the exposition. And Kaneda was just trying too ... hard to kill him for no reason, or for a reason not clearly explained by the film. The music isn't bad, and I understand electronic music wasn't around or barely around when this movie was made, I just prefer something more electronic or synthy, like Daft Punk for something cyberpunk. So sad, really expected more out of this film.