Story:7
The story is Akira is good.... I can't say it's great because it just isn't as much as I wish it was. I'm gonna avoid spoilers but it starts strong in the story department but I feel it loses sight of where it's heading after a while but then it picks back up near the end. This problem could probably be attributed to a 6 volume manga being adapted into a 2 hour film. The story gets the job done but I feel that it could have used a bit more tweaking.
Art:10
Now this is where Akira truly shines. The art and animation is gorgeous and evokes so many feelings I just can't describe This film came out in 1988 and is mostly hand drawn with cell animation with CGI used in very few spots and wow it just looks fantastic. The action scenes move smoothly and look awesome, the backgrounds are detailed and help to build this gritty world we're shown, and the lighting oh I am going to talk for a while about the lighting. This movie uses its lighting to such great effect in every scene. Every scenes tone is set almost immediately by the lighting whether the characters are in a dingy bar or a laboratory or even a sewer the lighting sets the scene's tone perfectly. What I'm trying to say is that if you like animation in any way you NEED to watch this film as it is one of the smoothest 2d animated films I've ever seen with amazing art direction and fluid animation.
Sound:9
The sound is also great. I'm not one who ever remembers music in movies and it's not different here. I don't find myself humming these tunes, none of them would work to hum anyway, but they fit everything going on. The music fits the scenes and what's going on so in that department it's good. The sound effects work is amazing. I'd need to watch it again to point out specific places but the sound design makes this movie. The hum of the motorcycles, the loud sounds of gunshots, the explosions going off it all sounds great. Now I watched the original English dub from I believe 1989 and it's good. Like many older anime it has some lip syncing issues but I like the voice actors and I feel they fit the characters and none stood out to me as being bad.
Character:8
The characters are also good, Shotaro Kaneda, our main character, is interesting and realistic. He seems to care about another one of our leads, Tetsuo Shima, though Tetsuo it seems feels like he's being looked down upon which leads really to the films main conflict. These two characters are awesome to see onscreen and see them interact you can tell there's history between them. The only lead I felt was a bit weak was Kei. She was fine if not necessary but then near the end she suddenly becomes important with no explanation. I've never read the manga but I expect this seemingly odd transition is more well explained there. The "villains" are also good but I don't want to call them that since they aren't just "oh we're sooo evil". They feel like real people with reasons for what they're doing. Overall the characters are really good.
Enjoyment:10
Regardless of any issues this film has I had an absolute blast watching it. It had me engaged from the first minute to the last minute.
Overall: 9
I don't often give tens to anything so this was hard but the few problems were a bit too severe to make it a ten but it's definitely worth the watch
