**SPOILERS AHEAD**
--Story-- (14/20)
At it's core, Akira is about power, and the immense proliferation of power that affects those without it. The film's protagonist, Tetsuo, starts out as a weak and ridiculed member of his biker gang. He's someone without power who desperately wishes to have it. However, once Tetsuo gains power beyond human comprehension, he's still the same pathetic kid with too much to prove.
Neo Tokyo is lauded by characters as a modern miracle. Despite the destruction of old Tokyo thirty years prior, Neo Tokyo stands taller and brighter, more powerful. Neo Tokyo is obviously an analogue for Japan during the 1970s and 80s when Japan's economy, therefore the country's power, grew exponentially. However, in spite of this, Neo Tokyo is overrun by degeneracy and rebellion by those forgotten by society, the powerless. In a lot of ways, Neo Tokyo represents how politicians and CEOs may claim to be benefitting everyone, but their primary beneficiary is always themselves.
This idea can be fully shown in the relationship between Kaneda and Tetsuo. Tetsuo is fed up with being helped by Kaneda. He feels controlled by him. Even when Kaneda saves Tetsuo and his girlfriend from being assaulted, Tetsuo expresses disdain for his help. This is directly analogous to how Neo Tokyo, and perhaps all of civilization, suppresses an individual's ability to become self actualized. However, once an individual gains power to overcome this suppression, they become hostile towards what suppressed them in the first place. The revolutionaries act in violence, Tetsuo kills everyone who tries to control him, the Colonel kills the bureaucrats who try and take his power.
All of these themes are portrayed in a very clear and coherent way, save for one aspect, the children. The psychic children are far and away the most frustrating and confounding part of the story. Without them, the story clearly states, "Unrestricted power will destroy itself." But the children, whose powers are very much restricted, also destroy themselves by tormenting Tetsuo (for what reason too?). The presence of these characters turns the theme from a cautionary one to a nihilistic one, "No human should have power." This theme is further shown by the analogy of Tetsuo to an Amoeba gaining the power of a human. The film somewhat presents the idea that power should be used to help people, as in the cases of Kaneda and Akira who use their power to help, but Kaneda using his power to help Tetsuo is what started this mess in the first place.
This brings us to the titular character, Akira. Akira had the chance to tie the entire story together, to give it a clear theme. Instead, he helps Tetsuo commit suicide. Akira's role doesn't do anything to differentiate the theme from "Unrestricted power will destroy itself" and is, therefore, a useless character. He doesn't add anything to the film, and maybe even takes something away from it. Tetsuo becoming a giant blob monster that covers the entire Earth would probably be much more interesting than him just killing himself. Maybe if there was more shown of the new universe Akira and Tetsuo created, there could be more thematic depth to Akira's character, but as it stands, there's really nothing of substance.
Far and away the best part about the story is the way it's presented. The animation is absolutely stunning, and is still talked about today as an example of what animation is capable of. There are some scenes with such detailed motion that it feels like really great CGI. The drab hand inked colors also add to the gross feeling of Neo Tokyo. The music is good, but it's like the story, incomplete. The theme of Tetsuo (DUUUN DUUUN DUN DUN) is great, but it's never allowed to full resolve.
Overall, the story is great for about 75-80% of the movie, but there's a severe lack of depth at the ending that impacts the overall story. There's no "aha!" moment, even though that's what the story feels like it's building up to. Some of the characters do well to enhance the story, (Tetsuo, Kaneda, and the Colonel) but the rest are pretty boring. Akira is rightly regarded as a masterpiece of Anime because, in truth, the animation is of an unrivaled quality, it's just a shame the story doesn't match that level of greatness and completeness.
--Experience-- (8/10)
This movie is a treat to watch just because of the animation alone. Six of those points come from that. The other two come from the depth the story tries to portray. It's a very intriguing story, and throughout I was wondering about what the story was trying to say, which is very engaging. It's just, that intrigue is never fully paid off, which is dissatisfying and almost feels like a punishment for being so invested. The ending of this movie really is quite terrible, and it's not because of it's abstract nature, I like abstract, it's just abstract for the sake of it rather than to portray a more abstract concept.
Another thing to be said about the enjoyability of this movie is its characters. They're all extremely unlikable, which is part of the point, but it definitely could affect someone's ability to enjoy it. There's no real character to cheer for. Maybe Kaneda, but he's still kind of scumbag. He steals his bike, harasses some girl, and goes to kill Tetsuo. The other characters have basically no redeeming qualities, especially the blue children. They are far and away the least enjoyable aspect of the movie, and it's really shame Tetsuo dies instead of them.
For the most part, this film just got me excited to read the manga. All of the problems I have with the film are probably addressed in the manga. However, after I finish the manga, I can't really see myself coming back to this film.
--FINAL SCORE-- 7/10 (22/30)
Akira is definitely worth watching if you're a fan of animation in any way. If you're a fan of deeply written stories, it will start to scratch that itch, but stop at the worst time, making the itch even more bothersome.
