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Plot Synopsis

Author/Director Otomo Katsuhiro

Story & Characters

set in post apocalyptic Japan (not greatly original but remember this was almost the first anime to do this), a society whoose youth were once civilised now act out there parts in a gang culture in the year 2019 aparently the once spralling metropolis has been destroyed 30 years previously by a secret weapons test gone wrong. It seems the military now control the streets of a massivly built up tokyo by using ecessive force when ever possible (giving the viewers eye fulls of gore on several occasions), after one of the best and most memorable scenes in any anime movie we catch up with the hero of the movie Kaneda whose best friend Tetsuo is promptly captured by the military, later we discover Tetsuo has been altered in a powerful but terifying way, as Tetsuo's power threatens to overwelm the city Kaneda struggles to regain his lost friend but neither are prepared for the awakening of Akira cause of the last massive explosion that almost wiped out Japan entirely. Sit back and enjoy the ride of a lifetime no other anime has earned my respect as much as AKIRA.

Rating

8 (good)

Art

What can i say but wow the neon lights of the busy neo-tokyo city look bold and garish as they should the attention to detail is something often rushed in todays animes the frame rate is supurb so many people must have worked so hard to make every frame match in perfect synchronisation with not a hint of a glitch (to get the best out of it watch AKIRA the ultimate collection its been digitaly remastered for perfection). The backdrops are exactly as you would imagine they should be being a hastily rebuilt tokyo with miles of highway for easy access, all movement is seamless (iam wondering if the artists actually saw someone be gunned down by the military, one scene is particuly accurate in my view), this movie set the standard to beat.

Rating

10 (excellent)

Sound

must be watched on a good surround sound kit to appreaciate fully, i must admit i have only watched it subtitled as i belive the original audio is essential to guage the proper mood as this is how the director imagined it originally, subs are accurate to a tee (my japanese friend, take a bow Satoshi Kato, has assured me of this), the voice actors convey perfectly the right amount of emotion for every scene although the main voices have a penchant for shouting to much and a little unneccessarily.

Rating

8 (good)

Presentation

The definition of a great anime, yes this really was the most original anime of its time and still is, what little humor there is, is used to stress Kaneda and Tetsuo's friendship and then comes the understanding of why Kaneda will do everything he can to get his friend back, the turmoil going on in Tetsuo's head as he is transformed reaches a fever pitch that has the viewer really rooting for Kaneda to save him, there is some minor love interest for both Kaneda (a girl who wants him to join her rebel friends) and Tetsuo (a girl he cant seem to protect without Kaneda's help), for Tetsuo it explains why he does'nt immeadiatly seek help from his childhood friend and for Kaneda his love interest is purely physical the viewer does'nt get the sense he can see past her looks untill much later.
This is a must see for any anime fan, it is not a movie (i feel ) one can watch repeatedly though it is just too long at 180 mins the ending will leave you (the viewer) shocked and amazed, bear in mind to keep an eye on the many underflowing themes of friendship, antidissestablishmentarianism, and a hunger for raw power.

Rating

10 (excellent)

Final Verdict

9.00 (very good)

Reviewed by FENRIS69, 2y 37wk ago