Akira (1988)

Featured Audience Ratings

• xGary X

  
  After the reconstruction of Tokyo after nuclear decimation, a young biker punk is kidnapped by a shadowy government experiment to engineer a "doomsday weapon" in the form of children with the power of telekenesis. Akira was the Japanese Anime that broke the genre into the… More
  After the reconstruction of Tokyo after nuclear decimation, a young biker punk is kidnapped by a shadowy government experiment to engineer a "doomsday weapon" in the form of children with the power of telekenesis. Akira was the Japanese Anime that broke the genre into the global mainstream and is still hugely influential. It's essentially Godzilla for the cyber-punk generation as an insecure young boy is suddenly gifted the power of a god with the inevitable consequence of absolute power corrupting absolutely. The artwork is amazing in its detail, especially since it pre-dates CGI and is therefore hand drawn in its entirety. Some of the imagery is stunning, the finale owing a debt to 2001: A Space Odyssey and its hard to imagine The Matrix ever coming to existence without it. The plot is a little existential and "out there" which may baffle those looking for light entertainment, but all can revel in its visual invention. Although it may have lost some of its impact over time now Manga and Anime are so ubiquitous but it's still a cornerstone of the genre and an important stepping stone in the evolution of modern sci-fi.

• paul o

  
  Fantastic, Original, and Brilliant! The music is awesome, the visuals are eye candy, and the story is super imaginative. Amazing Film!

• Christopher H

  
  My favorite anime movie and one of my favorite movies of all time. The film is densely packed with kinetic action, drama, spectacle, and intrigue. The first twenty minutes involves Kaneda and his gang fighting a rival biker gang. It is one of the greatest opening scenes in cinema… More
  My favorite anime movie and one of my favorite movies of all time. The film is densely packed with kinetic action, drama, spectacle, and intrigue. The first twenty minutes involves Kaneda and his gang fighting a rival biker gang. It is one of the greatest opening scenes in cinema because it starts the film off with plenty of momentum and gives the viewer an insight into the chaos that is Neo-Tokyo. Kaneda and Tetsuo are two of the greatest characters in anime history. Kaneda's red bike has become an icon in which its design has been copied many times in other animes. Tetsuo is also one of the greatest anime villains of all time, you do not want to piss him off. The animation is absolutely breath-taking, every single frame was hand drawn. The animation is so detailed that at times I forget I'm watching an animated movie. The story may seem a bit rushed at times, but the movie does a good job at condensing a 2000 pages manga. The music is also memorable. This movie is not for the faint at heart, the violence is bloody and their is some swearing. However, if you can get passed that, the film holds a very good story that is emotionally charged and thought-provoking.

• Matheus C

  
  One of those rare films which makes use of animation in its full potential, in ways only rarely accomplished by American animation studios and the kind of which can only be dreamed of nowadays. Makes me fear how tonned down, sanitized and simplified the future live-action remake is… More
  One of those rare films which makes use of animation in its full potential, in ways only rarely accomplished by American animation studios and the kind of which can only be dreamed of nowadays. Makes me fear how tonned down, sanitized and simplified the future live-action remake is probably going to be.

• Tsubaki S

  
  KANEDAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

• Sergio G

  
  I love anime. And form all of them there is ABSOLUTE no question about the best movie ever. Akira. Strange, fantastic, almost poetic. Really! What a great movie!

• Jacob E

  
  This is a very interesting film to say the least. It was one of the first major animes to receive release in America and became such a cult hit that many people credit this film (along with its source material manga) with making anime and manga so popular in the west. But is it that… More
  This is a very interesting film to say the least. It was one of the first major animes to receive release in America and became such a cult hit that many people credit this film (along with its source material manga) with making anime and manga so popular in the west. But is it that good? The answer is yes. The violence might leave some disturbed, but it's worth sitting through. The story involves a futuristic Tokyo where politics are a mess and stability is pretty much non-existent as revolutionary factions begin to cause chaos. But amongst all of this is a boy named Tetsuo, part of one of many biker gangs in Neo-Tokyo. But after an accident involving a small boy, he is taken in by government researchers when he begins to develop psychic powers. The story is pretty intricate and the animation (all hand drawn) is insanely detailed. The ending doesn't make much sense, but you'll think about it for a little while to say the least.

• Dean !

  
  A great Anime film, very cool and stylised.

• AJ V

  
  I really wanted to like this movie, it's a very gritty, dark, violent, action packed, and intense anime film. The problem was that the story isn't explained well enough to understand in the end, and that disappoints me because I wanted to be able to know what in the world… More
  I really wanted to like this movie, it's a very gritty, dark, violent, action packed, and intense anime film. The problem was that the story isn't explained well enough to understand in the end, and that disappoints me because I wanted to be able to know what in the world I'd been watching for 2 hours! If anyone knows, please tell me.

• Anthony L

  
  I'm not a huge Manga/Anime fan, I like some but only if they're really good. Akira is really good, after Paprika it is probably my favourite. Apparently it's going to be made into a real-life movie. Good luck on that one!

• Conner R

  
  A bizarre and utterly ridiculous movie in every way imaginable, but it's so well done and cool that it stands as a masterpiece among asian animation. The futuristic setting works and makes all of the odd elements a little more believable than they might be otherwise corny. The… More
  A bizarre and utterly ridiculous movie in every way imaginable, but it's so well done and cool that it stands as a masterpiece among asian animation. The futuristic setting works and makes all of the odd elements a little more believable than they might be otherwise corny. The characters are equally strange, but it's handled in a way that you end up loving it rather than hating it. The animation is undoubtedly the finishing touch on this extremely over the top animated movie from hell's gates.

• Thomas B

  
  Incredibly advanced and a humdinger of a storyline. Full review later.

• Phil H

  
  I must admit I didnt follow this story too well, I found it ok at first but more confusing and wild as it progressed hehe thats not to say its a bad film, far from it, its very good and highly imaginative with superb animation. It was actually a total shock as to how good the… More
  I must admit I didnt follow this story too well, I found it ok at first but more confusing and wild as it progressed hehe thats not to say its a bad film, far from it, its very good and highly imaginative with superb animation. It was actually a total shock as to how good the animation was considering it was made in 88, I guess thats one reason why its a legendary manga flick, the look and design of Neo Tokyo is stunning and not far of what it actually looks like trust me. The lighting effects on the buildings/skylines and especially little touches like the rear lights on the gangs bikes are awesome, this film was really ahead of its time in terms of animation. It looks great and has very good voice acting, the only problem is I just didnt quite get what was happening at times haha Japanese imagination can be high quality but also far out and off the wall, still well worth the viewing.

• Aaron N

  
  Kei: Amoebas don't make motorcycles and atomic bombs! A very good looking, stylish anime film based off an epically long manga. There is certainly a lot going on, which this film tries to push into two hours. It is watchable, however it contains a lot of the various things… More
  Kei: Amoebas don't make motorcycles and atomic bombs! A very good looking, stylish anime film based off an epically long manga. There is certainly a lot going on, which this film tries to push into two hours. It is watchable, however it contains a lot of the various things that make me restrain from embracing anime more. The story is set in 2019 Neo-Tokyo, following WWIII. This new city functions under a new political system, but despite the glamor of the city scape, the area is full of poverty and biker gangs. One biker gang in particular has a run in with another and before you know it all hell breaks lose as one of the gang members is caught in the middle of a top secret project involving Akira, a giant mystery involving ultimate power. As the film moves on, a young man learns he has been given powers making him capable of doing anything, despite settling on the destruction of most things he comes across, as long as he can keep control of his mutating body. Various elements surround him, including the leader of the biker gang he was a part of and the scientists and army folk who helped create him. As much as there were of iconic images and individual moments throughout this film that were very cool, as well as a a number of stylistic ideas that have gone on to directly influence a lot of other works since, I was personally never truly engaged enough to care about this film beyond a simple level. I was engaged in the story for the most part, but as the film moves into its third act, the abstract aspect takes over and its the kind of thing that pushes me away from the more obtuse side of anime. It certainly looks great. For a film made in 1988, the animation is top notch, even if some of the character designs are a bit dated. The soundtrack is quite good as well. Its an interesting movie that I didn't decide to take to deeply, but it certainly looks great and should be of better interest to those more invested in the genre. Kaneda: He's not your friend, he's ours! If somebody's gonna kill him, it should be us!

• Tim S

  
  Not much on anime, but this is a fantastic film.

• Chris W

  
  One of the coolest and most intriguing/thought provoking animated films I've ever seen. There's a lot to like about this: the music, the stroyline, and the animation itself. The action and graphic violence are a plus too.

• Saskia D

  
  I saw this one again, it's a classic! If you can stand the awful slow pace of the making of, you should watch it; it's funny how they talk about modern techniques and the use of that many colours. You should see Otomo's Steamboy immediately after it, just to see the… More
  I saw this one again, it's a classic! If you can stand the awful slow pace of the making of, you should watch it; it's funny how they talk about modern techniques and the use of that many colours. You should see Otomo's Steamboy immediately after it, just to see the difference!! <a href="http://s185.photobucket.com/albums/x144/Davin809/?action=view&current=AKIRA.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i185.photobucket.com/albums/x144/Davin809/AKIRA.jpg" border="0" alt="Akira"></a>

• Jason S

  
  Most of the score I have given this movie is due to the excellent animation. Even though this flick is pretty old the look of the movie still holds up to this day. Everything was very detailed and the world was a complete one. As for the story, it seemed a little overloaded at… More
  Most of the score I have given this movie is due to the excellent animation. Even though this flick is pretty old the look of the movie still holds up to this day. Everything was very detailed and the world was a complete one. As for the story, it seemed a little overloaded at points and missing whole parts in others. The movie could have been tightened up a bit and still had all the impact the director wanted. I did watch it dubbed and I think that made it worse as the voice actors didn't do a good job and it made it seem as though the story wasn't being told as well as it should have due to poor translation. In the end it is a good bit of sci fi and very much a classic anime flick.

• Gordon A

  
  The movie which opened my eyes to Manga and sets the bar for all that followed. Becomes a little incomprehensible towards the end but just sit back and enjoy the ride with astonishing animation (for its day), stunning music and more inventiveness than a summer of blockbusters !

• Emily A

  
  I am not a huge fan of this movie, but it's worth mentioning just for how beautiful and intricate the animation is. I've never seen anything like it. This film has hands-down the best conventional animation I've ever seen. That aside, the story lost me hopelessly and my… More
  I am not a huge fan of this movie, but it's worth mentioning just for how beautiful and intricate the animation is. I've never seen anything like it. This film has hands-down the best conventional animation I've ever seen. That aside, the story lost me hopelessly and my feelings about this one are lukewarm.

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