Akira

Without a doubt the necessary injection of Manga culture Western audiences needed. Personal objections (or should I say appraisals) aside, Akira deconstructs the form of narrative and character development that we had all become accustomed to through Hollywood and produces a reasonably honest translation of Katsuhiro Otomo's Manga epic, with mass deletions of unnecessary characters and plot avenues. The story is complex enough to keep western audiences attention, yet simple enough to digest whilst taking in the wonderfull animation and excellent soundtrack (a collection of traditional Japanese instruments and modern day synthesised electronica that allow for elements of cinema to establish themselves for the audience) The conflict between the two main characters, Tetsuo and Kaneda is ultimately superceded by the films namesake, the mystery of the boy Akira, and as with very few films Hollywood produces it leaves it's more labour intensive thinking until the end. A delight to follow, with periods of intense action and thought provoking predictions of a neo society, one would like to think of the film as the pipe dream of one who predicted such tragic events as of September 11. Akira, whilst violent for the medium, is a lush metropolis of gang warfare, a psuedo examination into the possible, and a fantasy tale of elements long lost in modern cinema. A cool, entertaining piece littered with cult visions and awesome bikes.

I was probably around 8, when I first saw Akira. It was my step dad who asked me if I was interested in watching this Japanese cartoon. I expected something like, my favorite children movies like The Lion King or The Land before Time.

Akira however, was something else. At the time I was to young to understand English, since it was a second language for me. But I remember what kind of an affect it had on me. It was brutal, it was hard, it was edgy. The drums and Neo Tokyo lights flew through my little body as butter, as I witnessed death, gore and sadistic killings. Something my pure and innocent eyes had never seen before. And yet I was strangely excited. I was never tough as a kid. I was a afraid of the dark and often had nightmares about all kinds of things. But Akira, despite it's mature nature, just had me in awe. When I finally re-saw it many years later, when I was an old teenager, I was still in awe.

Akira is simply a wonderful and entertaining sci-fi movie. It was what introduced me to anime, and innovation in a hole new way. If you want to start watching anime or see, what all the fuss is about, then Akira is a good place to start. Even though it's over 17 years old today, it is still a fantastic and visually stunning animation. Even if you don't appreciate animation you owe it to yourself, to check it out. It has spectacular action, motorcycle-chase-sequences, mad scientists and tons of blood and shooting.

8/10

Visually Astonishing, Dark and Original is what best describes Katshuiro Otomo's Masterpiece `AKIRA'. Now here is an animated film that is way ahead of his time, the film was released in 1988 even before Disney created computer FX's in their animated features. AKIRA is one of my favorite movies of all time it has beautiful visuals, great animation, an extraordinary story and a wicked soundtrack. I have read the entire AKIRA manga comics and yes it makes the movie that much easier to understand but with the new DVD edition which contains the correct dubbed version that allows the viewer to understand the film a little easier. I first saw AKIRA back in 1994 when I was 14 years old and ever since then I have collected great anime, at first I was confused but yet intrigued and consumed by the plot, I wanted to know what the story was about. Finally after 4 times viewing the film I understood the plot and the message Otomo wanted to deliver in this feature. The story is fascinating it takes place in the future in the city of NEO-TOKYO were citizens live in a constant chaos of an urban revolution, while the youth lives reckless on the dark streets gathering in bike gangs the government proceeds with the so called `akira project'; a mayor step in scientific discovery based on human energy.

AKIRA is a movie about betrayal, love, loyalty, anger, and fiction. For those who do not understand it is a movie about the universe and how us humans connect with it, we use about 11% of our brains but what if we were able to use 40% or even 100% of it, what then? And what if some of that percentage was damaged by hate, depression, or anger, this is the case of TETSUO who is the center character of this film. The possibilities are far from anything we can imagine, `AKIRA' provides a fictional possibility that self energy exists within all of us and that is just as delicate as it is powerful.

This is an epic proportion animated feature, the action sequences are creatively amazing, the plot is very intriguing, dark and character driven like no other film. It is one of a kind and even after 14 years we have yet to see anything like it whether is an animated or a feature film.

*Stereotype: Akira is a gratuitous bloodbath.

Maybe, but it's also a hard-nosed societal critique. Gore fans get what they want, but they have some morality shoved down their throats, as well. Most people who hate this movie watch it with a predetermined mindset. . . It takes thought and patience to piece together its sophisticated story.

*Stereotype: Akira rocks!!

The animation equals or exceeds Disney's best, the music is awesome, and the characters are complex, but "Akira" has its flaws. Chunked together from a long pre-existing storyline and filled with gritty violence, "Akira" draws fanatics too bloodthirsty to appreciate its message, and scares away critics intelligent enough to understand it. It takes a very open mind to enjoy this movie.

All in all, be careful with this movie; it's not for everyone. Just ignore the hype on BOTH sides and judge for yourself. I recommend the subtitled version; the dub's voice actors suck and anyone who'll understand this movie is obviously smart enough to read.

I only recently watched Akira (though I have heard a lot about it) and I must say I am impressed (so much that I bought the DVD). This is, beyond any doubt, one of the best animated films in existence. Visually impressive, solid direction, with a compelling story (if a little complicated), just the right amount of character development, good and very appropriate soundtrack and an extensively detailed New Tokyo, Akira manages to be as groundbreaking as it was when it was first released.

It's only drawback is that most people (including me) will probably have to watch it again (and again maybe) to completely understand the full story. Highly recommended (especially to anime fans). I give it 8 out of 10.