An amazing movie. Simply put, Akira was amazing. I have never seen a movie
with such detail and such depth before. Another variable which helps place
Akira as my number 1 favourite anime is that it was the first one that
I ever saw. Ever since I've been almost obssessed with anime.
What is it about? Well, it's a science fiction, to begin, based in the near
future after World War 3. The place is Neo-Tokyo, a city controlled by the
government. The city is terrorized by biker-wars and those who wish to over-
throw the government. The people await for their saviour, Akira, to come and
free them from the shakles placed upon them by their society.
Enter a government agency headed by a man known only as "The Colonel." This
agency is obsessed with unleashing psychic powers within the human mind. They
wish to unleash this power and then to control it, hence giving them the
perfect weapon.
Now we come to Kaneda and his biker gang, most notably the youngest member,
Tetsuo Shima. During a fight with a rival gang called The Clowns, Tetsuo is
badly injured. He is taken by the Colonel and, well, his mind is tinkered
with.
Suffice it to say, all hell breaks loose from there.
Before you ask any more questions, let me just say that I've only told you
about half the movie. There's so much more that happens. Tetsuo begins to
lose control of his powers, and he goes in search of Akira. There is a trio
of children, former test subjects, who play important roles in it as well,
not to mention members of a ristance against the government, and then we
have Kaneda himself, who begins as Tetsuo's friend but becomes his worst enemy.
What makes this anime so kick ass is more than just its story, which is
at times so convoluted that you may have to watch it two or three times to
get the entire gist of it. The animation is simply amazing, though at times
completely disgusting (take it for me, when Tetsuo loses complete control
of his powers, it's quite nasty to watch).
And then there are the questions that it poses. The main theme of this anime
turns out to be whether or not it's a good idea to mess with the sequence of
human evolution. It also asks what the next step in human evolution is. There
are other questions, but I really couldn't tell you them.
Rent this anime. Dubbed is fine, but subtitled is the only way to go. I'm
kind of biased that way, but what can I do, hein?