"Years ago, Tokyo was destroyed by an unknown force. Now, in the middle of the 21st century, Neo Tokyo has been rebuilt on the ruins of the old city. Ravaged by aimless youths and bike gangs and all the accouterments of a cyber-punk society, this new city a sight to behold. Somewhere on the underbelly of the city, a young punk, Tetsuo runs into a strange boy. The boy is part of a military experiment involving psychics, and a mysterious being known as Akira. Before long, Tetsuo begins to manifest psychic powers, along with bizarre hallucinations, and to make matters worse; the government takes interest in his abilities. Things only get weirder from there on..." (-Akemi's Anime World)

     I would have to agree with the mainstream on this movie. Akira is definitely one of the best (if not the best) anime I have ever seen. The animation is superb through out the entire movie. I noticed the characters were a little too simple in their design for such a complex movie. The backgrounds and movements are done with so much detail; I was expecting the characters to be a little more meticulous. Of course, this didn’t take away from the films’ over all quality; I just thought it was something that could have been improved!

     “Akira” has a very dark tone to it, much like “Ghost in the Shell” and “Armitage III”. However, the character movements and frames are portrayed in a superior manner in comparison to both “Ghost in the Shell” and “Armitage III”. Honestly, I don’t think any movie can compete with the film’s originality. By today standards, the cell animation in “Akira” is equal or better than the latest anime releases.

     Running a full two hours and four minutes, Akira contains everything from wild motorcycle speed chases to psychic mind games. Everything in this film is depicted through intense and descriptive foreshadowing. I cringe at the fact that eighty percent of the films out there are like 45-60 minutes. How can any one fit a whole movie into a sixty-minute period??! This (above other things) is what I like about “Akira”, it allows the viewer enough time to get acquainted with the characters, get into the plot, and enjoy the film. “Akira” does all of the following almost to the point of perfection!

    Akira is a film dealing with the issues of power and technology. The question as to whether or not man should be experimenting and trying to control human life is asked numerously through out the film. Not only is morality and human ethics emphasized in this film a number of times, but the film shows the viewer how politics come into play when dealing with the manipulation of the human body in order to create the most biologically advanced weapon known to man. While the moral of the story is concentrated mainly on the power of destruction, underlying issues like true friendship, life, and death come into play. A young man (still in high school) by the name of Kaneda embarks on a mission to save his child hood friend Tetsuo. In a strange accident, Tetsuo is nearly killed when he unintentionally runs into a mysterious experimental child. The next time Kaneda comes into contact with Tetsuo, something has invariably changed. At the time, neither of them knows what has changed Tetsuo, but the power invested in Tetsuo is enough to awaken a mysterious entity known as Akira…

     The advantage to buying the newly released version of Akira is nested with in the audio track. If you are an avid anime viewer, more than likely you will have realized that when anime is dubbed into English, the back ground music tend to go down the drain. This is not the case with “Akira”! The background music and voices have all been digitally mastered and if you’ve got surround sound you are in luck! The selection includes a lot of heavy cyber punk mixed with some Buddhist chanting, and frankly, I think it sounds pretty cool (especially during the motorcycle chase). Last but not least I would like to mention the dub quality. First of all, the producers must have had a nice budget for this movie because I heard voices from anime titles such as Outlaw Star, Gundamwing, Gundam 08th ms team, Dragon Ball Z, Armitage III, Ghost in the Shell, Tekken, Digimon and lots more! Nearly every character in the film was done by a professional voice actor. If you are going to get the dub (which is excellent) don’t forget to get the new release! I haven’t had the opportunity to check out the sub yet, but I’m guessing there are few or no problems concerning the quality.

    I recommend this movie for any one mature enough to handle it. If you’ve never watched a Japanese anime film but you’re interested in seeing a good film, “Akira” is a must! This anime is definitely worth the money (19.99 VHS 29.99 DVD), check your local video stores for the newly released “AKIRA”!.