One of the best anime of all time. Groundbreaking film in the age before everything was done by computers. The very IDEA that they made every frame of this movie BY HAND is incredible beyond imagining. But the love, hard work & dedication that...
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One of the best anime of all time. Groundbreaking film in the age before everything was done by computers. The very IDEA that they made every frame of this movie BY HAND is incredible beyond imagining. But the love, hard work & dedication that the animators must have had really shines through in this brilliant movie. If you like it, go check out the manga too as there's a ton of detail they just couldn't cram into the anime (which is really an adaptation).

It challenges time with its ideas and its animation. The story is complex, the score is fantastic, and the whole movie is grand and epic. This is sci-fi horror at its most classic. Though, it may be a little disorienting the first time watching...
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It challenges time with its ideas and its animation. The story is complex, the score is fantastic, and the whole movie is grand and epic. This is sci-fi horror at its most classic. Though, it may be a little disorienting the first time watching it, it may sink in after awhile.

In July, 1988, the city of Tokyo, Japan, was destroyed by a nuclear explosion. The blast leads to World War III a few hours after. 31 years later, gangs are terrorizing Neo-Tokyo, a city on an artificial island in Tokyo Bay near the old city of...
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In July, 1988, the city of Tokyo, Japan, was destroyed by a nuclear explosion. The blast leads to World War III a few hours after. 31 years later, gangs are terrorizing Neo-Tokyo, a city on an artificial island in Tokyo Bay near the old city of Tokyo. Troubled youths are placed into a foster system where the adults in charge are a bit rough with them. One of these children, "Tetsuo" (voiced by Joshua Seth) is taken to a secret location where he is subject to experiments studying his awakening ESP powers. "Tetsuo's" powers grow as the movie progresses. He is slowly uncontrollable, and there may be only one thing that can stop him -- the one known as "Akira." Considered by many critics as one of the greatest animated movies of all time. It helped the sudden boom of popularity of Japanese Anime (aka Japanimation) the genre had in the Western hemisphere back in the 1990's. The animation is absolutely beautiful. The use of mostly darker colors sets a mood wonderfully. Like most Anime, the characters appear to be from the West instead of Japanese and are drawn nicely. The movement of the characters, at times, makes you forget that they are cartoons. Also, the characters' mouths seem to be in perfect synch with the English voices, but it is obvious that their animated for the original Japanese dialogue. A note to parents: this is not Pokemon. There is strong language, violence and a lot of blood. I would suggest that you only allow older children who are pretty well out of the Pokemon phase before you allow them to see this. It is not for the Pokemon crowd. I am personally not an hard core Anime fan. However, I am a science-fiction fan, and this is pretty much a sci-fi movie. However, there really isn't a lot of science-fiction elements like futuristic weapons or futuristic technology. We do get a futuristic science though, which is a major plot device that works well. Somehow, the actors have some good on-screen chemistry and make the characters pretty believable. You can actually believe that they are on screen together through out the movie. Personally, I wouldn't put it on my "Must See" list. But, if you can catch it on HBO or even on On Demand like I did, you might not be disappointed.

A must see for any anime fan.

The animation gets most of the credit whenever you hear this movie brought up. The story deserves more credit than it gets. Its a very detailed and complex storyline which held my attention completely...
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A must see for any anime fan.

The animation gets most of the credit whenever you hear this movie brought up. The story deserves more credit than it gets. Its a very detailed and complex storyline which held my attention completely from beginning to end.

If you watch this movie for the first time not knowing what its about, you will probably be surprised at the change in the story from semi-realistic to the fantastic. Its part of why everyone talks about the animation so much - it has the ability to surprise you with what it turns into.

The groundbreaking Anime still rocks almost twenty years later.

The 1988 animated film Akira, I believe was groundbreaking for Japanese animators. Seeing that American cartoons are whole hearted family fun fest, Japaneses animators truly have something better than anything any American animator has ever done....
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The 1988 animated film Akira, I believe was groundbreaking for Japanese animators. Seeing that American cartoons are whole hearted family fun fest, Japaneses animators truly have something better than anything any American animator has ever done. Set in a post world war III society motorcycle gangs rule the streets. One night while a I guess a rebel group, not entirely sure what to call them, break out a child test subject from a government facility and the motorcycle gang, the rebel group and the government all intertwine with one another. The writing is incredible for the time it came out and it has such an amazing story line and great animation, It's good that Katsuhiro Ôtomo didn't sell it off as a series as well because sometimes series based off movies don't work as well. The music is also great, the action is great, I mean there isn't much more to say about it, I wouldn't call it a timeless classic, but it definitely had raised the bar for what anime should be. So as home simpson would say, since film spot does it by 5 stars i'll act the 4.5 as 9 thumbs up... So go watch it.

Fluid, detailed, actionpacked and tremendously entertaining.

When I first watched Akira back in 1989 I thought it was a good movie. Sadly Akira doesn't age well like other movies. The story I realize after seeing it so many times isn't very good. The animation compared with other anime that came out at...
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When I first watched Akira back in 1989 I thought it was a good movie. Sadly Akira doesn't age well like other movies. The story I realize after seeing it so many times isn't very good. The animation compared with other anime that came out at that time wasn't very good. The action and music is what made it a half way decent movie, but is it a classic like many magazines and people try to say, no.

Akira is great movie using theme to be a god in new way.Akira also have an excellent story and development.Pack with a lot of action and drama and a convoluted ending will put you to think.At the end is one of the best anime movies ever made.