Review of Akira (1988) by James S — 28 Feb 2011

The most well known of the manga movies, Akira is little bit of a scrappy affair.

It is impossible to criticise the level of animation which is typical of the manga style but absolutely breathtaking with it. The detail is like a comic book has quite literally leapt into life and is vibrant, colourful and extremely exciting to watch.

Akira does not make it easy plot-wise. In 2019 Tokyo, a member of a biker gang is taken away for experimentation by a military research lab while his friends attempt to break him out, only to discover he has become something very dangerous and powerful.

Much of the early goings on of the film are as equally exciting as the animation as the bikers kick ass against rival gangs in the city. The latter half however is where the film begins to fold a little as god complexes and weirdo blue children come more to the forefront leading to a finale which while is undeniably huge, is a bit of a WTF? moment.

One thing Akira should be proud of though is the dubbing voice work on the US version of the movie which is excellent and doesn't feel at all like you're watching something that has been originally made in a separate language.

Perhaps Akira could have used a little shorter running time and a bit more exposition to fill in a few gaps. This is an exceptional film from it's animated point of view, a real pleasure to watch but the screaming kids get a tad annoying and a little one dimensional after a while which hampers the movie along with the more bizarre plot points.

Still worth watching for the drawing though.