Review of Akira (1988) by Manuel O — 17 May 2012

From the opening shot of Neo-Tokyo in 2019 which was decimated by a nuclear blast to the anarchy and chaos of the biker gangs fighting it out, this film sets out the proper tone right away. It has that theme of anarchy versus order where the military tries to sustain control in an environment where its people has lost all hope, and even cults have begun to form who have started anti-government movements.

Tetsuo is set up as the disgruntled member, who obviously has the most history with the leader Kanada and can be considered the second in command, but is generally looked down upon. Everything changes when he runs into Number 26 who transfers his power onto Tetsuo who immediately gets taken by the government.

I like how science and the army clash in different views for the experiments like Akira, who is deemed the most powerful, or Tetsuo who is growing in power and their similar interests. Science looks it at as the next step in evolution in science in controlling such power and the military wants to use it as a weapon; however, I like how the military changes views right away when it makes the rational decision that it is too much power for one to handle and that it must be taken down by all means, meaning Tetsuo.

The film is ravishing with spectacular visuals in animation, especially the gory scenes, Tetsuo transforming into a monster, and the soundtrack is fitting especially Tetsuoâ(TM)s theme when he becomes more of a threat.

The rebels where a bit tacked on though, because I think that this was a more personal story on Tetsuo vs Kanada in a change of leadership, Tetsuo became more powerful and had no need for Kanada to protect him anymore as Tetsuo was constantly bullied in his youth and Kanada had his back.

Tired of this, Tetsuo grew resentful and with his newfound power, he ironically ruled with an iron fist as a bully. If the movie focused more on Tetsuo, Kanada, Tetsuoâ(TM)s girlfriend, Science, and the Military then the film would have been paced a little better, I just found the rebels a bit tacked on.

Overall, the film gets a 9 out of 10.