Review of Akira (1988) by Parker M — 09 Mar 2012

This is unlike any Japanese "anime" I have ever seen. I hesitate to categorize this film as an anime because its quality far surpasses the usual quality of the genre. For its time, Akira pushes the envelope in terms of what can be achieved within the realm of traditional animation.

As soon as the film started, I was expecting a lot of cut-corners (typical for the time period late 80s). However, I was hard pressed to find anything but unique keyframes for just about everything. Far too often the label of "anime" seems to be a pejorative - with Akira this is not the case. The term "limited animation" does not exist here. The difference between the usual, contemporary saturday morning "anime" tripe and Akira is like night and day. If you consider yourself someone who usually loathes this style of animation, I urge you to give it a shot.

Strong visual imagery, vivid colours, and elaborate, choreographed action sequences combine to form the hostile and turbulent environment that is "neo-tokyo". You need to see this film.