Review of Akira (1988) by Hunter F — 29 Feb 2012
It's hard work to adapt a 2000+ page manga into a 2 hour film, but Akira does it, by considerably restructuring the story. This is not a bad thing unless your are expecting a complete retelling from manga to film, but Akira's re-imagined story holds up well.
The characters are the same of course and most of them appear as well, though not all have as much importance as they did in the manga. For example Lady Miyako has a very minor role compared to in the manga.
The arc of Volume 4-6 is vastly shortened. The secret that is Akira is changed as well. But as I said before, none of this matters unless you are looking for a very accurate adaptation. Focusing more on the film, watching Akira is a blast, it has a lot of force and thrill.
The animation is explosive and is rich with great amounts of detail. New scenarios are created to mend together events from the manga. I feel that the film gives better insight as Tetsuo as a character and what drives him is more clear.
Though the manga did this well too, the movie does it better. Akira should be seen by any anime fan but reading the manga before could be a good idea so the story is fully understood.
This review of Akira (1988) was written by Hunter F on 29 Feb 2012.
Akira has generally received very positive reviews.
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