Who hasn't heard of Akira? I mean, this is the flick that helped
anime go mainstream here in the US. A lot of ass kicking action and explosions throughout.
It takes place in Neo Tokyo, a megopolis in the year AD 2019, years after World War III.
(The old Tokyo gets nuked in the beginning, in 1988).
The story focuses on two members of a biker gang, the leader Kaneda, and the tag-along, Tetsuo. The biker gang gets into a confrontation with their rivals, the Clowns. After an ass-kicking action scene, Tetsuo decides to prove his worth by following after the Clowns. Tetsuo almost crashes into a small kid in the middle of the road, who telekinetically blows his bike to bits. When the rest of the gang comes to rescue Tetsuo, army helicopters rush to the scene and take the kid and Tetsuo.
The rest of the story centers around Kaneda trying to find Tetsuo and score with a chick, and Tetsuo's capture and involvement with something called "Akira". Tetsuo's angry rampage through the city is one of the longest and most intense action sequences in anime.
Some say that you must watch Akira two or three times to appreciate it, because the whole "Akira" portion of the movie is pretty confusing the first time. Many more details are realized the second time, along with many questions being answered. A bitchin' anime that nearly everyone has seen, but if you haven't, do so now.
Animation: 9/10
Story: 9/10
Action: 8/10
Overall Rating: A-
Available on every format you can think of