Akira

Genre: Action
Format: 1 Movie
Allegiance: The Akira Committee Company, Ltd., Mash Room, Toho, Hakuhodo
Director: Otomo Katsuhiro
Vintage: 1988
Intelligence Agency Report by: Phate
It’s the year 2019 in Neo Tokyo, 31 years after a catastrophic explosion destroys the city of Tokyo. During a scuffle between a gang led by Kaneda and a rival gang, Kaneda’s friend, Tetsuo, decides to set out and tag along only to get himself taken in by the government and become the test subject of an experiment meant to obtain control of the powers of Akira…

Field Agent Report by: Phate
Plot
Characters
Impact
Visual
Audio
7.00
6.25
6.00
9.50
7.75
Overall 6.50
(not an average)

Ah, Akira. What fan of anime today hasn’t heard of this show? After all, it very well could be the most hyped anime of our time. However, after thoroughly going through this show, I fail to see what all the fuss is about.

To start off on the good things on Akira (keep in mind, though, there aren’t that many), it certainly is a work of art, visually. Some of the smoothest and most fluid animation I’ve ever seen, with plenty of action to show it off. Exploding cars, motorcycles, people turning into giant pink blobs; plenty of things to please your eyes and cause you to drop open your mouth and drool all over the floor.

However, if you’re like I am, chances are that the spectacular animation and high-end action scenes aren’t going to be enough to make you really remember this anime (though it could keep your interest throughout the movie). Well, Akira truly disappoints in the area of plot and characters. Truth be told, the plot definitely had promise, and if this had just been maybe a TV series or OVA, then it could’ve been something fantastic. However, the movie format doesn’t allow much clarity on the plot, and will most likely confuse those who watch it. As for characters, I didn’t care for any of them in the least. We barely even learn anything about them, Tetsuo and Kaneda excluded (even with these two, I would’ve appreciated a little more insight). In the end, I didn’t care what happened to them.

Akira is yet another one those anime that is all bark and no bite. It’s lived through the years on its hype, but once I finally sat down and watched it, it really wasn’t as good as I had hoped (and I know there are others out there like me). Go ahead and rent it if you can, but if you can’t, don’t worry, you’re not missing much.