You really need to see the DVD.

Rating: 9/10 (11 December 2001)

I've seen Akira on TV and video in the UK. Having seen the (US) DVD it's clear that many clips were removed from the versions I saw. The DVD version's story is much clearer with these "missing" clips and retranslation.
The DVD does omit some scenes that appear on the (UK) VHS version, but I only noticed one missing one.
Akira tells the story of quantitative western science's mishandling of something metaphysical and the disastrous consequences. The story is set in the future.
The moral? We don't learn from our mistakes.
I believe this was the first movie marketed by Manga in the UK. An excellent introduction to Anime.