Anime has never seen anything like this, and probably never will again.

Rating: 10/10 (14 September 2002)

I'm going to be honest. I only saw Akira because I heard it was the inspiration to one of my favorite video games, Final Fantasy VII. My experience with Anime movies was bad to say the least, so I didn't expect Akira to be any good. I was blown away.
I was at the edge of my seat from the beginning. This movie was an 80s Matrix. You have to pay attention in order to get it. There are scenes where reading between the lines is required.
Now, the acting. Unless the leads were shouting "TETSUOOOOOOO!" or "KANEDAAAAAAA!", the acting was well done and very believable.
Now, there is a scene where some girl's shirt is ripped off, exposing her entire upper body. THAT DOES NOT MAKE THIS MOVIE HENTAI, but it does give it an R-Rating (as well as some mild language and someone having a graphic hallucination that his guts were spilling to the floor, but I digress).
If you were disappointed by bad Anime (which seems to be the ONLY Anime they send us) like I was, give this movie a chance, and I swear that you will not be disappointed. If you like Final Fantasy VII, watch this movie. I swear to you as well, that you will not be disappointed. If you like movies that make you think and force you to pay attention, I got one word for ya: Akira. Finally, if you simply want to gawk at the shouts of "TETSUOOOOOO!" watch this movie for that, and believe me, you will enjoy it.