Pinnacle of Anime?

Rating: Null/10 (21 March 2001)

Pinnacle of Anime or Not?
I know I should not compare "Akira" to the later movie "X",but I must say that these two compete for the title of my favorite "anime" movie. Due to the fact that I am white through and through, most people in the area where I USED to inhabit thought me strange to like Starblazers! or old episodes of Astro Boy and the Kimba The White Lion over the usual Warner Bros. or Saturday morning variety of cartoons. Anyway, moving on. I saw Akira at a friend's house. This particular friend of mine is originally from Tokyo. He is,as expected,quite a fan of that style of animation. To say the least, I was blown away by Akira the first time I saw it. Let's first start with the "Gore Factor". This movie is definitely not the for those who are squeamish when it comes to animated gore and extreme violence. :\ I am not one of those people. So, let me say that,"Yes" I did like the fact that it was violent. Sometimes,I prefer to satisfy my primal urges rather than be civilized. Don't take me up in the wrong way when I say that,though. Besides the violence,the story was quite nice. I found it to be entertaining, and I was kept glued to my chair whilst I watched. I loved the characters, the concepts and what have you. As for animation, I prefer the later years of Japanese animation. The settings and what have you were done with a perfectionist's detail,yet the ACTUAL animation of the characters matches that of some Disney film (Not much to say,but hey..I liked it nonetheless)
So, overall..what does the Scribbly Scribe give "Akira": 9 out of 10. An excellent film, subtitled version is best. Best to keep in mind to NOT view if you are stereotypical about anime and it's content.