'You got it, I'm gonna wipe this guy all over the street!'

Rating: 10/10 (12 March 2001)

Akira is a masterpiece, classic anime which has not been bettered since its release way back in '88 - incredible that its all hand-drawn.
The film is based on the 2000 word novel and does a pretty good job of condensing the plot into the 2 hour running time, although you may have a job understanding if you are not familiar with Manga anime's or your old (like my grandparents - they didn't have a clue! Bless 'em.).
The plot - Akira is a very powerful being, who blew up Tokyo through his sheer energy, afterwards the government dismembered his body and began to run tests on Akira and other test subjects - looking to use this energy for their weapons and machines.
Some 30 years later Tokyo has been rebuilt and is now known as Neo-Tokyo, Kaneda and Tetsuo are two friends who have known each other since childhood now they are members of a bike gang who frequently fight with their rival gang - 'The Clowns'. On one such occasion Tetsuo is injured in a head-on collision with Takashi - one of the test subjects (number 26 - who appears over-aged due to all the drugs the government use to suppress the power that has been given to him). The government agents take Tetsuo away to use him as a test subject, after which he escapes only to become over-powered with the sheer energy that he now possesses.
I have seen both the dubbed version and the special edition subtitled version which included a 'making of...' feature - the time that was taken to create this anime and the amount of people that were needed is astonishing (see the full cast and you get the idea).
The result - one of the most realistic, graphic and beautiful animes ever produced - you forget that you are watching a cartoon and are just engulfed into the whole story.
The greatest manga film period. See it or be rectangular.