The Film that Kicked Western Audience's Butts

Rating: 9/10 (28 October 2018)

In 1988, a very unique animated action sci-fi feature came out known as Akira, based on the manga series of the same name by Katsuhiro Otomo (who also made the movie). What made it so unique is how it revolutionized western audience's perception of Japanese anime. While anime had been seen before in America, a film of this magnitude had never been shown directly before, and you can bet it left one hell of an impact. Any fan of anime nowadays pretty much owes their debt to this feature. As for what I think, lets just say it happens to be a favorite of mine.
Set in the dystopian year of 2019 in Neo-Tokyo, Kaneda and his biker gang lose their friend Tetsuo to the government to be tested. While that happens, Tetsuo develops mutant powers and causes chaos throughout the city, soon to become the next "Akira". From that premise alone, there is a clear social commentary on how our leaders abuse technology and power, which can lead to murderous rampaging monsters. The mythos behind what led to the original Akira is very intriguing, and the film does not shy away from going into detail about how such horrific events could have even happened, or what they even do to those in the long run.
In addition, the characters really make the film worthwhile, as all the events cause huge problems for each of them. The relationship between Kaneda and Tetsuo is that of pure friends and you can really feel Kaneda's desperation in wanting to save his best friend whilst unfortunately having to hunt him down. With Tetsuo, his powers end up having conflicting results on him, whether it'd be making him stronger or making him diabolically insane. The others mainly consist of special investigators, corrupt politicians and the biker gang themselves. While their subplots can be a bit sporadic, they still tie in together with the overall narrative, whether it'd be trying to stop Tetsuo or getting axed by him.
But of course, there's no excuse in not talking about the animation of the film, which is gorgeously crafted. The world of Neo-Tokyo provides a heavy usage of vibrant lighting and futuristic special effects, yet it still has its own identity by showing the contrasting depiction of gritty urban slums. The more stakes and action that occur in the film, the more grand the visuals become, and even at their most grotesque, the amount of effort, detail and artistry put into them is enough to marvel at. Also, given that this was the first Japanese animated film to have the voice-acting done before the animation, it makes the lip synching, expressions and character acting much more accurate than most Japanese animated films before its time.
I think we can all agree that Akira is an animated feature with a kick, and what a kick it is. With striking visuals, creative storytelling and a cast of rough albeit sympathetic characters comes a film that became one of the staples for intellectual dystopian science fiction features of the 1990s and onward. If you're a fan of anime, science-fiction, action, dystopian films or all of the above, then this is a mandatory watch. Even if it might confuse you at first due to how complicated it is by concept alone, you might not get as big of an experience like it anywhere else. As it's the animated film that changed everything, maybe it'll change you too.