Man, machine, and psychic mutation...

Rating: Null/10 (15 August 2001)

If you got the balls to handle it, Akira is a great movie. The animation is frighteningly detailed with movements so smooth it's good enough to be the equivalent of a live-action thriller. The story is chock-full of cyberpunk fun, complete with a monolithic Blade Runner-esque city and a hard-core biker gang with a taste for anarchy. Sound like a bloodthirsty teenager movie? There's more to Akira than meets the eye. Under it's gore-and-violence tinted shell there is a deep message concerning the social makeup. Will I tell you? Now that would ruin all the fun, now wouldn't it? Part of Akira's greatness is that it doesn't have to be taken seriously for you to like it. You can just pop back on the couch and watch it as if it were a moving comic book. But, if you want to understand it's message and leave with something to think about other than wanting to be a biker-punk, you'll need to pay attention. This movie can be pretty hard to follow when it gets into full-motion, and missing as much as a minute will throw you completely off track. But have no fear. If you lose the plot you'll always have the beautiful imagery to feast on for the rest of the movie. To the teenaged viewer, Akira is just awesome. To the anime fan, it's a masterpiece. To the average adult, it's a heartless bloodbath with nothing to be displayed other than senseless violence (which is totally untrue, to anybody who thinks that). It may not be for everyone, but Akira is a movie to experienced at least once in your lifetime.