A good transition, short of perfect

Rating: 10/10 (13 February 2006)

I understand how some people feel: that this film has absolutely (or very very little) to do with the original books, or that there is no discernible plot. And I would agree. As a movie, AKIRA is very shallow. However, you have to understand what this movie has done to Anime. It was the movie that brought the anime craze to the United States. Also, just watch the movie from an art perspective. Just as a cartoon, this film blows all conventional anime standards out of the water. No current film has ever come close to what AKIRA did for anime, and I doubt any other traditionally made (cel) movie ever will. My thanks and congratulations to Katsuhiro Otomo's team.
Kaneda's character in the film is much shallower as the one described in the manga. His real motivation is only mentioned once in the movies, when he says "Tetsuo is our friend, if anyone's going to kill him, it should be us." In the books, Kaneda's transformation from mere bike gang leader to head of an entire resistance is a slow one, and you can see his skill growing. He is motivated by sheer revenge in the beginning, revenge for Yamagata. Towards the end though, you can begin to see that his interest in the Akira Project itself is present. Unfortunately, the actual Project is not made perfectly clear in the movie version. A terrible shame, as it provides some interesting aspects of the behind-the-scenes of the story.
*more to be updated in time*