The "Die Hard" of Japanese anime

Rating: 9/10 (12 September 2000)

For better or worse, "Die Hard" is the benchmark with which most modern action-thrillers are compared. You can see it in newspaper articles or reviews. "Under Siege" was called "Die Hard on a boat." "Speed" was dubbed "Die Hard on a bus." "Sudden Death" was "Die Hard in a hockey rink."
Well, "Akira" is the "Die Hard" of all Japanese anime. I'm not an ardent follower of this genre, I must admit. I like only a handfull of these films, and I own all but one of the ones I enjoyed (i.e., "Wings of Honneamise", "Ghost in the Shell", "Princess Mononoke", and "Akira"). The reason is simple, if not totally fair: every anime I see, I compare to "Akira." And more often than not, they come up short in one area or another. "Akira" represents, to me, a near-perfect synthesis of action, science-fiction, and high-end animation. I've seen an awful lot of comparisons to "Blade Runner", but the two films have little in common except the time in which they take place. While "Blade Runner" took its time with the storytelling, "Akira" starts with the tachometer at the red line and rarely hits the brakes. It's ultraviolent, semi-gross, and downright startling in places. Anime just has no right being this good.