Not Disney, Thank God

Rating: 10/10 (1 March 2001)

This was the first Japanese animation movie I ever saw -- I was totally unprepared what I was in for, and left the cinema stunned and amazed. For me, without any doubt, Akira is a seminal film. The story, animation, everything is perfect. The soundtrack is something else, absolutely the best I know and a piece of art in its own right -- the voices of the dolls Akira sees in his nightmare, for example, are pygmies, not children or a studio effect. I bought the OST as a super expensive import CD for one of my girl friends, and the daft cow completely failed to appreciate it ... oh well, her loss.
This movie makes Disney look very, very old. Absolutely a must - see -- 11 / 10.