Tetsuooooooo! The most depth-charged film ever created.

Rating: 10/10 (19 January 2003)

In Walt Disney's groundbreaking Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, the villain is an evil sorceress and the heroes are seven `funny' dwarves and a beautiful woman who sings to cute animals while sitting under a tree. In Katsuhiro Ôtomo's groundbreaking AKIRA, the villain is a corrupt government and the heroes are `terrorist' revolutionaries and amphetamine-addicted biker gangs who hit rival gang members in the head with ratchets at 140 km/h. Sound different Disney lovers? Well it is. It is very different.

This ultra-violent and dark vision was brought to life in 1988 by creative genius Katsuhiro Ôtomo. It was the most expensive Japanese film at that time and it became the all-time anime classic. The only film ever made that truly defines its genre.

The story of the film is as follows: In post-apocalyptic Neo-Tokyo, a biker gang member named Tetsuo has mysterious powers "awakened" inside of him and goes out to find Akira, the one who gave him his power.

Not as simple and straightforward as you think (or wish). Many filmgoers complain that AKIRA makes no sense and never goes anywhere. Here is what I have to say to them, "Read the manga.' The manga is over 2,000 pages long while the movie clocks in without end credits at 122 minutes. And if you watch it several times it actually makes perfect sense.

The most mind-blowing aspect of the film is it's "organic" music. Recorded before a frame of animation was finished, the music sounds absolutely stunning and fits the images on screen almost perfectly.

Another stunner is the animation. The only CG used is in the comparison of Akira and Tetsuo's power (the glowing hologram). The cel animation looks unbelievably realistic even today and the introduction of Kaneda's gang is a real eye-opener.

Warner Bros. is apparently trying to remake the film as an animated movie. Let's hope they fail, because the only time this movie should have been "upgraded" was in 2001 when Pioneer released their great remastered edition.

With it's ultra-violent kinetic real-time action, mind-blowing visual designs, and complex story, AKIRA made my top 150 list at number 4. If you want it, get Pioneer's 2-disc SE and DTS disc. And yeah, I got the story.

Rated R for graphic animated violence/gore, language, and brief nudity. Suggested for ages 15 and up.