When Anime goes right

Rating: 8/10 (2 September 2004)

In general, I dislike Anime. I think most of it is godawful formulaic crap full of horrendous clichés. But it has it's strengths, and a good director knows what they are and knows how to use them. Akira knows what the strengths of Anime are and uses them.
Visually, it's about as good as it gets. Neo-Tokyo is brought to life with detail that would make any sci-fi fan giddy. You enjoy watching the sprawling megalopolis come to life in the bike sequences and the riots and protests throughout. The long sequence at the end is beyond description. All that should be said is that it couldn't be made without animation. Any Hollywood attempt to pull the sequence off would be computer generated and tacky. It could only be made by hand drawn animation, and it's proven to be a formidable format.
Throughout the whole movie this amazing drum music plays in the best parts. I'm not sure what it is, I imagine it's Japanese, but I'm not sure. Whatever it is, it complements the on screen action perfectly. The director knows when to put what music where, and does it.
The entire movie is able to give you an extreme sense of unease and fear. It isn't fear in the horror movie sense of the word, or in the David Lynch surreal sense, but just a fear of the world you're being shown. It's a scary place, and Akira conveys it perfectly.
The characters aren't well developed. Any anybody who tries to tell you otherwise doesn't know real character development. But that's not what the movie is going for. The movie is showing you characters that are as well developed as they need to be. They are well animated enough to seem realistic and do what you would expect them to do in their situation. You don't need to feel for any of the characters. The movie doesn't need them to be interesting people. But for what they are, they are extremely believable and effective.
The movie is deep beyond a normal science fiction story. No, it won't question yourself most likely, or your relationship with others. But it will haunt you for a very long time, and it richly deserves it. There are better movies out there, but there's always a better movie. I recommend this to anybody, but especially someone interested in the strengths of animation. This movie is the embodiment of what can go right in animation.