Akira

Rating:
Summary: A must see, even though 3 stars
Review: Plot: Tetsuo, a member of a biker gang in 2019 Neo-Tokyo, meets these children who have psychic abilities which awakens his own psychic and physical powers, but will he be good or be a monster? "Akira" is one of the children with psychic abilities who is rarely seen, and who might cause the end of the world.

My thoughts: Weird, just plain weird. The plot is rather hard to follow, but there's cool action sequences, great animation and one very funny scene with a giant teddy bear that I'll never forget. If I was rating based on animation alone it would have 5 stars, but taking into account the whole movie (plot, characters, etc) I can only give it 3. Even so, it's still a must see for anime fans because of the animation and the impact it had on anime.

When I first saw Akira the only other anime I'd seen had been Sailor Moon on weekday morning TV. If you've only seen a few anime shows and they're all like Sailor Moon, I wouldn't recommend Akira as a first step into darker/drama/weird/thinking anime. If you're already into darker/drama/weird/thinking anime then you'd probably love Akira.

Definitely not for anyone under 13, I might go so far as to say 16 and up (it's a bit disturbing).

Rating:
Summary: Great anime... lousy English
Review: I loved Akira when I saw it for the first time. I was amazed at the quality of the artistry, storyline... everything. When it was even remotely available on VHS, I started looking and eventually bought it. When the DVD came out, I was exstatic and bought it as soon as it was available. Unfortunately, I returned it the next day. The "new" english dub for the movie stinks. It sounds almost as if a group of fans got hold of the film and dubbed over it, using inferior equipment. I'm sorry to say that I can not recommend this version of an awesome, genre-breaking anime.

Rating:
Summary: One of the Best
Review: Anyone who is even slightly familiar with Japanese animation has heard of AKIRA. You almost have to write the title in full caps. Superhuman powers have seemed to always be a favorite of the japanese. This movie has it and more. A wonderful story of friendship, sadness, and a disturbing theme of human experimentation by the government, all to achieve the "ultimate weapon" mankind has always been searching for. In AKIRA, we have no further to look than ourselves for the power to destroy entire cities with a thought. The only reason I gave it 4 stars instead of 5 is that the english dub version of this movie confuses an already confusing storyline, not to mention the fact that it does tend to drag a little in the middle. For someone who hasn't read the manga version, this movie can be extremely confusing. Thankfully, the japanese language mode with english subs helps a little bit with the confusion. So a word to the wise: If you wish to understand the storyline, don't watch this movie in english!

Rating:
Summary: A CONFUSING STORY NEVER LOOKED SO BEAUTIFUL
Review: Rating this movie was no easy task for me. The animation is one side of it, the story is another. As for the animation, the motorcycle chase at the beginning was breathtaking. And as one watches this movie, one can't help but realize that this movie probably influenced Final Fantasy 7 and (according to my friend) Full Throttle.

There is lots of other eye-candy throughout the movie--helicopter blades spinning faster and faster, LOTS of explosions and debris. There is a scene that involves a killer Teddy Bear, Rabbit, and Toy Car that is very, uh, weird, but extremely entertaining. And, of course, the very end of the movie. If you like action, you'll see PLENTY of it.

The story started out good, but once Tetsuo starts going crazy, the story does the same. Dozens of questions rise in your mind. What is going on? But, hey, it looks good, so you keep watching it. When I got to the end, my eyes widened at some of the grande finale visuals, but at the same time my eyebrows raised a hair more as my mind tried to figure out what had gone on.

Like I mentioned earlier, Akira probably influenced Final Fantasy 7. In fact, I couldn't help but say to myself, "Hmm, Akira would make one heck of a video game." Just take a look at these parallels: Akira = JENOVA, both have motorcycle chases in dark, large, banged-up super-cities and the SOL spaceship reminded me of the one in Final Fantasy The Spirits Within.

Even if you're new to anime like I am, this movie is definitely worth at least a rental. And when you consider that they took a 1,300+ page graphic novel and condensed it into 2 hours, they really did a pretty good job.

Rating:
Summary: Watch, or die.
Review: The music is unbelievable. It might sound silly, but combined with the animation, it is unbelievable. The animation makes me question my senses. The story is so deep that you might drown in it. I'm willing to help if you can't on your own. But I insist that the manga version is superior to even this. It makes sense, the cowardly fanatic you see in the movie turns out to be a wise, valiant psychic and a number (19), Akira is alive, and it's basically far superior. It astonished me, though, that the movie has such a different yet similar plot, without significant plot holes or stupidity.

But making Akira dead actually was a good idea. Itmade him a sort of mysterious force that must be stopped. Of course, the manga Akira didn't talk much, so he was also mysterious and frightening.

Rating:
Summary: Superb, Superb, Superb.
Review: Katsuhiro Otomo's master piece that is Akira can only be called superb. It is now a cult classic and though many other animes have been released that boast even better animation than it for some reason Akira still tops them off as a better film. Perhaps this is because of the excellant balanceing of many different elements to the film, as well as shear class.

Akira has everything. It has real characters that are thrust from a world that does not want or care about them into a supernatural world of awe and grandeur. Fastly paced action and chase sequences are quickly followed by sci-fi style combat as individuals use their mere thought to rip apart the Neo-Tokyo landscape that is their battle field. As well as this the film also has a well structured story that centres around two biker gang teenagers-one is Tetsuo, a youth that was bullied and ridiculed by others who is then given god-like powers; the other is Kaneda, a well like individual that has acted as a leader and friend to Tetsuo though finds that he must confront and kill the omnipitant force that has become of his friend. What also makes the film is a sombre and some times brooding musical score that leaps with life at one moment and is quiet and mournful the next.

Akira has charcter; class; as well as guts to create a truely epic and original expierinace that will not leave your mind for some time.

This is Cinema.

Rating:
Summary: benchmark half baked
Review: Yes it is a benchmark. One of the 1st Anime available in the west. The reaction of a lot of people seeing it for the 1st time was "what the hell"
WHile A fine movie visually it only begins to scrape the surface of the original manga which has artwork just as good yet an infinitly better plot, that actually makes sense. I like the movie as a visual tribute to the original manga. Really I'm wanting 4hrs or maybe 3x2hr series to begin doing justice to the original.

Rating:
Summary: ....
Review: When I first bought Akira, it was for three reasons. One was my absolute hatred for most Walt Disney movies, my love for anime, and the fact that I love weirdness. Hearing my close friends talk about a biker gang running over a kid with a face of an old man really appeals to me. So I went out and bought it...
I didn't dare buy the English dubbed version. Dubbed versions will NEVER give you the "true" and "original" feel of the movie, so I took the one with subtitles. Watched it, and fell in love WITH EVERY SINGLE ASPECT OF IT.
If there's a flaw in Akira, I didn't see it. The animation was perfectly done, the story line was intense, and...humanity bleeds through every single one of the characters. As tough as Kaneda may be, he still shed tears for Yamagata, another one of his biking friends that the mutilatedTetsuo had killed. Kei may seem like your average warrior (oops - I meant terrorist) lady, but she still screams and shows fear. And Tetsuo - at the very brink of his helplessness, he screams for...surprise, surprise, help.
The story line isn't as confusing as it seems. Reading subtitles and watching it twice will help.
Another thing to toast about Akira would be the MUSIC! The Akira theme song, is...there's no earthly word to describe it. It's a type I've never heard before. It's neither modern, nor classical, nor New Age, nor tribal....it's almost a rare mixture between heavy metal, techno, choral, tribal...it's very strange, yet at the same time, delightful and exciting to the ear.
There's lots of blood and gore in this anime - but it's all tastefully done. The blood and gore's there for a purpose - without it, the story wouldn't be complete. It's not just violence and blood for the heck of it...it's there for a reason. But it's still not a family film. The scene where Tetsuo's girlfriend nearly gets raped by one of the Clown bike gang members isn't exactly pretty to watch - and when Akira's power inside Tetsou is revealed - I'm of legal age to watch it, and it scares me. Thankfully, growing up around manga and anime helped me sleep when night came.
Akira - you won't be dissapointed.

Rating:
Summary: New english translation is too American
Review: I grew up on the (VHS) original english translation and this new one, takes away from the overall effect and the storyline. It's Japanese in origin. Keep those flavors in. Don't Americanize it to death.
The dialogue sounds so cheezy in this latest version. If you never seen this before, and want the DVD, that's fine. But if you have seen the original english translation in VHS and were looking to the same on DVD, you may be disappointed.
Plus, I understand the plot maybe because I've watched it too many times. This is still the best anime of all time.

Rating:
Summary: Incredible mood trip to Neo Tokyo
Review: No, the storyline in Akira does not make much sense. Akira should not be praised for its storyline because this is not where it really shines. Where Akira does succeed (and hugely) is in drawing the viewer in and viscerally conveying the sense of chaos and disorder of Neo Tokyo and the characters' lives. You can litterlly feel the sense of abandoning responisibility and order as you see the events unfolding.

Run down schools, biker gangs, corrupted politicians & police, restless teenagers, rebel dissidents, and lost people looking to cult religions all fuel the fire in Neo Tokyo.

Technically, the awesome city backdrops along with some of the coolest animated action scenes drawn showcase the highest quality of animation. My jaw just about dropped when I saw what the artists did with smoke and flying projectiles. The physics in their artistry is beautiful to behold.

The moody music is perfectly suited for the malaise you sense visually. It is the unspoken guide to the city that is running itself down.

A lot of people enjoy movies but never realize that the real reason behind that enjoyment versus another film that bored them is that the enjoyable movie drew them in and immersed them in the world and moment that the film takes place. Akira does this with the snap and precision of a Milestone Anime.