WOW. What a strangely captivating film. The animation is astonishing, and so visceral. Some of its scenes were particularly haunting, namely Tetsuo's nightmare and the final mutation. The whole apocalyptic ambiance and atmosphere is extremely well-built, too.
I felt kind of disturbed, though, not only because of the overall violence and the intensity of the scenes involving Tetsuo's power struggle, but also because of its powerful themes. Its commentaries on the dangers of government intrusion and the people it decides to grant power to should not be overlooked, too, and I found the symbolism quite remarkable.
It is definitely not an easy movie to forget, and technically laudable. But it is also not an easy movie to watch, I felt myself quite internally divided.
In any aspect, it definitely deserves its placement among the most memorable animated movies. I'll probably be keen on seeing it again some other time, when the spirit is right. The first reaction is definitely too WOW-based to create a well-formed opinion.
Akira is great. It's a fine piece of sci-film anime film. Reading all the comments down here, I realize that there's so much hating towards japanese animation. Not everything in anime is Studio Ghibli (I love Studio Ghibli), and there are other types of anime. Akira is violent, dark, bizarre. But the animation is fantastic, very detailed, awesome and realistic perspective. The sound is amazing, too, there is some very good and smart uses for silence in this movie... The screenplay is amazing, too. It's a good film. But if you don't like animation, or violence, or surrealism or dark sci-fi... It's not for you. One of my favorites, now.
Very impressive artwork (except for some facial expressions but that's not unusual in anime, it just bugs me) and intriguing story/plot but the English script and voice acting were abysmal. Hopefully the original voice work was better.
while the plot may not be appealing to most (I actually enjoyed it) it cannot be denied that this is one of the most detailed, beautifully drawn and stunning anime I've ever seen, and the best I've ever seen.
I guess this is the kind of movie which give its best when watched under drugs. I can't say I really liked it because I found the plot quite weak but the achievement of this movie is in creating a real atmosphere of a dystopian city. Drawings and music are very nice though.
Up until now my experience with Japanese anime has only consisted of a few films and every Miyazaki film ever made. I’ve never really been into the fantasy element that accompanies such anime shows as “Full Metal Alchemist, “Bleach”, and “Dragon Ball Z”. I’ve read about “Akira” in articles detailing the history of sci-fi and have read on multiple accounts that it is the best anime film ever made. When I was browsing Amazon a week ago I noticed that “Akira” has recently been released on blu ray and I decided I could afford to spend a moderate amount of money on a blind buy. I’m glad I did. What I ended up witnessing is in fact the greatest anime film I have ever seen and one of the finest animated films of all time regardless of country of origin. I only thing is that I don’t really understand what the hell I just watched.
The film is set in 2019, thirty years after World War Three. Tokyo was devastated but has only recently rebuilt its city center. The setting in the city is one of light dystopian future. While there aren’t raving lunatics trolling the streets, there are street gangs and more specifically, street bike gangs. This is where were find our main characters. The gang is run by Kaneda, a member who may be in possession of the coolest bike in the city. Along with him, Tetsuo, Yamagata, and a few others attend their run down high school during the day and prowl the streets at night invading bars and looking for fights. During one of these street fights the gang runs into demonstrators fighting the government over the use of human experimentation and general imperialism. Tetsuo, trying to create an identity for himself, takes Kaneda’s bike and runs into a local gang. Tetsuo is saved by a mysterious boy who comes into contact with Tetsuo, possibly transferring over some kinetic energy to him. Tetsuo is then taken by the government after they learn he has come into contact with the boy.
Got it? It may seem complex as hell, mostly cause it is, but the overall plot of the film is laid out pretty well during the film. What follows next cannot be explained in detail because it was that fun to watch it all unravel. I can say that it was an animated experience unlike anything I’ve ever seen. The film goes down a rabbit hole into psychotic masterpiece and never looks back. The cover of the box claims that without this film there could never be a Matrix. I happen to agree. The concept of perceived reality is questioned about twenty times throughout the duration of the film but also keeps the entertainment factor high with excellent violence and breathtaking hand drawn animation. The colors, which are important considering most of the film takes place at night, are vibrant and unrelenting. It;s a gorgeous film rendered perfectly on this new blu ray disc.
If you’re a fan of anime I’m sure you’ve already seen this film but if you’re into science fiction or animated films at all I suggest giving this a watch, hell maybe two viewings would do it. It’s a fever dream of a film that I can’t begin to comprehend but will certainly try over many more viewings.
Am I the only one noticing all those mutual elements and hints of Tetsuo the Iron Man? The mutation, the conflict between the main character and the other characters, the arm, and even the character's name... very hard to overlook. Same kind of bizarre. For those who enjoyed this and haven't seen Tetsuo the Iron Man, then you totally need to check it out!
On another note, this movie is perfect! Intelligent story and sublime animation. Very glad I saw it.
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Comments 1 - 15 of 37
Lostio
WOW. What a strangely captivating film. The animation is astonishing, and so visceral. Some of its scenes were particularly haunting, namely Tetsuo's nightmare and the final mutation. The whole apocalyptic ambiance and atmosphere is extremely well-built, too.I felt kind of disturbed, though, not only because of the overall violence and the intensity of the scenes involving Tetsuo's power struggle, but also because of its powerful themes. Its commentaries on the dangers of government intrusion and the people it decides to grant power to should not be overlooked, too, and I found the symbolism quite remarkable.
It is definitely not an easy movie to forget, and technically laudable. But it is also not an easy movie to watch, I felt myself quite internally divided.
In any aspect, it definitely deserves its placement among the most memorable animated movies. I'll probably be keen on seeing it again some other time, when the spirit is right. The first reaction is definitely too WOW-based to create a well-formed opinion.
Rdgz_Dust_Speck
Akira is great. It's a fine piece of sci-film anime film. Reading all the comments down here, I realize that there's so much hating towards japanese animation. Not everything in anime is Studio Ghibli (I love Studio Ghibli), and there are other types of anime. Akira is violent, dark, bizarre. But the animation is fantastic, very detailed, awesome and realistic perspective. The sound is amazing, too, there is some very good and smart uses for silence in this movie... The screenplay is amazing, too. It's a good film. But if you don't like animation, or violence, or surrealism or dark sci-fi... It's not for you. One of my favorites, now.V012
I have never been so blown away by a filmstexdo
It's the Blade Runner of anime, an original, thrilling and crazy movie. One of the best animation movies ever.NuclearPlanet
The Ending with the exploding veins was awesome. Although, most of it was pretty bizarre and at times, Hard to follow.rvandam
Very impressive artwork (except for some facial expressions but that's not unusual in anime, it just bugs me) and intriguing story/plot but the English script and voice acting were abysmal. Hopefully the original voice work was better.mupp3tbab3h
while the plot may not be appealing to most (I actually enjoyed it) it cannot be denied that this is one of the most detailed, beautifully drawn and stunning anime I've ever seen, and the best I've ever seen.20th Century Boy
Protip: Reading the manga first will make this movie easier to enjoy.Serehrenfest
I guess this is the kind of movie which give its best when watched under drugs. I can't say I really liked it because I found the plot quite weak but the achievement of this movie is in creating a real atmosphere of a dystopian city. Drawings and music are very nice though.Duke of Omnium
I'm not an anime fan. I was impressed - the level of detail of "Neo-Tokyo" was magnificent, but I think the film's beauty and power was lost on me.The_Comatorium
Up until now my experience with Japanese anime has only consisted of a few films and every Miyazaki film ever made. I’ve never really been into the fantasy element that accompanies such anime shows as “Full Metal Alchemist, “Bleach”, and “Dragon Ball Z”. I’ve read about “Akira” in articles detailing the history of sci-fi and have read on multiple accounts that it is the best anime film ever made. When I was browsing Amazon a week ago I noticed that “Akira” has recently been released on blu ray and I decided I could afford to spend a moderate amount of money on a blind buy. I’m glad I did. What I ended up witnessing is in fact the greatest anime film I have ever seen and one of the finest animated films of all time regardless of country of origin. I only thing is that I don’t really understand what the hell I just watched.The film is set in 2019, thirty years after World War Three. Tokyo was devastated but has only recently rebuilt its city center. The setting in the city is one of light dystopian future. While there aren’t raving lunatics trolling the streets, there are street gangs and more specifically, street bike gangs. This is where were find our main characters. The gang is run by Kaneda, a member who may be in possession of the coolest bike in the city. Along with him, Tetsuo, Yamagata, and a few others attend their run down high school during the day and prowl the streets at night invading bars and looking for fights. During one of these street fights the gang runs into demonstrators fighting the government over the use of human experimentation and general imperialism. Tetsuo, trying to create an identity for himself, takes Kaneda’s bike and runs into a local gang. Tetsuo is saved by a mysterious boy who comes into contact with Tetsuo, possibly transferring over some kinetic energy to him. Tetsuo is then taken by the government after they learn he has come into contact with the boy.
Got it? It may seem complex as hell, mostly cause it is, but the overall plot of the film is laid out pretty well during the film. What follows next cannot be explained in detail because it was that fun to watch it all unravel. I can say that it was an animated experience unlike anything I’ve ever seen. The film goes down a rabbit hole into psychotic masterpiece and never looks back. The cover of the box claims that without this film there could never be a Matrix. I happen to agree. The concept of perceived reality is questioned about twenty times throughout the duration of the film but also keeps the entertainment factor high with excellent violence and breathtaking hand drawn animation. The colors, which are important considering most of the film takes place at night, are vibrant and unrelenting. It;s a gorgeous film rendered perfectly on this new blu ray disc.
If you’re a fan of anime I’m sure you’ve already seen this film but if you’re into science fiction or animated films at all I suggest giving this a watch, hell maybe two viewings would do it. It’s a fever dream of a film that I can’t begin to comprehend but will certainly try over many more viewings.
5/5
www.thoughtsfromthebooth.com
stefapalooza
There's no denying that this film is beautifully drawn. But the plot was rubbish.Petrux
Honestly i didn't understand a single fuck of this movie.KaramAkerfeldt
Am I the only one noticing all those mutual elements and hints of Tetsuo the Iron Man? The mutation, the conflict between the main character and the other characters, the arm, and even the character's name... very hard to overlook. Same kind of bizarre. For those who enjoyed this and haven't seen Tetsuo the Iron Man, then you totally need to check it out!On another note, this movie is perfect! Intelligent story and sublime animation. Very glad I saw it.
Kamrado
It's pretty good, but no match for the original Manga.Showing items 1 – 15 of 37