Here we have a story of kids.
The kids of Neo Tokyo in 2019, 31 years after WWIII.
Mainly, it's the story of four kids. Kaneda, leader of a motorcycle gang and owner of a suped-up motorbike. Tetsuo, Kaneda's friend who happens be jealous of Kaneda. Kei, an anti-government rebel who Kaneda has a crush on.
And then there is Akira.
For more, just check out the Wikipedia entry.
Now, why should you watch it?
Well, I wouldn't be that good of an otaku if I didn't recommend it.
First, it's a classic science fiction anime.
Second is it's music.
I can't really describe it.
It's eerie, haunting, and truly stands the test of time.
Then it's the animation.
This was released in 1988.
It's completely hand drawn animation.
And it's far more fluid, far more detailed, and far more complex than quite a bit of anime released today.
For example, the lipsync.
This isn't the typical three different mouth shapes used to make it look like the characters are talking, and doesn't always fit that well.
If you're watching it subtitled (which I recommend doing at least once) watch the mouth movements.
They match the japanese dialogue nearly exactly.
And then there are the explosions.
All done by hand, and they look gorgeous.
The only issue I have is the plot.
Akira, the Movie, is based off a 6 volume manga.
It's the same situation when a studio tries to cram a 500+ page novel into a 90min movie.
Much of the manga's story has been cut out to make it fit into a 2 hour film, including credits.
One of these days I'll get my hands on a copy of the Dark Horse reprint of the Manga, just so I can finally get the entire story.
But, it is still a good story.
The story of a young man who feels inferior to his best friend and begins to acquire the powers of a god.
And I loved it.
Oh, I can't forget about the design.
Unlike the traditional, stereo-typical, anime style (big eyes, small mouths, brightly colored hair), Akira's is more based on reality.
Okay, some of the characters, like the Espers, don't look that realistic, but for the most part most of the characters look Japanese, with properly proportioned eyes, dark hair, and accurate human proportions.
Even Kei, who was Kaneda's crush, looks more realistic than almost every anime beauty out there.
And I can't forget one simple piece of direction.
In most movies, and it doesn't matter if it's anime or not, they tend to use the score for drama.
In Akira, the director knew exactly how to use pure silence in that manner.
You have to admire a director when they do that.
As for the dub, I can't help but compare it to the Streamline dub.
Now, everybody loves the Streamline version.
I love the Streamline version.
It's a true classic dub.
This, on the other hand, is only average.
It's reasonably accurate (according to the translation in the subtitles) but it's not really exceptionally well acted and some of the voices just make your ears bleed (the Esper kids).
But, since I'm a subtitled fan, I watched it with Subtitles turned on most of the movie.
Even though I would have preferred to have a copy of the Streamline dub on hand, I can't help but give Akira 5 Tokyo Shoe Shine Boys out of 5.