AnimeSuki Forums

Shiroto · 2007-07-08, 10:45

whos seen akira, its one of my favourite movies,but in the end, it dont make sense.

roriconfan · 2010-10-09, 18:46

ZOMBIES ARE BACK

PROLOGUE
Amongst the most classic anime titles of all times, Akira has passed in history as the best otaku advertisement of the early 90’s. Based on a manga, the movie portrays how damaging the psychological angst of a teenager can get, if unleashed through psionic enhancing.

ART SECTION: 9/10 (8 in the manga; it was black and white)
General Artwork 2/2
Character Figures 1/2
Backgrounds 2/2
Animation 2/2
Visual Effects 2/2

When Akira was produced, it was the most expensive anime movie ever made, as of yet. And it worth its money as the graphics had more details than you could count. The animation was the most realistic experience for over a decade, as even the slightest thing was moving on its own. Ok, that feeling wore off after Miyazaki’s films came to be and women look like men; but they still beat most graphics of modern series. And those mutation and gore scenes will scar you no matter how many years pass.

SOUND SECTION: 8/10 (duh, the manga only had written words for sounds)
Voice Acting 2/3
Music Themes 3/4
Sound Effects 3/3

Eerie drums and hymns that make your hair lift up. Reaaaly spooky stuff. It boosts the atmosphere sky-high. Not your average cheery, squeaky voiced J-pop.
Voice acting and sound effects were superb in terms of passion; although the context of the dialogues was usually screaming one another’s names for 10 times in a row, which was kinda silly.

CHARACTER SECTION: 7/10 (9 in the manga)
Presence 2/2
Personality 1/2
Backdrop 1/2
Development 1/2
Catharsis 2/2

Two prevailing characters, Tetsuo and Kaneda, orphans that grew up together in a world gone crazy. Although having the same background, Kaneda feels only like an edgy, teenage delinquent. He is the leader type that makes others like him and follow him and kicks ass when somebody questions his ego.

But Tetsuo, wow, the guy is one, big, crazy, son of a … His weak presence early in the film is quickly replaced by an insane megalomaniac, out to get even with the world that was hurting him all his life. He hardly knows whom to blame first; his researchers, his best friend or even his own self. And makes A LOT of damage because of it. Down inside, he is just a normal kid that never got the affection it needed to feel secure and now everyone will pay the price! A cult figure, for a good reason.

I prefer this kind of problematic characters to those lame heavy-dudes of today. Most recent series with teenagers with issues don’t go further than shoveling us a silent-type guy whose woman was kidnapped or village was destroyed and now got ultra powerful and fights evil. Bleah! But being a movie all development feels rushed and kinda ruins your appreciation about the whole deal.

Although there are over 20 other secondary characters in the movie (3 times as much, in the manga!), none of them get the airtime they required to let their personality shine properly. The stuck-up military guy that wants to protect the status quo, the curious scientist that challenges the powers of the unknown just to see what they can do, the rebel zealots, the scheming politician, the psychic kids, all of them contribute in the story but the theme is not about them.

STORY SECTION: 6/10 (9 in the manga)
General Scenario 2/2
Pacing 1/2
Side Stories 1/2
Believability/Reasoning/Realism 1/2
Conclusion 1/2

The theme is the rotten society and the psychological damage it does that causes its own youth to rebel and bring upon its own downfall. Yes, it’s a typical theme nowadays and there are a hundred series with a similar premise.

Amoral scientists experiment on little children, in order to harness their psychic powers. Searching in the dark for something they have no idea about, a kid named Akira goes amok, destroys Tokyo and brings about worldwide chaos. The politicians hide their shameful mistake from the public and scientists repeat the same experiment years later on a kid named Tetsuo… and get screwed again.

The story is simple and straightforward (it’s a movie, after all). There were 10 times as many events and a gazillion plot twists in the manga the movie was based on, but here, the story is nothing to praise.

The duration is not enough to let the story unfold smoothly and the conclusion is left open to discussion (this is not a problem in the manga). There are several good ideas in it about evolution, God, the essence of life but need personal thinking to make sense. But it’s more of a movie about the psyche of teenagers, not cool graphics or in-depth scenario.

VALUE SECTION: 10/10 (10 in the manga, as well)
“Oh, it’s old! Oh, it doesn’t have emo characters! Oh! The manga was better!”
These are some excuses I have heard over the years of why Akira is not supposed to be high on value. Let’s make this clear: If Akira wasn’t filmed, several tens of millions of people would still be saying: “Anime? What’s that?”. Its film projection in America convinced several simpletons that anime are not just for kids and allowed many otakus to finally admit in public that they like them without being ridiculed. And I know that such a fact is insignificant now that anime are well known. But it doesn’t change the fact that without it, most of you reading my review would STILL CONSIDER ROAD RUNNER TO BE THE BEST ANIMATED SERIES EVER! So pay your respects instead of acting like spoiled brats.

As for replay value, I have personally watched it 6 times in 7 years and will probably watch it many times more.

ENJOYMENT SECTION: 8/10 (9 in the manga)
Was it fun to watch? No, it wasn’t! It’s a very disturbing movie, out to give you nightmares and insecurity about the future. And know what? Good for it! Do you think watching Son Goku beating the bad guys and resurrecting all the good guys with the Dragon Balls is entertaining because it’s cool and cheery? No, it isn’t! It’s pathetic! The movie tries to give a moral meaning that goes beyond the phrase “get strong, defeat evil and everything will miraculously be solved”. It fails to do so in the most part but at least, it tries to be more than a brainless Hollywood action film.

VERDICT: 8/10
Well, it didn’t take much consideration. The accused is found … NOT GUILTY! … All charges were just slander and are dropped. The accused is free to go. We hope for more of you to be out there.

SUGGESTION LIST
All the following titles are inferior to Akira but have partial similarities.

These titles involve psychics, secret human experiments and a lot of splatter scenes.
Akai Kiba Blue Sonnet
Choujin Densetsu Urotsukidouji
Choujin Locke
Elfen Lied

The same guy who made Akira also made this title. It also became the most expensive anime movie of its time. But story and characters suck!
Steam boy.

NoLongerSane · 2010-10-09, 22:17

I remember this film. It has really been a while since I scene it but it was one of first series/OVA/films that introduced me into the anime world. The story was dark for my taste at the time but I reall come to enjoy the film after a couple of screenings. Again, one of the first animes that I watch that introduced me into the anime world.

ragnarokr · 2010-10-10, 13:28

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shiroto

whos seen akira, its one of my favourite movies,but in the end, it dont make sense.

Watch it again, gets better with every time you rewatch it.

2007-07-08, 10:45	Link #1
Shiroto Junior Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: ????????????????????	Akira (Movie) whos seen akira, its one of my favourite movies,but in the end, it dont make sense.

2010-10-09, 18:46	Link #2
roriconfan Banned Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Thessaloniki - Greece	ZOMBIES ARE BACK PROLOGUE Amongst the most classic anime titles of all times, Akira has passed in history as the best otaku advertisement of the early 90’s. Based on a manga, the movie portrays how damaging the psychological angst of a teenager can get, if unleashed through psionic enhancing. ART SECTION: 9/10 (8 in the manga; it was black and white) General Artwork 2/2 Character Figures 1/2 Backgrounds 2/2 Animation 2/2 Visual Effects 2/2 When Akira was produced, it was the most expensive anime movie ever made, as of yet. And it worth its money as the graphics had more details than you could count. The animation was the most realistic experience for over a decade, as even the slightest thing was moving on its own. Ok, that feeling wore off after Miyazaki’s films came to be and women look like men; but they still beat most graphics of modern series. And those mutation and gore scenes will scar you no matter how many years pass. SOUND SECTION: 8/10 (duh, the manga only had written words for sounds) Voice Acting 2/3 Music Themes 3/4 Sound Effects 3/3 Eerie drums and hymns that make your hair lift up. Reaaaly spooky stuff. It boosts the atmosphere sky-high. Not your average cheery, squeaky voiced J-pop. Voice acting and sound effects were superb in terms of passion; although the context of the dialogues was usually screaming one another’s names for 10 times in a row, which was kinda silly. CHARACTER SECTION: 7/10 (9 in the manga) Presence 2/2 Personality 1/2 Backdrop 1/2 Development 1/2 Catharsis 2/2 Two prevailing characters, Tetsuo and Kaneda, orphans that grew up together in a world gone crazy. Although having the same background, Kaneda feels only like an edgy, teenage delinquent. He is the leader type that makes others like him and follow him and kicks ass when somebody questions his ego. But Tetsuo, wow, the guy is one, big, crazy, son of a … His weak presence early in the film is quickly replaced by an insane megalomaniac, out to get even with the world that was hurting him all his life. He hardly knows whom to blame first; his researchers, his best friend or even his own self. And makes A LOT of damage because of it. Down inside, he is just a normal kid that never got the affection it needed to feel secure and now everyone will pay the price! A cult figure, for a good reason. I prefer this kind of problematic characters to those lame heavy-dudes of today. Most recent series with teenagers with issues don’t go further than shoveling us a silent-type guy whose woman was kidnapped or village was destroyed and now got ultra powerful and fights evil. Bleah! But being a movie all development feels rushed and kinda ruins your appreciation about the whole deal. Although there are over 20 other secondary characters in the movie (3 times as much, in the manga!), none of them get the airtime they required to let their personality shine properly. The stuck-up military guy that wants to protect the status quo, the curious scientist that challenges the powers of the unknown just to see what they can do, the rebel zealots, the scheming politician, the psychic kids, all of them contribute in the story but the theme is not about them. STORY SECTION: 6/10 (9 in the manga) General Scenario 2/2 Pacing 1/2 Side Stories 1/2 Believability/Reasoning/Realism 1/2 Conclusion 1/2 The theme is the rotten society and the psychological damage it does that causes its own youth to rebel and bring upon its own downfall. Yes, it’s a typical theme nowadays and there are a hundred series with a similar premise. Amoral scientists experiment on little children, in order to harness their psychic powers. Searching in the dark for something they have no idea about, a kid named Akira goes amok, destroys Tokyo and brings about worldwide chaos. The politicians hide their shameful mistake from the public and scientists repeat the same experiment years later on a kid named Tetsuo… and get screwed again. The story is simple and straightforward (it’s a movie, after all). There were 10 times as many events and a gazillion plot twists in the manga the movie was based on, but here, the story is nothing to praise. The duration is not enough to let the story unfold smoothly and the conclusion is left open to discussion (this is not a problem in the manga). There are several good ideas in it about evolution, God, the essence of life but need personal thinking to make sense. But it’s more of a movie about the psyche of teenagers, not cool graphics or in-depth scenario. VALUE SECTION: 10/10 (10 in the manga, as well) “Oh, it’s old! Oh, it doesn’t have emo characters! Oh! The manga was better!” These are some excuses I have heard over the years of why Akira is not supposed to be high on value. Let’s make this clear: If Akira wasn’t filmed, several tens of millions of people would still be saying: “Anime? What’s that?”. Its film projection in America convinced several simpletons that anime are not just for kids and allowed many otakus to finally admit in public that they like them without being ridiculed. And I know that such a fact is insignificant now that anime are well known. But it doesn’t change the fact that without it, most of you reading my review would STILL CONSIDER ROAD RUNNER TO BE THE BEST ANIMATED SERIES EVER! So pay your respects instead of acting like spoiled brats. As for replay value, I have personally watched it 6 times in 7 years and will probably watch it many times more. ENJOYMENT SECTION: 8/10 (9 in the manga) Was it fun to watch? No, it wasn’t! It’s a very disturbing movie, out to give you nightmares and insecurity about the future. And know what? Good for it! Do you think watching Son Goku beating the bad guys and resurrecting all the good guys with the Dragon Balls is entertaining because it’s cool and cheery? No, it isn’t! It’s pathetic! The movie tries to give a moral meaning that goes beyond the phrase “get strong, defeat evil and everything will miraculously be solved”. It fails to do so in the most part but at least, it tries to be more than a brainless Hollywood action film. VERDICT: 8/10 Well, it didn’t take much consideration. The accused is found … NOT GUILTY! … All charges were just slander and are dropped. The accused is free to go. We hope for more of you to be out there. SUGGESTION LIST All the following titles are inferior to Akira but have partial similarities. These titles involve psychics, secret human experiments and a lot of splatter scenes. Akai Kiba Blue Sonnet Choujin Densetsu Urotsukidouji Choujin Locke Elfen Lied The same guy who made Akira also made this title. It also became the most expensive anime movie of its time. But story and characters suck! Steam boy. Last edited by roriconfan; 2011-02-18 at 13:14.

2010-10-09, 22:17	Link #3
NoLongerSane Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Texas	I remember this film. It has really been a while since I scene it but it was one of first series/OVA/films that introduced me into the anime world. The story was dark for my taste at the time but I reall come to enjoy the film after a couple of screenings. Again, one of the first animes that I watch that introduced me into the anime world.