Akira (1988)
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AUDIENCE SCORE
Critic Consensus: Akira is distractingly bloody and violent, but its phenomenal animation and sheer kinetic energy helped set the standard for modern anime.
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Cast
as Kaneda (Streamline English version)
as Kaneda (Japanese Version)
as Tetsuo Shima
as Tetsuo (Streamline English Version)
as Kei
as Kei (Streamline English version)
as Colonel Shikishima
as Yamagata (Japanese Version)
as Yamagata (Streamline English Version)
as Kaori (Streamline English Version)
as Kaori (Japanese Version)
as Store Owner (Japanese Version)
as Girl C (Japanese Version)
as Kai (Japanese Version)
as Masaru (Streamline English Version)
as Ryu (Streamline English Version)
as The Doctor (Animaze English Version)
as Ryu
as Doctor
as Takashi No. 26
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Critic Reviews for Akira
All Critics (47) | Top Critics (9) | Fresh (41) | Rotten (6) | DVD (9)
Pounding away, it becomes monotonous.
A compendium of the worst cliches of Japanese animation -- two hours of chases, laser attacks, machine-gun battles, spilled stage blood, computer-animated backgrounds and hokey dialogue.
The movie, even at 124 minutes, has the densely packed sweep and go-for-it pep of a pop epic.
Grade-school violence freaks may find a few kicks here, but even they may have trouble coping with this ugly movie's ending about eight separate times.
A lavish animation extravaganza produced at a cost of $8 million, this futuristic exploration is a followup by author-director Katsuhiro Otomo to his tremendously popular comic books.
An impressive achievement, often suggesting a weird expressionist blend of 2001, The Warriors, Blade Runner and Forbidden Planet.
Audience Reviews for Akira
Dazzling, frenetic, audacious and insane. This movie gave me at least half a dozen things I had never seen in my life. You feel kind of dazed and blinded when it's over. My partner tells me that the anime series Neon Genesis Evangelion is even better and darker than Akira though... to which I replied "How the heck can it be darker than this?!"
Super Reviewer
A landmark anime feature that paved the way for the medium's growing popularity outside of Japan and remains a significant influence in the sci-fi genre (this and "Ghost in the Shell" were key influences to the super-popular Matrix trilogy). At times it can be over-shadowed by it's excessive graphic violence and an exhaustingly drawn-out third act, but this adaptation of director Katsuhiro Otomo's 2000-page manga keeps up a kinetically-energetic pace that simply has you holding on for dear life throughout. Plus, the hand-drawn cell animation remains a wonder to behold even 25 years later and still holds a candle to even modern contemporary anime efforts.
Super Reviewer
Government experiments turn a punk biker into a raging telekinetic maniac who trashes the depraved future city of Neo Tokyo. Never mind the plot, this groundbreaking anime is a neon feast of ultraviolence, hallucination and destruction; the Japanese have been trying to remake this gory cyberpunk classic for over two decades now, but nothing really matches the original.
Super Reviewer
Akira Quotes
| Tetsuo (Japanese Version): | Kaneda! |
| Kaneda (Japanese Version): | That's 'Mr. Kaneda' to you, punk! |
| Kaneda (Japanese Version): | That's Mr. Kaneda to you, punk! |
| Tetsuo (Japanese Version): | I am Tetsuo. |
| Kai (Japanese Version): | WAAAAAAAAH?! KANADAAAAAAA!!! YOUR'RE ALIVE!!! I thought you were there, I thought your're in there for sure. |
| Kai (Japanese Version): | WAAAAAAAAH?! KANADAAAAAAA! YOUR'RE ALIVE! I thought you were there, I thought your're in there for sure. |
| Yamagata (Japanese Version): | Yeah Right! Drink your dog piss? |