Skip to main content

Akira Movie Review

“I am Tetsuo!” - Tetsuo Shima
Akira is a 1988 anime film directed by Katsuhiro Otomo. It's about a biker gang called the Capsules led by high school student Shotaro Kaneda. In the midst of a gang war, runt of the litter Tetsuo Shima gets into a bike accident with a young child with mystical powers. As a result of this, Tetsuo gets powers of his own. But as he abuses his powers, he becomes a very dangerous threat to the city of Neo Tokyo.
As if this film wasn’t crazy enough, what makes it even crazier is when you take into account that all of the incredibly visceral action contained in the film is entirely a product of somebody holding a pencil.  This whole film is entirely hand-drawn. That’s insane when you think about it, because the animation has a way of not even feeling like animation. It’s really fluid, but also really gritty, making it look both old-fashioned and futuristic at the same time.  It’s super realistic, which can sometimes be hard to find in an animated film.
Now let’s talk about the story. It’s incredible. One of the most inventive visions of the future I’ve seen. It starts out very straightforward, pulling you in with engrossing characters, and incredible action, and then as it goes on, it gets very complex and deep.  This makes the replay value very very high. That’s just part of what makes it so good.
And the music… my God, it’s absolutely phenomenal. And it relies heavily on vocals and percussion. The visuals are amazing. The bright neon colors drew me in from the start. And the world of Neo Tokyo is so cool! The scenery is incredible!  It’s a place that I think at least would be pretty cool to live in.
Akira is one of my favorite anime films of all time, and I highly recommend this ultra-violent sci-fi actioner for anyone looking for a good futuristic film. Even If you don’t like animated movies.
Rating: R

Grade: A+

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Alita: Battle Angel Movie Review

“I do not stand by in the presence of evil.” - Alita Alita: Battle Angel is the new film by director Robert Rodriguez.  It is a cyberpunk sci-fi action movie starring Rosa Salazar as the title character.  Also starring are Christoph Waltz, Mahershala Ali, Ed Skrein, Jennifer Connelly, and Jackie Earle Haley.   The film is about Alita, a young cyborg girl rebuilt by Dr. Dyson Ido (Waltz), who just wants to know more about her past, and where she came from.  Ido is very protective of her, as there is a lot of crime happening in the streets. Nonetheless, the curious Alita goes out exploring every day, and meets a boy named Hugo who she falls in love with.  Meanwhile, there is some villainous activity going on involving a man named Vector, and a mysterious figure called Nova who lives in Zalem, a giant floating city where all the upper-class people live that hovers above the city below that is home to all the lower-class citizens. Alita: Battle Angel is a...
Post a Comment
Read more

Best Films of 2020

As I’m sure you all know, 2020 was a difficult year for many people.  It presented us with all sorts of new challenges the likes of which most of us have never seen before.  It was especially tough for movie-lovers like myself, because in the town where I live and the surrounding areas, movie theaters were constantly being shut down, then reopened for a few weeks only to be shut down again.  That being said, I didn’t get to see nearly as many films as I did in 2019, and a lot of the films I did see were films I didn’t have time to write reviews for before the year ended.  For that, I apologize.  I think it goes without saying that all of the movies on this list are ones that I really enjoyed, and I recommend checking out all of them if you get the chance.  These are the films I enjoyed watching the most in 2020.   Honorable Mentions:  Mank Babyteeth Hamilton Hunter Hunter 10. Da 5 Bloods    Spike Lee’s Da 5 Bloods is a unique sto...
Post a Comment
Read more

Da 5 Bloods Movie Review

“Why do you fight against us, so far away from where you are needed?” - Hanoi Hannah Da 5 Bloods is the newest film directed by Spike Lee, and it stars Delroy Lindo, Clarke Peters, Norm Lewis, Isiah Whitlock Jr., Chadwick Boseman, and Jonathan Majors.  The film tells the tale of four Black veterans who return to Vietnam in the present day to bring home the remains of a fallen soldier.  However, that isn’t their only mission.  They are also there to recover a cache of buried gold and split the money between the four of them.   Da 5 Bloods is an incredibly intense yet heartfelt film, and it’s also very important and relevant to what’s going on in the world today.  It’s an extremely politically charged movie, and while that could be a turn-off for some people, I think it’s the type of film that needs to be seen regardless of who you are.  It’s informative and educational, and it gives the viewer knowledge about our current political climate as well as t...
Post a Comment
Read more