Akira Movie Review

In the future megalopolis of Tokyo, secret government experiments on children with ESP go awry, resulting in an cataclysmic explosion on Tokyo. Akira, the most powerful of the children, is kept in cryogenic suspension under strict security. Some of the city's youth gang members, who may or may not be subjects of the experiment themselves, become involved with the various factions fighting to control the city. When Akira awakes, will he be their savior, or the agent of their destruction? Otomo started his massive, finely detailed manga novel in the early ‘80s. When it became a gigantic success with Japanese readers, he began to work on the anime feature version, which also became an international hit. Oddly, when he returned to work on the print version of the story, he drastically altered and expanded the storyline. Otomo's obsessive attention to detail shows in every frame – at one time, nearly every animation studio in southeast Asia worked on Akira. The work pays off with an exciting, impressive spectacle, although the complex plot is often perplexing. The well-rounded characters are sometimes lost in all the gadgetry. While conceptually it tends to wander at times, it still packs a punch with its awesome visuals. Animated; in Japanese with English subtitles or dubbed.

1989 124m/C JP D: Katsuhiro Otomo, Sheldon Renan; W: Katsuhiro Otomo, Izo Hashimoto; C: Katsuji Misawa. VHS, LV WTA, STP, INJ