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: Akira
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Phaedrus
Posts: 0
Score: 1
Rank: 1025 | AKIRA
This is the film that started it all in terms of innovation and layered, modernist animation.
Upon the first few glances of Akira, one might easily wonder where the animation staff behind it got their ideas for the film, which came primarily from Blade Runner. As has been well documented, Akira was created through a painstaking process that took creator/manga auteur Otomo Katsuhiro roughly ten years to complete in terms of the manga. All the hard work over in Tokyo paid off, because Akira, in terms of vision and story, is a flawless, well-executed anime film in every sense of the word. It is one of the most complex and well documented anime of all time.
Akira’s story revolves around a secret government organization in neo-tokyo that is conducting mysterious experiments on certain members of a Neo-Tokyo biker gang and young children. The narrative kicks off with an extreme wide shot of a nuclear explosion which demolishes contemporary Tokyo, thus plunging the world into World War III.
Unlike many other, less ambitious anime titles, Akira is indeed fully animated, with vibrant flashy backdrop lights included in a Blade Runner-esque metropolitan manner. The use of color in this film is nearly hypnotic in its radiance, making for much eye candy on many levels. The dubbed sound editing is eloquently executed as well, with a brilliant voice-over performance accomplished by then-obscure Johnny Yong Bosch, who plays Kaneda, a member of the Neo-Tokyo biker gang. There are many other notable VO performances in this film; however, Bosch delivers one of the most memorable.
Akira is a mature film in every sense of the word. It’s smart, beautiful, and intense, with partial nudity and a bit of disturbing imagery here and there. Quite simply, Akira is one of the all time anime classics, and a great title to start off with if you don’t normally watch anime. It managed to set the bar quite high for the entire ocean of post-Akira manga and anime that followed. It’s the kind of film that The Matrix WISHES it could be. Akira is worthy of the highest rating possible.
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Contributions: Reviews: 1 |
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Sophieachachacha
Posts: 0
Score: 7
Rank: 172 | Sigh. I must be one of the few people who does not like Akira very much. I found the anime rather dull especially compared to the likes of Ghost in the Shell. The animation is, well, not exactly smooth and I found it quite ugly. Plus the dub was god-awful and the plot...oh my head.
If you want a lot of sci-fi futuristic jargon? Go watch Ghost in the Shell or the original Matrix (both of which are phenomenal). Want ridiculous violence with gushing blood etc etc? Pop Excel Saga's last episode into your DVD player. It's about that realistic (yes I KNOW it's an anime >_<). For fun supernatural goings on hit Boogie pop phantom or Hellsing. But. Not. Bloody. Akira.
Now please don't lynch me. |
Contributions: Reviews: 7 |
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mpdogz
Posts: 11
Score: 23
Rank: 47 | The story of Akira takes place in the year 2038, in a place called Neo-Tokyo, which was built over the ruins left from where a nuclear bomb exploded during World War III (yes, World War THREE). But it didn't seem to help much. Neo-Tokyo became a place enhabited by dangerous gangs and terrotists all over. Even the schools aren't the same where the students are supposed to respect their teachers all the time (in Japan, it is strictly against the rules to show disrespect against your teacher).
Kaneda, a leader of a motorcyle gang (who is ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS ^_^ *crush alert*) and the rest of his gang ride into a military place. His best friend, Tetsuo, accidently crashes into what appears to be a little kid with a wrinkled face, and gets injured severely.. The whole gang is shocked and worried, but then some people come and take Tetsuo. The gang THOUGHT they were people from a hospital...
Tetsuo gets experiments ran over him, experiments they gave him incredible psycic (sp?) abilities. Great, in a good and terrible way. Terrible, because these abilities overwhelm Tetsuo, causing him to turn against his friends, and become extremely violent. Violent enough to destroy Neo-Tokyo. Kaneda wants to stop Tetsuo before this happens, but the only thing that can is...Akira! Who is this Akira you ask? *Don't Say a Word movie voice* I'll never tell...ANYONE! (sorry, I HAD to say that).
Akira, overall, ROCKS. It's VERY violent, yes, but it really all depends on whether you can handle graphic violence or not. |
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Contributions: Reviews: 22 |
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