Akira - The Rightful Icon Of Anime Film

Introduction
Recently, I had the pleasure of seeing Akira (1988) for the first time in cinemas, and what an experience it was. Akira is a film of such a grand scale that it demands to be seen in cinemas, nothing less. The gorgeous hand-drawn animation, the iconic character and world design, and of course, its killer score, all worked hand-in-hand to provide me with a viewing experience that I will never forget. 

Phenomenal Score

I can’t go any further in my review without talking about Akira’s score. This is one of the most phenomenal scores I have EVER heard. Right from the first scene, the moment I saw Kaneda selecting a song on the jukebox, I just knew that I was in for something special. The score is intense and powerful, auditorily assaulting the audience and giving them no chance of escape, while having the duality to be emotional as well. Watching this film in cinemas meant that I heard this score the only way it should be, blasting on cinema speakers. Throughout the entire film, I was seriously stressed out by the score. Every piece of music that is injected into a scene elevates it levels higher, providing just the right amount of tension, adrenaline, and emotion. Honestly, I really don’t think I’ve been this impressed by a film score before. This one is just through the roof, guys.

Kaneda is the film's greatest track

Immaculate Hand-drawn Animation

Accompanying the score is perhaps some of the best animation I have had the pleasure of seeing in anime, period. Every single frame is painstakingly hand-drawn, and it is evident that it is such. The immaculate attention to detail alongside the various vibrant colours and hues (327 different hues, to be exact) bring Neo-Tokyo to life, and we as the audience can happily feast our eyes on the fantastic work on screen. Not to mention, this film has some insanely disturbing sequences that made me actually recoil in shock. It is kind of unbelievable that this film was released in 1988, because the animation is just that good, aeons ahead of its time. It’s safe to say that Akira’s animation still holds up perfectly all these years later, and even looks better than some of the stuff that is being released today. The cyberpunk atmosphere almost becomes a character itself, constantly looming over all of our characters and alerting us of its presence. Even the small details like random people on the street or cars speeding down the road are each given so much care and attention. This level of hand-drawn animation is not something that you see everyday. 

The animation in Akira is mind-blowing

Surprisingly Comedic Writing

I also want to touch on the writing a little, specifically the comedy. When the film started playing, I was expecting a super serious action flick. However, I was surprisingly greeted with some great comedy sprinkled throughout the film, mostly thanks to our protagonist, Kaneda. The film constantly reminds us that our characters, as cool as they may seem, are just teenagers, and their behaviour, mannerisms and manner of speech can be hilarious sometimes. The snarky remarks from the members of the biker gang and the conversations between Kaneda and Kei got a nice laugh out of me and the rest of the audience.

Akira Bites Off More Than It Can Chew At Times

As technically perfect as this film is, I do have some slight issues with it. Within its 2 hour runtime, Akira sometimes tries to bite off more than it can chew, and the plot can get a little over-convoluted at times. The pacing can be a bit rushed, and left me slightly confused after certain scenes end. Although the fast pace of the film is essential to inject the adrenaline of the film into the audience, Akira could have benefitted from slowing down sometimes and taking a breather. 

Akira's plot can feel overbearing when nearing the end

Conclusion

I honestly did not expect to experience the brilliance that I did within Akira’s 2 hour runtime. I was blown away repeatedly, and I never stopped feeling amazed until the film’s final closing moments. As a final piece of proof of this film’s excellence, there were multiple times when there was pin drop silence in the theatre. Normally, during scenes with no music or dialogue, there is at least the sound of people eating popcorn or chips. This is the first time that I have ever sat in a theatre that was dead silent. It was mind-blowing. Just like this film is. A revolutionary film that was way ahead of its time, Akira continues to stand tall today as one of the greatest anime films in history, and I honestly don’t see that ever changing.