Review of Akira

After watching Ghost in the Shell, I was convinced I had seen the peak of self-important, abstract filmmaking. It was a film so loaded with its own perceived profundity that it suffocated the story. Akira, however, has shattered that illusion entirely, setting a new and formidable standard for the genre. This film doesn't just flirt with incoherence, it embraces it. The plot feels reverse-engineered, as if the creators conceived a few key moments: the motorcycle duels, the grotesque body horror, a psychic apocalypse—and then worked backwards, weaving a frayed and unconvincing narrative thread to connect them. Somehow they involved all the elements that I would haveotherwise and enjoyed and still not made it work. Character motivations shift on a whim, major plot points appear out of thin air.

In the end, Akira triumphantly joins Evangelion and Ghost in the Shell in the holy trinity of abstract anime that prioritizes style over substance. It offers no satisfactory answers and no emotional closure, leaving you with the distinct feeling that you've just witnessed a two-hour visual effects demo rather than a completed film.