Review of Akira

In short: If you're into the cyberpunk genre and like a chaotic, dystopian future, this is for you! It has aged well and is still a fun watch. If you don't like stories where "the world is degenerated" and not everything is explained clearly, well, this might not be for you. Intro: Akira is a landmark in the cyberpunk genre. Some people say it was Akira that brought anime and manga to the wider world, especially the US, and made it popular with a younger audience. So, if you care about the "history" of anime, you should stop and watch this movie. Art: 10 Akira changed the way anime wasmade, and the techniques used in the movie were truly game-changing. Especially in the voice acting, they recorded the voices before animating the characters' mouth movements (a process called pre-scoring). So, if you're listening in Japanese, you'll see the lip-syncing is incredibly good.
To be fair, watching it in 2025, the animation has of course aged a little bit. I like the old-style anime, but it's not "clean" like shows are nowadays (of course). But it would be unfair to give any score below 10, because it truly changed the way anime was produced. The action scenes are really good, too, and that old-school vibe is just great.

Story: 6
I mean, I liked the story, but some topics are too broad and not explained in the movie as well as they are in the manga. (If you like the movie, you should definitely read the manga; it's really deep and well-written!)

To be spoiler-free, it's a story that opens A LOT of questions and fails to deliver the answers to all of them. It's fine, you'll have fun, but it feels rushed in many scenes.

Sound: 7
I'm no sound expert by any means. So my opinion is just based on whether the anime had any sounds that sounded off, or if I have anything to remember (memorable music or a great dub). It's good, but not awesome.

Characters: 5
The movie has 3 main characters and a lot of side characters. I think because it's a movie, they couldn't go deep and develop all of them, but not even the protagonists or the antagonist are well-developed. I think that's the biggest downside of this movie. It didn't have any memorable or impactful characters, either.

Enjoyment: 6
It's a good movie. But for me, the chaotic vibe was a little bit too unrealistic and threw me off. The story held me until the end, but I can't say I was fully engaged.

Overall: 7 (good)
Akira is one of the most important animated movies ever made, not just because it's a good movie overall, but because of the popularity it brought to anime in the West. You should watch it if you're into anime, but keep in mind that the story is from a manga made in the 80s.