Review of Akira
Akira is THE anime classic and as is always the case with such big names, everyone likes to give a little backstory to them or write their lifestory about their first experience. Me, I don't care about the former (as it's not why you're reading this or any review) and no one really cares about the latter (as one should!!). I'm gonna jump straight to the point instead. I guess I'll adress the movie's faults. The first half is kind of boring, especially for people watching Akira for the first time. You're expected to tag along to the events wether you trully follow or not. Understandablewhen you're tasked with adapting a big manga into a two-hour film. Things do pick up in the second half, but man, the first half can make or break the film for some people.
The other major problem is the vague, anti-climatic and cryptic ending. WHAT the hell happens? After one of the most memorable final battles in anime, it's a shame that the ending is so tame and inconclusive. Nezu's death always botheremd me in the anime as well. I think it's done way over the top and comes pretty suddenly, but that's a minor flaw compared to the two above.
As for the good parts? This movie is an experience like no other and I mean that with the best of intentions. It's such a wild trip into a bizarre, cyberpunk world where the film is not afraid to critisize humanity for all its flaws and mistakes, while having animation the likes of which only a handful of other anime have achieved. The character designs are simple, often using no more than 3 colours (Kaneda, the main character, uses just ONE in different shades and he's instantly recognizable decades later!), but they're expressive without being over the top, with a unique semi-realistic artstyle. The amount of detail that went into making this world feel believable is legendary, but it's when it's combined with fluid animation that the movie really makes its scenery and characters come to life. Kaneda suddenly hitting the brakes and sliding to the background is a classic example, but honestly you could easily analyze any shot from this movie due to how much effort was put into all the drawings.
Then there's the score. Ominous is the best way I can describe it; even when just listening to it, it feels like the songs are foretelling an inevtable, impending doom, which is just what happens in the film. The 80s had a lot of amazing anime songs, but I think none could have fit the tone that Akira was going for. While the soundtrack is fantastic on its own, when combined with the movie, not only does it greaty enhance the scenes, but the scenes do the same to the songs. I can't listen to the songs without thinking of each scene that they play in, they both go hand-in-hand and I wouldn't have it any other way.
Moreover, the characters are all unique and memorable, due to their simple and easy to recognize deigns and how involved they are in the plot. The Colonel and Professor are hardly ever reffered to by name, but they play huge parts in the story and have many memorable lines, for example. Basically, no one gets wasted, even if it's just for one scene, everyone has a purpose.
Since the movie was made while the manga was still in production, the ending isn't the only thing that's different. The movie is roughly 1/3 of what the manga would end up being, with loads of characters and entire arcs being cut, but instead of trying to fit as much as possible into one film (like the '86 Hokuto no Ken movie or Gundam F91) it opts to tell a good story with only what was available from the manga at the time and it works perfectly.
A few words for the dubs. The original one from Streamline Pictures is good for its time, but HORRIBLY dated with many dry jokes and just overall bad acting. Voices don't fit, the actors don't really feel like they're into it and it just drags the movie down. The Pioneer dub, while miles better STILL does not match the original Japanese dub, so to anyone watching this for the first time, I'd recommend the Japanese dub hands down. If you must absolutely watch it dubbed, pick the Pioneer one. Or go for Streamline if you want; who am I to tell you what to do?!
In conclusion, Akira is a cinematic masterpiece that everyone (anime fan or not) should watch.