Review of Akira

Watched this movie for only the second time recently to see if i would like it more ( my previous score was 4 ). The first time Ii watched it was over 10 years ago and back then I just didn't take to it at all and I couldn't explain why. Going back 10 years later having watched a lot more anime, being older and arguably wiser I can't really say this film is for me really. Maybe I don't really get it but i'll try my best to put down my thoughts on it. Story 6/10 I really like the world set up I'm a bigfan of neo cyberpunk future Tokyo the future being the far off year of 2019 lol. I was also really liked how the story starts with the rival gangs going toe to toe and having turf wars. I'd have much rather the entire film have been about that rather than the way it does end up going and it feels very rushed in parts specifically towards the end i'll not say much more as i don't want to spoil anything.

Art 10/10
You can see why this film does have the reputation that it does. For the year this came out the animation and art is second to none and it looks simply amazing. It has well stood the test of time and could put many shows and movies that come out not to shame.

Sound 7/10
The soundtrack and effects I thought were decent enough the one major drawback for me was that I once again watched it dubbed as I couldn't remember if the dubbing was good or not. It isn't! perhaps a product of its time as dubbing for most things back then wasn't the best but at times during the movie it suddenly cuts where there looked/should have been more said and the dubbing to mouth movement made me chuckle once or twice. I know it's dubbing and all but i couldn't help but find it funny. I'm normally a subs guy but if a anime has a great dub I'll watch it in English

Character 6/10 (Spoilers!!)
Probably my biggest issue with the movie was i didn't really find any of the cast very likeable especially our 2 main leads Shotaro and Tetsuo. Shotaro comes across to me as a selfish, stuck up self absorbed a**hole and Tetsuo came across as a childish wannabe who's childish tantrum at not being able to ride the bike or be accepted as a proper gang member pretty much destroys Tokyo. I think the whole thing mutation and rampage could have been avoided if Shotaro stopped treating Tetsuo like a outsider or pest or even just said "have a go on my bike and welcome to the gang proper" but instead he spends a lot of the film antagonizing Tetsuo who was clearly showing it was getting to him.

Enjoyment 6/10
I love the world set up and the first half of the movie. The second half of it is where the film starts to lose me.

Overall 6/10
I can certainly see why this film is revered as much as it is after all these years especially for the animation. After watching it again all these years later I did enjoy it more than the first time around but not by a massive amount. Even movies that are considered classics will not be loved by everyone and i guess that is the case for me in relation to this movie.