Akira

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Akira is probably one of the most well known anime movies out there. Apparently, this movie is based on a 2000 page. manga, an adult "comic" book. It shows. This is a very fast paced movie, with every minute being quite important to the plot.

The place is Neo-Tokyo, the 21st century, and 30 years after a devastating global nuclear war. Things are not very peaceful. Motorcycle gangs populate the roadways, less the honest politicians try to figure ways of keeping the population placated and immoral scientists perform experiments on children with the hope of increasing the kids psionic abilities.

In this chaos a young man named Tetsuo finds himself the primary subject of a new set of experiments to bring out a mysterious force known as AKIRA. This being the same force that brought about the nuclear disaster 30 years ago.

Akira is a rather intense movie and, to be honest, a little bazaar. Further, the plot may be a little too complex, if you have never seen anime before. However, I found the movie quite enjoyable. If you liked Akira, then you might want to also check out Roujin Z, which was done by the same person.

The subtitled version of Akira seemed to be a better version then the dub, if only because it was letter boxed. In particular, the animation came across better in the more action filled scenes.