Akira

It has a ponderously lengthy beginning and an overly convoluted ending. Everything in between is perfect. I would have never believed that anime could be used as a brilliant narrative medium, serving merely as a formal backdrop for the content, which takes precedence above all else. Akira is not an easy sell to the viewer; it gradually reveals its mysteries, answers many questions too openly, and leaves an even greater number unanswered forever. The director often relies solely on the expressive power of visuals and sound, and on how much the viewer is willing to meaningfully perceive all of it. That is why Akira is audio-visually packed to the brim, and yet I never had the feeling of gratuitous artistic indulgence. Given that I got introduced to anime through this film, I am extremely satisfied. (02.10.2005)

A film that explains almost nothing, just starts happening and leaves it up to you to figure out how quickly you can navigate its world, when you will realize what actually happened then and what is going on now. Somewhere in the middle I knew I'd have to see Akira again to understand all the connections right from the start, but it certainly didn't spoil the experience of what was literally a beautiful spectacle (this really is a movie for the cinema - and the music!) and it didn't rob the film of its point. (19.11.2023)

The essence of Japan in two hours. A technocratic, immensely epic, visually stunning, and not exactly easy to comprehend youthful rebellion against the establishment. EDIT 2019: The 4 stars I gave here so far were probably because I had a personal problem at the time with the combination of the epic subject matter and the comical Japanese dubbing ("KANeDAA?!"). Years later, with having burst into my own little private universe, I will freely admit that I'm really not shy about giving Akira 4 stars. (15.02.2013)

The Japanese are simply crazy. At first glance, it looks like a proper B-movie where there will be fighting and senseless killing, but the film "Akira" definitely isn't like that. It is a philosophical sci-fi with great characters and excellent moments. Another stunning example of what Japanese art means, combining trash and ideas that B-movie production is not usually capable of presenting. (02.09.2014)

A thoroughbred cult movie and a massive source of inspiration of Hollywood’s eclectic 90s. The amazing drive and uncompromising vision of a post-war future of the beginning is replaced by a hard to grasp shifting from place to place and a bulky existential theme that only few gifted viewers will be able to fully understand and appreciate. I genuinely admired the courage and the inventiveness associated with the relentless pace, but I didn’t quite get the ending. I’d be exceptionally curious about an American remake, even at the expense of naturally losing the inimitable poetics and the raw comic-book character. 80% (15.03.2020)