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Plot

An enormous explosion, that appears to have been caused by an atomic bomb, occurs in the heart of Tokyo in the opening scene of the movie, destroying everything and setting off a third world war. Neo Tokyo is reborn from the ruins in 2019 (30 years after the war's end) and is turned into a metropolis of dazzling lights and enormous buildings. But the situation is far from calm. Due to the terrible economic, political, and social circumstances, the nation is currently experiencing a serious crisis. The commander of the army, Colonel Shikishima, is concerned about the potential for a bloody rebellion. Additionally, several groups of religious extremists wander the streets stirring up trouble and proclaiming the return of "Akira the Saviour," prompting the aggressive government armed forces to take drastic steps to put an end to them.
The streets of Neo Tokyo are filled with numerous biker gangs, among which we find our characters, battling it out to the death and seeking for vengeance. Children have been transformed into bizarre, unnatural Espers with amazing abilities thanks to top-secret government experiments. fusions of spirit and matter.

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Why you should watch it?

The significance of Akira in the global pop scene is, to to put it mildly, enormous. In addition to significantly raising the status quo of Japanese animated cinema outside the Land of the Rising Sun, its dystopian and gloomy portrayal of the near future, exquisitely cyberpunk aesthetics, and writing excellence have made it a true milestone in the field of science fiction.
Many other works, including far more contemporary but no less acclaimed creations, have been chosen by public and reviewers as the founding fathers of the science-fiction genre in the light of Akira. Unquestionably, the movie has had a significant impact on literature across the nation, from works by authors who were Katsuhiro Otomo's contemporaries, including the great Akira Toriyama and his Dragon Ball, to more current works by Masashi Kishimoto and Naruto. In the West, Otomo's masterpiece has left its mark on the new-generation Star Wars chapters and its later incarnations, as well as on the various Matrix films up to Stranger Things, in which one can even recognize some narrative elements in common.

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Akira covers a wide range of topics from the social to the scientific from various angles: it criticizes powerful people, depicts social unrest and class conflict, explores the ongoing conflict between ethics and science, and explores the conflict between god and man, with the latter attempting to become superman by inventing an object that works against him. It is a cauldron of themes, circumstances, and meanings that finds in the film adaptation a synthesis with a very broad scope, which may not fully restore all the weight that emerges from the manga, but which unquestionably condenses everything into a hybrid that walks on its own two feet with a giant's stance, enhanced and embellished by an unprecedented technical realization. This is the case, for instance, with Tetsuo's grotesque hallucinations and transformations, which translate the words of the esper Kyoko into visual material. In one exquisitely body-horror scene that still holds its power thirty years after its release, the human in Tetsuo eventually succumbs to the semi-divine energy that lives inside him and transforms into a monstrosity of flesh and metal. The usage of computer visuals is also remarkable, particularly in the instances where Tetsuo and the esper children's magical abilities are displayed.

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The film's primary accomplishment is its ability to transform such a complicated narrative into images that are sufficiently expressive to sum up the confusing array of ideas and topics it attempts to convey. The silent explosion over Tokyo signals the start of a movie that uses pictures as a crucial component of its screenplay, enhancing each scene with an evocative, if occasionally unsettling, backdrop.

In general, it could be said that Akira takes to the extreme the reflection imposed by the atomic bomb and very common among Japanese science-fiction authors, questioning them through the lens of a fantastic and potently metaphorical tale while also dragging along with it the dramatic consequences. The complex conflicts and historical social ills that cyclically mark Japan are reflected and magnified in Neo Tokyo, a doppelganger of current Tokyo that has not had the strength to recover from the apocalypse that struck it. The city has been ripped apart by revolutionary uprisings and ferocious repressions, as well as by biker gangs, terrorists, and scam artists. It is also a target for charlatans and terrorists. Cults and superstitions have developed as a result of the lack of a central authority to provide direction for the populace, and they are now waiting for the coming of a Messiah to set off the Neo Tokyo population's built-up explosive charge.

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And then, inevitably, the Messiah shows up. Tetsuo's persona encapsulates the fear and fascination that the Japanese had with man-machine hybrids and experiments that attempted to transcend human nature by blasphemously brushing up against divine nature, embracing science fiction and mysticism to a degree that was never again attained. Tetsuo is the result of a science without morals playing with forces it cannot control or comprehend, awakening ancient mysteries beyond the comprehension of an immature mankind.
Man must not grant himself the authority to push himself too far beyond his capabilities. Just as an amoeba cannot use a man's power, a man cannot play with God's power without causing uncontrollable consequences that could even lead to the destruction of his entire world. Or maybe not—because in the climax, Tetsuo's propensity for destroying everything transforms into a force for creation, and after razing Neo Tokyo to the ground, he creates a brand-new Universe, restoring the potential nature of the energy he controls by showing that only man is accountable for its use.

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Conclusion

Akira, which was produced more than 30 years ago, using resources and labor similar to those of an authentic colossal, has grown to become a genuine cult favorite thanks to its voluminous and incredibly deep plot as well as the stunning animations that brought Otomo's tale to life.
It is able to combine cyberpunk settings with an emotional examination of societal fears and a precise analysis of the mechanisms of power.
This is a movie that every anime fan must see, and even if you are not a fan of anime but you like cinema and good movies than you also must watch it!!!

Rating

My personal vote (taking also into consideration the importance and impact of this animation movie in the cinematographic world), is:

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10/10

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