Akira

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Akira

R

1988

2h 4m

Sci-Fi

Anime

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

91%

Tomatometer

57 Reviews

90%

Popcornmeter

100,000+ Ratings

In 1988 the Japanese government drops an atomic bomb on Tokyo after ESP experiments on children go awry. In 2019, 31 years after nuking the city, Kaneda, a bike gang leader, tries to save his friend Tetsuo from a secret government project. He battles against anti-government activists, greedy politicians, irresponsible scientists and a powerful military leader until Tetsuo's supernatural power suddenly manifests. A final battle is fought in Tokyo Olympiad exposing the experiment's secrets.

Critics Consensus

Akira is strikingly bloody and violent, but its phenomenal animation and sheer kinetic energy helped set the standard for modern anime.

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Kevin Maher

The Times (UK)

2d

4/5

This is ideologically bleak, incessantly violent and astonishing.

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Chris Stuckmann

ChrisStuckmann.com

01/25/2021

A

The opening motorbike chase is still thrilling, but the dedication to the backgrounds as well as crowds of people filling the screen, explosions happening in the distance, and a jaw-dropping sense of scope make Akira the classic that it is.

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Peter Bradshaw

Guardian

10/08/2020

4/5

Akira's strangeness is very startling and sometimes bewildering. But there is a thanatonic rapture to its vision of a whole world ending and being reborn as something else.

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Andrew Murray

The Upcoming

Apr 15

5/5

There are several reasons why Akira is frequently considered to be a masterpiece. Not only is it visually spectacular, but it’s uncompromising in its vision.

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Joe Lipsett

Horror Queers Podcast

Sep 17

4/5

It's a classic for a reason! This seminal anime film is filled with incredible visuals, dense themes, and (it turns out) a bunch of content missing from the comics. It's exciting, but occasionally overwhelming.

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Howard Waldstein

CBR

07/18/2023

Akira is one of the great anime sci-fi classics and has been influential across various forms of media.

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Joshua

10/17/2022

Neo Tokyo really blew up

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Shea C

@SheaRants 21h

The animation is beautiful and the neo Tokyo backdrop is amazing but the plot itself is so random

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Steve R

@RT72705910 2d

Ive seen this film so many times, but just saw it in IMAX. Glorious

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Chirag P.

@trini Apr 6

Finally seeing this after so long. Have a lot of appreciation after seeing a documentary on the animation process which is especially impressive for the time.

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Matthew C

@MercurialOne Apr 3

Akira is one of those films that hits differently because of what it meant at the time. For me, it’s pure nostalgia - the first proper anime I’d seen as a kid. Even though I watched it in the late 90s, a full decade after it came out. That says a lot about its staying power and influence. Even then, it still felt completely different to anything else around, and you can see why it helped push anime further into western culture.

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Wayne K

@RT88290232 Mar 22

This was my second time watching Akira, having got about halfway through it last time before switching off. Anime has often been baffling to me, and I just couldn’t follow the onscreen events, despite the relentless exposition. In some way, this viewing was similar, in other ways not. It wasn’t as explanation heavy as I remembered, and I really appreciated the look and feel of Neo-Tokyo. But it was still a confusing and frequently grating affair, with the second half comprised of relentless explosions, screaming and shouting, stern military figures making the same tooth-gritting expression and way too many characters who don’t stand out. There are some heavy themes of totalitarianism, mind control and nuclear paranoia, but the plot is more exhausting than enthralling, and while I can acknowledge its popularity and influence it’s a film that I just can’t get into.

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Katsuhiro Ohtomo

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Shôtarô Kaneda

Nozomu Sasaki

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Akira: Trailer 1

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Synopsis

In 1988 the Japanese government drops an atomic bomb on Tokyo after ESP experiments on children go awry. In 2019, 31 years after nuking the city, Kaneda, a bike gang leader, tries to save his friend Tetsuo from a secret government project. He battles against anti-government activists, greedy politicians, irresponsible scientists and a powerful military leader until Tetsuo's supernatural power suddenly manifests. A final battle is fought in Tokyo Olympiad exposing the experiment's secrets.

Director: Katsuhiro Ohtomo
Producer: Shunzo Kato, Ryôhei Suzuki
Screenwriter: Izou Hashimoto, Katsuhiro Ohtomo
Distributor: Streamline Pictures
Production Co: Akira Committee Company, Ltd.
Rating: R (Graphic Violence|Brief Nudity)
Genre: Sci-Fi, Anime
Original Language: Japanese
Release Date (Theaters): Jan 1, 1988, Wide
Rerelease Date (Theaters): Mar 30, 2001
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 12, 2013
Box Office (Gross USA): $390.0K
Runtime: 2h 4m
Sound Mix: Surround, Dolby Stereo
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.85:1)

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