I remember watching this with my dad when I was 12. We had just got done watching Spirited Away, which I had enjoyed with my heart, and my dad popped this in the VHS and was like "You'll love this one!" My mom wasn't happy with that one
This movie had one of the most unique soundtracks ever. The only other soundtrack I can compare to it is Ghost in the Shell and despite them sharing the same sky, the difference is night and day.
That tipe of anime is the one I like (alongside with NGE, the manga of Blame!, Ergo Proxy and some others along the line), and I'm really hungry for more but I simply can't find any.
I thought it was revealed at the end of the film that the event that destroyed Toyko in 1989 wasn't a nuke but when the they 'turned Akira on' in an attempt to create sustainable energy and it backfired. Doesn't the Colonel explain this to Keneda in the last act of the film?
Yeah, I thought that's what happened too. And If I remember the Manga correctly The sudden destruction of Tokyo from what appeared to be a nuclear bomb was what caused WW3 to start.
@@crash-ew6hw I always thought it was to give the bulk of the film a feeling of being entombed in some massive structure, which works on a physical and socio-political sense in the story. After Tetsuo ascends, the camera looks upwards at the sky for the first time, which I took to mean that a hole has been opened in this society that can lead to change. Good or bad change is up to them.
@LiL Speng its propaganda because there is no proof that akira is even real, its a creation of fear so the people can be controlled, so the experiments on the children are never questioned
@@TheRitva26 well then the sequel is going to be shit, Akira is like lightning in a bottle and I doubt anyone will be able to recreate the perfection of the manga especially if everything is different
@@megalocoman I always wondered why they didn't call the franchise the legend of link because in literally almost every game zelda only has a few appearances and in links awakening she's not even in the game or mentioned in the game either
I feel like a lot of Akira's subtext is lost for foreign viewers who didn't grow up in Japan in the 80s which had a serious problem with juvenille delinquency like the US did in the 1950s. That's where there's scenes like the school coach punching the kids in the face, because things had gotten that bad at the time that a lot of people wished kids were disciplined that way. There's also a lot of influence from the mass student protests in Japan of the 1960s.
That is very true. A lot of cultural things dont come across in most high quality anime to a western audience in general... Such as the use of silence and the heavy focus of the environment as characters rather than just backdrop.
I feel like thats a big thing with akira's plot in both the manga and anime. It's a huge convoluted and horrible story, with angry, confused, and scared children at the center of it all taking the brunt of the abuse without even knowing why.
I think a universal masterpiece a lot of times need not to have subtext to feel the impact. Any industrialized country has/had urban crime problem; worried about violent teenagers or political activism. What conveys them depends not the audience having studied the context, but how good the story is directed or written.
I remember one of my mom's past boyfriends bringing Akira over to watch, because he was into anime and wanted to show my mom a classic so she could understand the appeal. I was ten at the time, but for some reason I was allowed to watch it with them despite the age rating. I don't remember much of the plot or characters but I remember liking it despite how dark it was. The hospital scene with the stuffed animals stuck with me more than the transformation scene at the climax, funnily enough. I can safely say this movie planted the seed of interest that would eventually turn me into the anime fan I am today.
You should totally watch and review "Tokyo Godfathers" It is such a beautiful film!! It has that weird and dark moments, but so beautiful!! The meaning all around is gorgeous!!
Its 2020 exactly a year after 2019 in the Film's setting. To be honest the Tech in that world isn't far from it. Heck even those Exact Replicas Red Motor Bikes (Kaneda's) have been made.
@@serenitymoon825 It was supposed to yes. but you think there going to have it now when a guy just exploded in the stadium. I think Akira is actually accurate because the Olympics didn't happend it 2020 also.
The insane thing you left out is that towards the end of the film, the final fight takes place inside the Tokyo 2020 Olympics stadium. That's pretty crazy if you think about it.
@RolandArt The fact that the author actually predicted where the 2020 Olympics would take place (it would've if it wasn't for the pandemic) is very surprising
Not exactly. It's 2020 in the story, but the Stadium had been built for the Olympics in the 1980s and the Olympics had been cancelled then. But what *is* eerie is that the Japanese Olympics in that story were cancelled because of a viral pandemic.
The 80's in Japan (and spefically Tokyo) were INSANE. Everyone was so rich, almost no one owned cars and bikes, because everyone could afford cabs everywhere. I've even heard stories that to get a cab to stop for you, you had to wave with a 100 dollar bill but because everyone was that rich at the time, that wasn't a big issue.
It was all kind of fake though, the money was kind of an artificial stimulation of the economy by the central bank. I don't know the fine details, but it was one of the more flashy bubbles caused by the onset of Neoliberalism, and damn did it burst.
I love Akira, but I also love how pretty this movie is! I've always loved me some 80s cyberpunk, and Akira makes that mould 100%. The animation is fluid and the backgrounds are so highly detailed and coloured!! :D
I really recommend reading the manga for anyone that likes the movie It shows a much deeper story and shows character development for both kaneda and tetsuo, it really goes into who and what the children are and what they're capable of too. Side characters like joker and tetsuos girlfriend actually become important parts of the story, there's also characters who never make it into the movie that are just amazing.
Akira was the first anime movie I ever watched, I watched it when I was in elementary school and I loved it. Like it really only took one watch of it and it became my ultimate favorite movie of all time. Like its so memorable, I haven't watched it since I was in 6th grade and I still remember everything about it, it's so good.
Steve, if you want to know why the scenes in Batman: The Animated Series is so similar to Akira, it's because the studio that made the film also helped work on Batman, as well as the sequel series: Batman Beyond.
My older sister watched this a lot when I was a little kid and honestly, all that comes to mind when I see the title "AKIRA" is motorcycles, having an upset stomach, and hating the facial animations...I can see why I blocked so much of it out.
@@BroAnarchy That's not what I said at all. Remembering the motorcycles, which are heavily featured in this film, is totally understandable - I *never* said the motorcycles gave me issues, just that I remembered them the most and associated them with this film...I don't even know where you got that from. The upset stomachs obviously came from the fucking gore, this movie is grotesque in a lot of places, it was especially so for me as a little girl.
I still think Akira is the best anime movie, and easily one of the best animated movies, or all time. Even though the manga has a lot more content, I kinda prefer the movie for making Tetsuo a LOT more sympathetic. The animation is some of the most detailed is any movie ever, that glorious soundtrack, and my god, the final destruction of Neo-Tokyo scene. I think it's best the 3rd time through, when you've experienced it, and then when you watch it again to pay more attention. Really wish I could experience it again for the first time.
It deserves such a title, it's such a monuments ammount of work you don't need to look further than just the finished product itself to know that it was hard to make
Nah the manga makes Tetsuo ALOT more sympathetic due to its fleshed characterization of him as he falls into trouble and down on his luck due to power and drug addiction. The movie does tetsuo very good but the manga definitely does it vastly better in every story reason and message out there but at the end of the day their both fantastic!
I've seen this movie once and I didn't really care for it, but I was stunned by the animation. To imagine that people drew this movie frame by frame is insane.
I'd seen this film dozens of times, but was recently lucky enough to see it in a packed theater. One of the best film experiences of my life, it's totally incredible on the big screen. During a certain moment towards the end where there is like 10+ seconds of silence, hundreds of people did not make a sound. It was other-worldly. You could tell every single person in that theater was mesmerised.
Here's some recommendations: An American Tail Any of Ralph Bakshi's works The Thief and the Cobbler Future Boy Conan Yellow Submarine Chicken Run The Black Cauldron A Scanner Darkly Waking Life
Just finished the manga after watching the film. As good as the film is, the injustice done to the character of Lady Miyako in it is outrageous. In the manga she's one of the central characters, in the film she's just a random background cult leader.
I remember being at my grandfathers house, I was playing when he had gotten off of his chair. I think i was 6 or 7 and being cheeky I decided to go sit in his chair while he was gone. Akira was playing, more specifically, Tetsuo's mutation. I remember being so horrified, and I ran crying to my mom. And, as cliche as it was, I remembered years later and trying to look for it. And while I can appreciate this movie for what it is, I'll never forget how horrifying it was to see for the first time.
One of the best anime films ever done, well, besides: Ghost In the shell, Princess Mononoke, and Spirited Away. How about a review for Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade?
I showed this movie to my parents, and even though they said that they can see why this is a landmark in animation, they now don’t let me pick the any more movies to watch with them.
If he was gonna do Eva, he’d have to do the whole thing, which is 14 hours and 30 minutes, plus the hour and a half film. I’d still love to see it though
Speaking of the Animation of the Film. The Studio behind Akira was animated by TMS Entertainment (or known as Tokyo Movie Shinsha). they were responsable for the japanese Little Nemo Film, Lupin the 3rd, Detective Conan and Sonic X. But not only that, they also do for the American Production for TV show, such as Animaniacs, Tiny Toon Adventures, Disney’s Gummy Bears and also you mentioned on the Video, Batman the Animated Series for some episode.
I mean steve... parents today are not like the parents of our time. My parents let me watch anything and even put on horror movies like friday the 13th, halloween, alien and more on movie nights
Same with my family. The only time they ever put any restrictions on what I watched was if there was some explicit sex scene going on in a movie, then they made me leave the room. But then as soon as it was over they'd call me back in to finish the rest of the movie. And violence and gore were never an issue. It always baffled me as a kid when my friends with religious parents told me they weren't allowed to watch certain things on TV.
@@TheMoose126 heck, I remember watching perfect blue when I was 10. It came in a CD along with Lion King and toy story (I know, bizarre but true). Although, if my parents knew about it, I doubt they'd have let me watch it 😂
This is one of the best animated films I’ve ever watched, I also recommend the manga which is very good and is more in depth and has more Akira. I also recommend watching the movie Perfect Blue which is a psychological horror
It´s interesting how "old" Japanese animation has a particular design style quite differentiated of the most modern. This movie, Spriggan, Voltes V, Yamato, the original Alita and others looks nothing like anime nowadays.
Because anime as a genre became a parody of itself. It was originally just graphic novels and their animated adaptations. Now there are tropes and plots and subgenres
I love the sunset animation style of the 90s. Tri gun, cowboy bebop, outlaw star etc. They all have a charm thats very similair to akira. Especially bebop. They dont have the same level of detail and masterful animation fluidity but its not at all far off. The pokemon movie with mew and mewtwo fighting had that style too. Something about it is so stark and i struggle to put my finger on what exactly it is
I grew up in Puerto Rico and I remember that their local TV channels showed spanished dubbed anime, some good stuff too which was always surprising. Didn't understand anything at the time but it did teach me some spanish. It's one of the reasons why I love this place.
Read the manga. The anime is beautiful, dark, and yet inspired. And it changed the world and how people saw animation. A lot of kids saw it, and they watched it because nothing was even remotely like it. But it's not a complete story. And that story is well worth reading
found this in a closet in the hall the other month and well ive seen it before buuuut youcan bet your ass i sat down and watched it again... will forever be one of the absolute greatest. you can see the inspiration in so many anime to follow. It set a huge president. EDIT: and definitely to your point a movie you should watch more than once and it will come together better and god damn how could you not want to see this masterpiece twice? you could watch it with the sound off lol
This played on toonami when i was in middle school and i was so drawn into the entire movie, waiting to see what happened next and loving how smooth the flow was. This movie was one of the key inspirations that lead to me creating my own characters and plots. It opened my mind, showing that not all characters are bad just because. It is a great movie, and i'm glad you reviewed it. I see what you mean about the second act though. I showed this movie to my boyfriend and uh...he fell asleep through the middle. I had to wake him up so he could see the ending.😂
I remember I first saw it around 12. A good part of it went right over my head. I definitely remembered that ending. Such a gorgeous movie. I'm really glad I bought it. I'm going to buy the manga too
It was pre internet and to get detailed info you had to read specialty magazines. I was subscribed to a snooty cinema mag for film students and read a glowing review. Wasn't until the early 2000s when I saw it. Like everyone else, blown away. As an artist it was like an invitation to someone's foreign nightmarish nirvana.
The subtext of AKIRA basically about the heights of the Japan during 80s and the background information regrading the architecture based from real-life post war architecture such as Kenzo Tange. And predicted the infamous 1989 Tiananmen Square like the students protest against the corrupt govt. However, there is a manga expanded more plots pointed out that the US-USSR became allies during the 2019 and investigates what the hell just happened to Neo Tokyo.
The way Steve sounds when he talked about this film, it's like he wasn't afraid of reviewing it or thought it was terrifying. He sounded like he had a good time watching it and talking about the film. It's really refreshing to hear him talk about a movie he likes after watching the Padak and Felidae reviews
When I watched this I think the pacing, plot, and some of the character designs were the main reasons I didn't like it, and I still stand by some of my initial thoughts, but after watching this video I think I focused too much on that and didn't really pay attention to how impressive the animation is. so I can at least appreciate it in that sense.
recommendations... hm, mayhaps Osamu Tezuka's Metropolis! It has an... interesting background. Including being created against Tezuka's wishes AFTER he died, the creators insisting on cel animation despite the costs because of their love of the medium, and another mixed message about technology.
Watched it recently a second time with my date because Blade Runner is not on Netflix. Forgot how fucking violent Akira is. Lucky there was enough wine.
This is just my own personal theory, but I think the reason for the cyberpunk genre’s persistent 80’s/Japanese undercurrents goes way deeper than just “It was the style in both Akira and Bladerunner”. I think the economic and technological explosion taking place at the time, combined with Japan not only coming back onto the world stage but dominating so many aspects of the market while the US and the Soviets were busy spending so much on military tech...I think that specific cocktail of factors was the thing that gave birth to cyberpunk.
Yup, he confirmed the origin of Vegeta!! I feel better knowing this now. And I myself finally see how influential this movie has become after its initial release too. $9 Million dollars is quite the investment and it did pay off in the long run.
Watched Akira when I was 8yo. Damn, that was brutal! Changed me forever, during those scenes I tough "that´s what I want to do!" So became an artist myself. I have so vivid memories of this movie I use them as reference to my own work. I draw something, and think: "is this good enough?" so mentally compare to some frame of Akira. Yeah, this "vivid memory" level!
There's a certain KoF or king of fighters character based off of the main character Snk actually got in trouble For their character K9999 being inspired off of akira and having the same abilities.
It was never confirmed that SNK was because of K9999, in fact SNK eliminated K9999 because they hate him because they think it exceeded what was a simple inspiration and was practically a copy at that point and because of that it's prohibited to talk about K9999 in the SNK offices. So, the sue is just a rumor. I must clarify that SNK does not hate Akira, there are many references to said manga / movie in their games, they hate K9999 because it is a shameless copy of Tetsuo.
It used to show up on adult swim a long time ago I believe, used to scare the piss outta me, the music, the animation, the voices, even the old little kids. but now I see what a masterpiece this is, life is amazing.
@@undyne1 Real fans know k9999's backstory and was one of the best characters and reason why we got Nameless to overwrite the copyright and banish k9999 off Kof for ever
This movie gave me the first nightmare I can remember. This is the movie that made my mom realize that just because its animated, doesn't mean its first kids
The movie is good, but I wish more people would read the manga. The art is so good that it inspired many famous artist, including the creators of Naruto.
The movie isn’t just “good” the movie is excellent and fantastic visual film of animation and creation, but the manga definitely fleshes out the story VASTLY better than the movie and does the themes and messages way better as well. The movie and the manga are BOTH fantastic at the end of the day tho! And the art in the manga isn’t just “good” either; it’s PHENOMENAL in its imagery and yeah it did become one of the inspiration from Kishimoto (naruto creator) to pursue manga making!
I still have the VHS copy of this that I ordered out of the back of 'Heavy Metal' magazine when I was a junior in high school back in 1993. One of my favorite all-time movies, animated or live action.
Fun Fact: This movie uses 327 colors with 50 of those exclusively made for it
Also it’s only the first half of the manga
half? is there more after tokyo been destroyed a second time?
@@rubemartur8239 yup, a lot more
How do you make a color?
Yup, I got the manga, and boy does it gets good!
@@kryptonitespider-bitedynam7305 Throw shity colors at a wall and see what sticks
I remember watching this with my dad when I was 12. We had just got done watching Spirited Away, which I had enjoyed with my heart, and my dad popped this in the VHS and was like "You'll love this one!" My mom wasn't happy with that one
Your dad is awesome
You got the best dad ever then
You owe it to yourself to read the manga then, and get your dad to do the same. The movie barely scratches the surface of how deep the plot is.
Dads
A man of culture I see
This movie had one of the most unique soundtracks ever. The only other soundtrack I can compare to it is Ghost in the Shell and despite them sharing the same sky, the difference is night and day.
What do you mean by same sky?
@@megatron8490 metaphore night and day same sky get it i thought it was fairly clever word play
@@angelicabomination1699 okay i get it now
Paprika comes to mind (Susumu Hirasawa). Tho not exactly the same, i do love it when they mash genres to create something unique
That tipe of anime is the one I like (alongside with NGE, the manga of Blame!, Ergo Proxy and some others along the line), and I'm really hungry for more but I simply can't find any.
I thought it was revealed at the end of the film that the event that destroyed Toyko in 1989 wasn't a nuke but when the they 'turned Akira on' in an attempt to create sustainable energy and it backfired. Doesn't the Colonel explain this to Keneda in the last act of the film?
Yeah, I thought that's what happened too. And If I remember the Manga correctly The sudden destruction of Tokyo from what appeared to be a nuclear bomb was what caused WW3 to start.
He didn't really go into the ending, so maybe it was to avoid spoilers
@LibtardsStillCant SilenceMe20 That is the most embarrassing username I've ever seen
Sounds like technically correct wording to avoid spoilers
I can remember my mom bringing this movie home since my name is Kira, she thought I would love a movie with my name in the title.
I cried.
Littleføøt oh my gosh lmao. Did your mom watch it with you ?
@@DirtyMike124x yessirr lmaoo
how did she react
But you're a Land Before Time character......
@@newbiechu7024 Shh..
Fun fact: it's not until the very end that we see the sky.
I wonder why
@@crash-ew6hw I always thought it was to give the bulk of the film a feeling of being entombed in some massive structure, which works on a physical and socio-political sense in the story. After Tetsuo ascends, the camera looks upwards at the sky for the first time, which I took to mean that a hole has been opened in this society that can lead to change. Good or bad change is up to them.
well i mean there’s the first minute with the explosion but i don’t think that really counts
Not even true but ok
Don't you mean spoiler?
The bomb in the beginning... That is not a bomb, that is akira.
Its propaganda lol
@LiL Speng its propaganda because there is no proof that akira is even real, its a creation of fear so the people can be controlled, so the experiments on the children are never questioned
@@FEARitself100 in the movie, maybe. But in the manga, he is very much real.
Woah I couldn’t have guessed
No, Its the Fat Man
Tetsuo's forehead is so large that me and Kaneda can play tic tac toe on it
"TETSUOOOOOOOOOO. X in the top right corner."
"KANEDAAAAAAAA. I block with an O over my left eyebrow."
The end of this movie was a half way point in the manga series.
Mr. Horror Animations apparently a sequel is happening. Better late than never...I guess.
@@Unqualifiedmedicalperson that late, better then Bambi 2
@@Unqualifiedmedicalperson not possible since the second half of the movie is completely different than the manga
@@sawtoothhorse nobody said the sequel has to be 1-to-1 version of the manga
@@TheRitva26 well then the sequel is going to be shit, Akira is like lightning in a bottle and I doubt anyone will be able to recreate the perfection of the manga especially if everything is different
They jammed thousands of pages of a manga into one film. It’s amazing how well it turned out
Well it was directed by the man himself (who made the comics), so it’s probably how it was so well put
I always assumed Akira was the kid with the powers and that he was the protagonist. I was completely wrong
You are the same guy that think Zelda is the guy with the sword in the videogame.
cristian jofre yeah if I had never played the game or knew anything about Zelda, that’s logical to assume
Fr!
@@megalocoman lol yes
@@megalocoman I always wondered why they didn't call the franchise the legend of link because in literally almost every game zelda only has a few appearances and in links awakening she's not even in the game or mentioned in the game either
I feel like a lot of Akira's subtext is lost for foreign viewers who didn't grow up in Japan in the 80s which had a serious problem with juvenille delinquency like the US did in the 1950s. That's where there's scenes like the school coach punching the kids in the face, because things had gotten that bad at the time that a lot of people wished kids were disciplined that way. There's also a lot of influence from the mass student protests in Japan of the 1960s.
That is very true. A lot of cultural things dont come across in most high quality anime to a western audience in general... Such as the use of silence and the heavy focus of the environment as characters rather than just backdrop.
Tnx for that info. Now i understand the subtext of battle royale
I feel like thats a big thing with akira's plot in both the manga and anime. It's a huge convoluted and horrible story, with angry, confused, and scared children at the center of it all taking the brunt of the abuse without even knowing why.
I think a universal masterpiece a lot of times need not to have subtext to feel the impact. Any industrialized country has/had urban crime problem; worried about violent teenagers or political activism. What conveys them depends not the audience having studied the context, but how good the story is directed or written.
@@williampan29 thats actually a really good take, man.
People with bigass foreheads THE ANIME
Fourhead, more like fuckin seventeenhead
@@zanerobbins3794 why that number, specifically?
@@guscfer157 Bruh
@@guscfer157 because it's four feet
@@guscfer157 funnee
I remember one of my mom's past boyfriends bringing Akira over to watch, because he was into anime and wanted to show my mom a classic so she could understand the appeal. I was ten at the time, but for some reason I was allowed to watch it with them despite the age rating. I don't remember much of the plot or characters but I remember liking it despite how dark it was. The hospital scene with the stuffed animals stuck with me more than the transformation scene at the climax, funnily enough. I can safely say this movie planted the seed of interest that would eventually turn me into the anime fan I am today.
K
I never thought that a dark anime movie wood tarn someone into a anime fan good for you and keep doing what you love man 👍
Age is just a number you can enjoy art anytime
Weeb
cool
so
when did he bring hentai over
People in 2020:
"Yeah, pretty accurate."
People in 2019:
"... Yeah, when are we inhabiting Mars?"
After the CCP Virus flows over
Oh my lord, he's actually doing it.
Darrell adams yes he is
Pretty sure a lot of people know this
An important anime film from the 1980’s
@Old Luke
*SKULLS FOR THE SKULL THRONE*
He should princess monoke next I think that is studio gibli aswell
You should totally watch and review "Tokyo Godfathers"
It is such a beautiful film!! It has that weird and dark moments, but so beautiful!! The meaning all around is gorgeous!!
Its 2020 exactly a year after 2019 in the Film's setting. To be honest the Tech in that world isn't far from it. Heck even those Exact Replicas Red Motor Bikes (Kaneda's) have been made.
And Tokyo looks pretty futuristic already
I'm just sad that the Olympics got canceled because in the AKIRA universe it was supposed to take place this year
@@serenitymoon825 it would have been sweet to possibly get a nod to Akira in the Olympics but alas
@@serenitymoon825 It was supposed to yes. but you think there going to have it now when a guy just exploded in the stadium. I think Akira is actually accurate because the Olympics didn't happend it 2020 also.
@@redwolf6213 Yes, that's true. I need to watch the movie again
HE'S REVIEWING IT GUYS HE'S REVIEWING IT
CrazyWazy55 Calm down calm down
I was excited seeing the notifications too!
Same dude, I was actually expecting for him to review this movie since I really love it ^^
QUICK MY MAN'S HAVING AN STROKE
Yes! This was just what I wanted after I told him to review it from the last video steve uploaded.
He’s talking about dark anime
Quick tell him about made in abyss.
shit man that scarred me
Yes,that last episode scares me alot. Almost traumatize me XD
But I love it!
No animes are darker than boku no pico
Let's talk about Devilman: Crybaby and the manga.
The movie is beautifully worst.
The insane thing you left out is that towards the end of the film, the final fight takes place inside the Tokyo 2020 Olympics stadium. That's pretty crazy if you think about it.
@RolandArt The fact that the author actually predicted where the 2020 Olympics would take place (it would've if it wasn't for the pandemic) is very surprising
Not exactly. It's 2020 in the story, but the Stadium had been built for the Olympics in the 1980s and the Olympics had been cancelled then. But what *is* eerie is that the Japanese Olympics in that story were cancelled because of a viral pandemic.
@ElcetroBlastLuigi
Is it really that suprising that the Olympics are held in the capital?
@@SangerZonvolt what if it was a different country? That's the point.
@@ElectroBlastLuigi
I see. Yeah that makes more sense.
"THAT'S MR KANEDA TO YOU PUNK!"
The absolute knuts on this lad.
Japan gets nuked 2 times:
World: There is another
3 times to be accurate.
@@32pyro1 World: You learn fast, good!
the bear music in the hospital made me have nightmares
* shudder *
Sykkato Same. I watch this originally when I was 8. I did not understand that they were a delusion.
The 80's in Japan (and spefically Tokyo) were INSANE. Everyone was so rich, almost no one owned cars and bikes, because everyone could afford cabs everywhere. I've even heard stories that to get a cab to stop for you, you had to wave with a 100 dollar bill but because everyone was that rich at the time, that wasn't a big issue.
Wish I was in 80s Japan
And then 1992 rolled around a burst that bubble
You can even beat money out of goons on the streets 😂 Iykyk
@@rongusta11 bro thinks he's John Yakuza
It was all kind of fake though, the money was kind of an artificial stimulation of the economy by the central bank. I don't know the fine details, but it was one of the more flashy bubbles caused by the onset of Neoliberalism, and damn did it burst.
I love Akira, but I also love how pretty this movie is! I've always loved me some 80s cyberpunk, and Akira makes that mould 100%. The animation is fluid and the backgrounds are so highly detailed and coloured!! :D
"Horrifying Beauty"
Well that's one way to pit it.
“A landmark in Anime”
That’s another way to put it also
“Will leave you with something to think about”
Yeah about how I’m going to forget the grotesque baby at the end where tetsuo mutates
Know what I like? The fluidity of the facial expressions (don't deny it, there's something classic Anime has that modern Anime can only dream of)
I really recommend reading the manga for anyone that likes the movie
It shows a much deeper story and shows character development for both kaneda and tetsuo, it really goes into who and what the children are and what they're capable of too. Side characters like joker and tetsuos girlfriend actually become important parts of the story, there's also characters who never make it into the movie that are just amazing.
This is a masterpiece of Japanese animation one of the best in my opinion
Made back when people were still calling it 'Japanimation'.
The motorcycle scene though. That particular scene is sooo iconic
I only got to see the start before my dad noped it off.
Akira was the first anime movie I ever watched, I watched it when I was in elementary school and I loved it. Like it really only took one watch of it and it became my ultimate favorite movie of all time. Like its so memorable, I haven't watched it since I was in 6th grade and I still remember everything about it, it's so good.
I swear we're turning him into a weeb and I'm so proud.
First Saberspark into a Furry, now Steve into a weeb
@@jacobaltredes7384 Who's next?
@@4569packers who do we have?
God i hate weebs
oh no XD
Steve, if you want to know why the scenes in Batman: The Animated Series is so similar to Akira, it's because the studio that made the film also helped work on Batman, as well as the sequel series: Batman Beyond.
My older sister watched this a lot when I was a little kid and honestly, all that comes to mind when I see the title "AKIRA" is motorcycles, having an upset stomach, and hating the facial animations...I can see why I blocked so much of it out.
Because.... Of motorcycles?
@@BroAnarchy That's not what I said at all. Remembering the motorcycles, which are heavily featured in this film, is totally understandable - I *never* said the motorcycles gave me issues, just that I remembered them the most and associated them with this film...I don't even know where you got that from. The upset stomachs obviously came from the fucking gore, this movie is grotesque in a lot of places, it was especially so for me as a little girl.
@@alaskaismyhome39
you said that one of the reasons why you blocked it out was motorcycles. so i just went with that lol
I love how the red bike made it into cyberpunk one of the first rides I bought.
Cyberpunk 2077 video game???
I still think Akira is the best anime movie, and easily one of the best animated movies, or all time. Even though the manga has a lot more content, I kinda prefer the movie for making Tetsuo a LOT more sympathetic. The animation is some of the most detailed is any movie ever, that glorious soundtrack, and my god, the final destruction of Neo-Tokyo scene. I think it's best the 3rd time through, when you've experienced it, and then when you watch it again to pay more attention. Really wish I could experience it again for the first time.
It deserves such a title, it's such a monuments ammount of work you don't need to look further than just the finished product itself to know that it was hard to make
This is the best animation I've ever seen and I watched a LOT of animations
Nah the manga makes Tetsuo ALOT more sympathetic due to its fleshed characterization of him as he falls into trouble and down on his luck due to power and drug addiction. The movie does tetsuo very good but the manga definitely does it vastly better in every story reason and message out there but at the end of the day their both fantastic!
I've seen this movie once and I didn't really care for it, but I was stunned by the animation. To imagine that people drew this movie frame by frame is insane.
Jin-Roh: Wolfbrigade would also make a great review.
Grandma what big eyes you have
Grandma what big mouth you have
GRANDMA what big teeth you have!
Panzercorp can’t wait
Fr
Please make this happen
Omg YES!!
Petition to make the original full manga into a perfect anime
0:41 Mr. Stark, I don’t feel so good.
CreatureCal ha
Yep that reference never dies
Nice
Lmao😒😒
Actually Kaneda kind of left a girl pregnant in the manga. At fifteen.
Just letting it out there, I’m still processing it.
wait wha-
@@colton_5690 not only he left the girl pregnant. He also does this after manipulating her into stealing drug for his gang.
@@nabkill0134 okay i want to die
Wow, that is super new to know
I'd seen this film dozens of times, but was recently lucky enough to see it in a packed theater.
One of the best film experiences of my life, it's totally incredible on the big screen.
During a certain moment towards the end where there is like 10+ seconds of silence, hundreds of people did not make a sound. It was other-worldly. You could tell every single person in that theater was mesmerised.
I saw this as a child, like around 5 years old. Never forgot it. It is something that stays with you forever.
"Turning our son into an Akira? Real nice."
"Eat my ass, Jerry! He turned himself into Akira!"
"Ah tell you, that boy ain't right!"
He turned himself into Tetsuo
Lol
Underrated Comment.😂
Review Neon Genesis Evangleion. The old movies. And after that the new ones once the last one finally come out.
oh god no but also fuck yes
@@lemonjelly1171 this is the correct sentiment
The first time I heard of this anime was Daft Punk "Stronger" plus are both my favorite in being Godlike Masterpieces.
kanyes version is akira bro
God the animation in this movie is jaw dropping, the animation style is also refreshing after all the stupid big eyed modern anime.
Here's some recommendations:
An American Tail
Any of Ralph Bakshi's works
The Thief and the Cobbler
Future Boy Conan
Yellow Submarine
Chicken Run
The Black Cauldron
A Scanner Darkly
Waking Life
Also, although it's half animated, you should check out Pink Floyd's The Wall. It's so surreal and WTF.
A Silent Voice
you should also review Wolf Children. its not nearly as dark as this, but its a beautiful film.
@@crazycreaturestudios I heard good review. The topic about being single mom try raise hybrids wolf children. It bring both sadness
Thief and the Cobbler! But the Uncobbled version - where Tack doesn't speak. So much better.
What's crazy I saw this back in 1989 on the big screen in Philly. I was blown away. I was a freshman in highschool.
Kaneda's laser gun was so cool. The animation really portrayed the power it had really well.
Just finished the manga after watching the film. As good as the film is, the injustice done to the character of Lady Miyako in it is outrageous. In the manga she's one of the central characters, in the film she's just a random background cult leader.
I remember being at my grandfathers house, I was playing when he had gotten off of his chair. I think i was 6 or 7 and being cheeky I decided to go sit in his chair while he was gone. Akira was playing, more specifically, Tetsuo's mutation. I remember being so horrified, and I ran crying to my mom. And, as cliche as it was, I remembered years later and trying to look for it. And while I can appreciate this movie for what it is, I'll never forget how horrifying it was to see for the first time.
sorry :c
I gotta admit, it did make me nervous first time seeing this
@@colton_5690 it's alright, it happens sometimes lol.
the humming tune when the city explodes is amazing
One of the best anime films ever done, well, besides: Ghost In the shell, Princess Mononoke, and Spirited Away.
How about a review for Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade?
Don't forget ponyo and howls moving castle
Very much. Maybe throw Angel's Egg in there. Highly recommend if you havent seen it
Oh yes jin roh is awesome, even the english dub is good in this one
@@ecthelionalfa would you say it's worth watching?
The wolf brigade soldiers are awesome, nazi cyborg robots, never though I’d say that but damn they cool.
I showed this movie to my parents, and even though they said that they can see why this is a landmark in animation, they now don’t let me pick the any more movies to watch with them.
Now do Ghost in the Shell, the original film, or Neon Genesis Evangelion.
If he was gonna do Eva, he’d have to do the whole thing, which is 14 hours and 30 minutes, plus the hour and a half film. I’d still love to see it though
Evangelion is a complete mind fuck
@@blackpilloverdose1013 -It is...but in the best of ways :)
@@K31R616 asuka didt liked to be mindfucked again
Speaking of the Animation of the Film. The Studio behind Akira was animated by TMS Entertainment (or known as Tokyo Movie Shinsha). they were responsable for the japanese Little Nemo Film, Lupin the 3rd, Detective Conan and Sonic X. But not only that, they also do for the American Production for TV show, such as Animaniacs, Tiny Toon Adventures, Disney’s Gummy Bears and also you mentioned on the Video, Batman the Animated Series for some episode.
I mean steve... parents today are not like the parents of our time. My parents let me watch anything and even put on horror movies like friday the 13th, halloween, alien and more on movie nights
I remember watching things when I was 10, i had to see it a couple times to understand it
Same with my family. The only time they ever put any restrictions on what I watched was if there was some explicit sex scene going on in a movie, then they made me leave the room. But then as soon as it was over they'd call me back in to finish the rest of the movie. And violence and gore were never an issue. It always baffled me as a kid when my friends with religious parents told me they weren't allowed to watch certain things on TV.
Aliens! damn your parents are hardcore i had to depend on uncles and cousins just to see some nitty gritty stuff
@@TheMoose126 heck, I remember watching perfect blue when I was 10. It came in a CD along with Lion King and toy story (I know, bizarre but true). Although, if my parents knew about it, I doubt they'd have let me watch it 😂
My art professors always said that if you want to do anime/manga, and be good at it, you HAVE to read/watch Akira
I remember seeing the trailer of this on adult swim as a child. I was literally terrified when I saw the gore, fleshy monster part
Yeah, I feel u
Not a living soul?
In the distance though?
Tetsou: KANEDA!!!
This is one of the best animated films I’ve ever watched, I also recommend the manga which is very good and is more in depth and has more Akira. I also recommend watching the movie Perfect Blue which is a psychological horror
It´s interesting how "old" Japanese animation has a particular design style quite differentiated of the most modern. This movie, Spriggan, Voltes V, Yamato, the original Alita and others looks nothing like anime nowadays.
Because anime as a genre became a parody of itself. It was originally just graphic novels and their animated adaptations. Now there are tropes and plots and subgenres
I love the sunset animation style of the 90s. Tri gun, cowboy bebop, outlaw star etc. They all have a charm thats very similair to akira. Especially bebop. They dont have the same level of detail and masterful animation fluidity but its not at all far off. The pokemon movie with mew and mewtwo fighting had that style too. Something about it is so stark and i struggle to put my finger on what exactly it is
I grew up in Puerto Rico and I remember that their local TV channels showed spanished dubbed anime, some good stuff too which was always surprising. Didn't understand anything at the time but it did teach me some spanish. It's one of the reasons why I love this place.
Read the manga. The anime is beautiful, dark, and yet inspired. And it changed the world and how people saw animation. A lot of kids saw it, and they watched it because nothing was even remotely like it. But it's not a complete story. And that story is well worth reading
found this in a closet in the hall the other month and well ive seen it before buuuut youcan bet your ass i sat down and watched it again... will forever be one of the absolute greatest. you can see the inspiration in so many anime to follow. It set a huge president.
EDIT: and definitely to your point a movie you should watch more than once and it will come together better and god damn how could you not want to see this masterpiece twice? you could watch it with the sound off lol
I do remember watching this when I was a kid. Still haven't recovered. 9/10.
I’ve watched a lot of reviews from Steve, this is the first one that I feel like I MUST go see!
This played on toonami when i was in middle school and i was so drawn into the entire movie, waiting to see what happened next and loving how smooth the flow was. This movie was one of the key inspirations that lead to me creating my own characters and plots. It opened my mind, showing that not all characters are bad just because. It is a great movie, and i'm glad you reviewed it.
I see what you mean about the second act though. I showed this movie to my boyfriend and uh...he fell asleep through the middle. I had to wake him up so he could see the ending.😂
I love how fluent the animation is.
I remember I first saw it around 12. A good part of it went right over my head. I definitely remembered that ending. Such a gorgeous movie. I'm really glad I bought it. I'm going to buy the manga too
It was pre internet and to get detailed info you had to read specialty magazines. I was subscribed to a snooty cinema mag for film students and read a glowing review. Wasn't until the early 2000s when I saw it. Like everyone else, blown away. As an artist it was like an invitation to someone's foreign nightmarish nirvana.
3:16 that's a pretty savage nuclear bomb joke you just slipped in there 😂
The subtext of AKIRA basically about the heights of the Japan during 80s and the background information regrading the architecture based from real-life post war architecture such as Kenzo Tange. And predicted the infamous 1989 Tiananmen Square like the students protest against the corrupt govt. However, there is a manga expanded more plots pointed out that the US-USSR became allies during the 2019 and investigates what the hell just happened to Neo Tokyo.
Tetsuko's transformation near the end scarred me when I was a kid
I've seen Akira 1000x times and it blows me away everytime I watch it.
This is one of those movies that after you watch it you know you've seen something that you can relate to in some way but don't at all understand why
The way Steve sounds when he talked about this film, it's like he wasn't afraid of reviewing it or thought it was terrifying. He sounded like he had a good time watching it and talking about the film. It's really refreshing to hear him talk about a movie he likes after watching the Padak and Felidae reviews
When I watched this I think the pacing, plot, and some of the character designs were the main reasons I didn't like it, and I still stand by some of my initial thoughts, but after watching this video I think I focused too much on that and didn't really pay attention to how impressive the animation is. so I can at least appreciate it in that sense.
The motorcycle slide will ALWAYS get me super-hyped no matter the show
I watched this as a child too. I rewatched it as an adult a few more times and I think I finally understand it. 😂
Steve I recommend that you see the adventures of Mark Twain trust me you'll love it and the best part is that it's g rated.
recommendations... hm, mayhaps Osamu Tezuka's Metropolis! It has an... interesting background. Including being created against Tezuka's wishes AFTER he died, the creators insisting on cel animation despite the costs because of their love of the medium, and another mixed message about technology.
To all people hopelessly looking for the song in the beginning of the video it’s Earthly destiny by sir Cubworth.
Watched it recently a second time with my date because Blade Runner is not on Netflix. Forgot how fucking violent Akira is. Lucky there was enough wine.
This is just my own personal theory, but I think the reason for the cyberpunk genre’s persistent 80’s/Japanese undercurrents goes way deeper than just “It was the style in both Akira and Bladerunner”. I think the economic and technological explosion taking place at the time, combined with Japan not only coming back onto the world stage but dominating so many aspects of the market while the US and the Soviets were busy spending so much on military tech...I think that specific cocktail of factors was the thing that gave birth to cyberpunk.
Yup, he confirmed the origin of Vegeta!! I feel better knowing this now. And I myself finally see how influential this movie has become after its initial release too. $9 Million dollars is quite the investment and it did pay off in the long run.
Watched Akira when I was 8yo. Damn, that was brutal! Changed me forever, during those scenes I tough "that´s what I want to do!" So became an artist myself. I have so vivid memories of this movie I use them as reference to my own work. I draw something, and think: "is this good enough?" so mentally compare to some frame of Akira. Yeah, this "vivid memory" level!
There's a certain KoF or king of fighters character based off of the main character
Snk actually got in trouble For their character K9999 being inspired off of akira and having the same abilities.
It was never confirmed that SNK was because of K9999, in fact SNK eliminated K9999 because they hate him because they think it exceeded what was a simple inspiration and was practically a copy at that point and because of that it's prohibited to talk about K9999 in the SNK offices. So, the sue is just a rumor.
I must clarify that SNK does not hate Akira, there are many references to said manga / movie in their games, they hate K9999 because it is a shameless copy of Tetsuo.
Dude such a brilliant movie and even better manga. How insane its continued after the movie ends, but I don't want to spoil it.
"Just look at the detail in this scene-"
"THIS is a car! And THIS is Drive time!!"
It used to show up on adult swim a long time ago I believe, used to scare the piss outta me, the music, the animation, the voices, even the old little kids. but now I see what a masterpiece this is, life is amazing.
I remember him from King of the Fighters
Didnt know that he has a movie
Not sure if you're joking but It's the other way around, K9999 was based off Tetsuo from Akira.
@@undyne1 not really
I just find out that k9999 was based of him
@@undyne1 Real fans know k9999's backstory and was one of the best characters and reason why we got Nameless to overwrite the copyright and banish k9999 off Kof for ever
@@Quottidomin13 yup
This movie gave me the first nightmare I can remember. This is the movie that made my mom realize that just because its animated, doesn't mean its first kids
Now please The end of Evangelion, cause this is super dark and depressing
the only issue would be needing context. a _lot_ of context. but yeah I’d also love to see that
Thus came out the year I was born. Loved it as a kid.
Hi me from 10 months ago! :)
The movie is good, but I wish more people would read the manga. The art is so good that it inspired many famous artist, including the creators of Naruto.
The movie isn’t just “good” the movie is excellent and fantastic visual film of animation and creation, but the manga definitely fleshes out the story VASTLY better than the movie and does the themes and messages way better as well. The movie and the manga are BOTH fantastic at the end of the day tho!
And the art in the manga isn’t just “good” either; it’s PHENOMENAL in its imagery and yeah it did become one of the inspiration from Kishimoto (naruto creator) to pursue manga making!
I still have the VHS copy of this that I ordered out of the back of 'Heavy Metal' magazine when I was a junior in high school back in 1993. One of my favorite all-time movies, animated or live action.
Oh boy another childhood scarring cartoon movie. Those are a dime a dozen nowadays.