AKIRA (1988) MOVIE REACTION! FIRST TIME WATCHING!! 

You guys need to watch Perfect Blue at some point as well

Akira is genuinely one of the greatest works of animation to ever be put to screen. If you're looking for more fantastic anime films, I can't recommend enough you check out Ghost in the Shell, Sword of the Stranger, Spirited Away, and Paprika.

I read the manga first and while I do prefer it (it continues past where the movie ends for quite a bit), the film is an absolute masterpiece.

Akira was all hand-drawn it's absolutely insane the amount of details and the beauty of the animation. The movie is a bit confusing because it's based on a manga made of 6 volumes of several hundred pages each and the last volume came out after the film so the film is adapting the first two ones and the very begining of the third. A lot of central plots have been left out like the rival biker gang that has a much larger arc in the manga and also the head of the Akira cult who is only briefly seen in the movie. To explain a bit the end, Tetsuo becoming this giant blob is because all the energy inside him is becoming physical and expanding and Akira creates a new parallel universe where he traps Tetsuo in. So basically, Tetsuo is now in his own reality and cannot threaten Neo-Tokyo anymore. Akira is absolutely a landmark in animation and while it's true, the movie can be confusing at times, the animation, framing, cinematography, the music, the action are all groundbreaking.

Great reaction guys. AKIRA was written and directed by Katsuhiro Otomo, who also drew the original manga,... which is MASSIVE. Highly recommend checking out Ghost in the Shell next!

Fellow Brit here, you guys are great, been watching your videos since your reaction to Halloween (1978) came out. It's really nice to re-experience these great films with you guys! Ghost in the Shell (1995) is a seriously good film and I would recommend you this! It inspired the Matrix!

*Fun fact: The manga/comic ran from 1982 to 1990, so the film was created before the full story was completed. The original story went on to resemble the post-apocalypse wasteland you had mentioned, with multiple factions vying for power, including Tetsuo.*

The “Big Bang” moment is the scientist realizing that when Akira detonated he’s actually pulling things into a new dimension and creating a new world there. In the end, all the Espers who went into the explosion are in a new world, and Tetsuo is introducing himself.

I remember I saw a video on RU-vid about behind the scene of Akira about the color process and frames. Drawing enormous building and painting every single window with light and framing it to animation. You can tell that they really put a lot of work on this movie because it was way ahead of its time.

The idea that they could capture this masterpiece in cel animation, i.e., _every_ frame is hand-drawn, still boggles my mind. An absolute monument to animation. Witnessed this in the theatre and just sat there in awe. (Pity the English translation is off... the sub handles the philosophical discussions better).

You just watched the most important (and in my opinion the best) anime first. Good job. Others to watch (features, not series): Ghost In The Shell (1995) Fist Of The North Star (1986) Vampire Hunter D (1985) Ninja Scroll (1993) Princess Mononuke (1997) Golgo 13: The Professional (1983)

If you haven't already, you guys should really watch Grave of the Fireflies. In my opinion, it's one of the greatest animated films ever.

For those of us that were old enough to appreciate just how much anxiety and uncertainly there was in the world at the height of the cold war in the 80's, these kind of movies were expressing them in their own way. That's why these types of movies were made in the 80's. The people at that time could relate to them. I was in high school when the Chernobyl disaster happened. The tension, anxiety, and fear was real. It's one thing to read about the cold war but if you experienced any part of it yourself, it shapes your world view in unexpected ways at times.

My own experience with Akira is quite traumatic. I first saw it when I was on the 1st grade or elementary school in Finland - or is it primary school, I am not sure how it correlates with the school systems in other countries? Needless to say, I was WAY too young, just a kid. It was those times when we used VHS and video rental stores where still a viable business. Anime was just becoming popular in the west and you had a small selection of them available. My parents rented Akira to me, probably because it was a nice cartoon with a boy with a giant gun in his hand as a poster. It turned out to be something quite different. After that I didn't see the film for a long time and always had a kind of ambivalent relation to it. As an adult, when I started to become more aquainted with anime, I prefered Ghost in the Shell. Evetually I rewatched Akira and it became one of my favorite movies. To me, it's a perfect blend of action, sci-fi, politics and history and spirituality.

It’s great to see you guys continuing to look at different avenues for films to watch, and the medium of animation has so many options for exploration. Akira is definitely an excellent first foray into anime for the channel and I, just like another commenter or two, also recommend Perfect Blue as that’s a exceptional psychological thriller with mind bending twists. I also recommend another personal favorite in the form of Barefoot Gen, as that’s a truly emotional and horrifying experience that’ll completely change the way you see the destruction of Hiroshima in WW2 when you see it from the eyes of its title character. As always, keep up the great work and I can’t wait to see what y’all react to next. ☺️

The music to this still gives me the chills.

I’m glad you pointed how directing techniques apply to animation! I’m currently taking an animation directing course with Peter Chung (creator of the show Æon Flux), and the techniques he teaches also apply to live action filmmaking. It’s all cinema! :) So many people still write anime off as “just cartoons”, so it’s always really nice to see folks give the medium a shot for the first time! I recently got my 67-year-old dad into his first anime, Vinland Saga - he was surprised at how invested he’s been in the story haha

I love this film so much. I wrote a 5000 word essay on it for my A-level film studies class. ❤❤❤

Incredible that you started anime with Akira. Next on your list: Ghost in the Shell, Paprika, Grave of the Fireflies. (Watch Princess Mononoke on your own time if you can’t edit around a Ghibli copyright strike)

This movie really changed a bunch of stuff on its time , like the Cyberpunk genre

There are some really good anime movies like Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust (2001), Ghost in the Shell (1995) and Ninja Scroll (1993). Two of those are from Madhouse Studio, one of the greatest animation companies in japan.

The lack of relationship development is something the creator knew about. Because the film was made when the manga (type of comic) started they adapted the first volume and the author told the crew how it would end and they would make a film out of it. So the movie adapts the first and last volume of the manga (1&6) but there’s about 4 other volumes of content that flesh out of relationships

I think dub is good for a first watch because you can pay more attention to the film without worrying about having to read a lot. And then later if you want to hear the original acting, you can check out sub version.

Something that you guys brought up in your thoughts was "Maybe Anime just suffers from this need to constantly propel forward", and it bears pointing out that anime is not a genre, it's a medium. Just as there are live action films, there are multiple subsets of animation, like stop-motion, 3D animation, digital, hand-drawn cel art, etc. Anime can encompass all of that, and the only thing that quantifies it as "anime" is that it is animation from Japan. Yeah, there are certain tropes that are associated with anime, from certain stylistic choices, visual cues, types of humor, and a penchant for over-the-top action, but anime runs the gamut from non-stop action to psychological thriller to simple slice of life pieces and everything in between. I think you guys could really enjoy digging into some anime films to see how wide of a genre it is. Another commenter recommended Perfect Blue, and I'd second that suggestion, because it's one of my favorite films of all time, animated or otherwise. I'd also toss out the suggestion of Millenium Actress from the same writer/producer of Perfect Blue, Satoshi Kon. They're both films that deal with famous women but they couldn't be further from one another in tone and content. There are a ton of other phenomenal animated films out of Japan, but they're all unique and showcase how wild the animated medium can get. While Akira itself does suffer a bit from pacing, others will go in the complete opposite direction and highlight that anime can't be classified as one single genre. In addition to Perfect Blue and Millennium Actress, I'd suggest you look into a few others like Grave of the Fireflies, The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, A Silent Voice, Your Name, Princess Mononoke, Ghost in the Shell, Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust, or even Belladonna of Sadness. If you haven't tapped into that well of cinema yet, then you've got a whole treasure trove waiting for you of beautiful animation, visuals, unique storytelling, and philosophical thought of all kinds just ready for you to dig in.

One of the greatest anime films ever made. There are 2,212 frames of animation throughout the entire film.

Akira is god-tier animé, both visually, storywise AND historically. It doesn't really get any better than that, but there are several movies which are on the same level: Ghost in the Shell (sci-fi), Grave of the Fireflies (drama, heartWRENCHING), Spirited Away (fantasy) and more. Everything from Studio Ghibli is a good watch, really. Just comes down to personal taste which one is your favourite. Oh, and try to track down the Akira-manga as well (online), it is REALLY good.

Ghost in the shell is absolute masterpiece . Also If you want character driven drama then Vinland Saga is the way to go. If you want pure action /historical period then Sword of the stranger. If you want sci fi/fantasy then Attack on Titan is the way to go. If you want more psychological thriller then Perfect blue is a must

When i saw this as a child in the 80s i became obsessed with this movie as intensely as Ghost in the Shell in the 90s. I love this genre and was so happy when Ergo Proxy and Perfect Blue and Appleseed came about and other animes that are in this aesthetics 💜

My #1 suggestion for a film you could put on the channel that is one of the greatest anime films of all time: Metropolis (by Osamu Tezuka)

Akira is a masterpiece which can't be fully appreciated of understood on a first watch.

Not only is Akira one of the best anime movies ever made, but one of the best science fiction movies ever made. IMO

Akira also predicted the last Olympic games location and cancellation.

There's an insane level of detail in the animation here. Every frame hand drawn

the anime was directed by katsuhiro otomo, the artist of the original manga series -- and his technical draftsmanship and obsession with detail come roaring through.

You guys should watch Grave of the Fireflies! It's another amazing anime, and maybe the best WW2 film ever made. It's a great example of how an anime can slow down and develop, as opposed to the fast paced nature of Akira.

Ghost in the Shell is my personal favourite Anime Film. Ninja Scrolls is amazing. Fist of the North Star inspired shows such as Jojo's bizarre adventure. Spirited Away is stunning but not worth getting a copyright strike

Chronicle (2012) movie is about the best version of Akira I think we can get. I'd love to see a live action Akira done well, but I think they'd mess it up. While Chronicle is its own thing, to me it's always seemed very influenced by Akira and I love it. Highly highly recommend if you haven't seen it. Seems to be one of those hit or miss kind of movies, but to me it was a blast and I could only dream what Akira could be. 🐾

Loved remembering Akira through your reaction guys. It was my first introduction to Animé along with a handful of others, and as film nerd I have to say there are many gems to discover, though it can sometimes be a bit hard for non-fans to find the really interesting stuff amongst those that are popular more for their spectacle or visual flair. That being said I'd like to back two of the titles I've seen recommended here. Ghost in the Shell has been mentioned plenty here, and deservedly so. It's a classic of cyberpunk film, an animé touchstone, a great action film with philosophical themes and a good look at how animation techniques had advanced just seven years after Akira. Perfect Blue has also been mentioned by a few here and it's a great Hitchcockian psychological thriller. Directed by the late, great Satoshi Kon, it's an excellent example of the diversity of genre found within animé and just an amazingly stylish film in it's own right. There are so many other truly great titles, enough so that you could easily do an entire run of animé films (even if you don't see any Ghibli films which are almost all great), but these are a good starting point.

88 is early? Oh you sweet summer child.

Remember seeing this movie for the first time it blew my mind lol. Great reaction lads! :)

If you guys want to react to more anime, I recommend anything by Satoshi Kon. In my opinion he was one of the greatest directors in filmmaking. There's not a single thing from him that's not amazing

Great reaction guys, Akira is an amazing movie The Manga series breaks down the story a lot more, easier to understand and some of the story is completely different. Highly recommend reading the series.

I was very fortunate to have an extraordinary AKIRA experience. If you look at the original episodic comics put out by EPIC, issue #17 has a back page that details the cities in the U.S. that the film was coming to in 1990. Cincinnati, Ohio is one that's printed in the AKRA book. I saw a 70mm print of AKIRA at the Repertory Cinema in Cincinnati in 1990 with a bunch of buddies of mine. A massive screen showing way before the High Definition theater re-release. It can be argued that nothing beats a 70mm print right from the negative. We were some of the first in the world to see that print. A rare experience.

The fact that everything on the screen was HAND DRAWN... no CGI at all.. that alone is an impressive artistic feat. I mean, the rest of the movie is fantastic for a number of reasons, but I'm saying the ANIMATION ALONE is worthy of eternal praise...

'Oh it's set in the '80s' Famous last words

Ninja scroll, Ghost in the Shell, Vampire Hunter D, and Fist of the North Star, are the Classics along with this movie. You guys try reacting to these other Icebreakers that Fathered Anime to America's lands. These are the top 5 movie Anime, that are the Legendary collection for true Anime beginners. Lol

The sliding bike stop has been referenced *SO many* times. The most recent, I saw, was in the movie "Nope".

In terms of visuals and animations, this is a monumental masterpiece...

This movie is from the first 2 and final books of an (I believe) 8 book graphic novel series, which is part of why it seems a little disjointed. Tetsuo wasn't/THE/ Big Bang, but he became the start of a new universe... thus /A/ Big Bang. This movie was really groundbreaking, and in the production of the movie, they created over 20 new colors of ink, and several new composition and compositing techniques that had never been done before. Many went on to benefit live action films, in addition to animation. The creator also worked on Steam Boy, and you can see similarities in style, imagery, and even character design. I don't think the subbed version would convey the ideas any better than the dubbed does - I have seen both. If you are interested in some of this Era in anime, I might recommend Ghost in the Shell (the original), and maybe Armitage III. For newer materials (but still a little ways back), maybe Read or Die and Gunsmith Cats.

This is an example where you should definitely read the manga as well. The animated movie goes for a briefer umph-y "Space Odyssey" ending which makes sense for its runtime, but is a much less complete story. The other achievement of the film (which may not be self-evident in the CGI era) is of course being entirely hand drawn/painted frame by frame. Like "Roger Rabbit" it is insane labor for its era and the "making of" of some of the scenes is worth looking into.

God bless you guys. This, this is one of my favorite things for a great react channel to do especially when its some lads who try and have some real dialogue about wtf they just saw, what an incredible piece of the times that Akira was made in. New favorite video from yall

So happy that you reacted to this. What a classic! To me, the greatest Anime film of all time. If you have a chance to explore the making, do so. The amount of craft that went into this film is astounding. And the score! I will sometimes just listen to the movie soundtrack. Ghost in the Shell is another great sci-fi anime worth reacting to.

Akira and Ghost in the Shell are 2 very impactful anime movies which were very inspirational for the entertainment industry, true staples of animation :) too bad anime has gone downhill so much in recent years :P but there is a lot to enjoy from the older days, a lot of respectable pieces of art :) Studio Ghibli movies are obviously amazing :) also one thats really cool, even if not as good as Akira or Ghost, is Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade, its similar to those 2 with some great animation and intriguing story and ideas :)

Its a masterpiece! I've never read the manga but I understand there is A LOT missing to fit the story into one movie. Also, got to say, you guys did a great job of piecing it all together and understanding what was going on.

Evangelion is my favorite anime, but if you don’t want to watch the original series, they recently redid the story in four separate films. 1.11, 2.22, 3.33, and 3.33+1.11 (I think that’s how they are numbered.) Although I like Akira more, Ghost in the Shell is just as iconic. Make sure you watch that too.

What a great movie! Another great anime film is "Spirited Away," which won the Oscar for Best Animated Film. But, like you said, Studio Ghibli made it, so... However, if you liked this movie, you will love one of, if not THE, greatest anime tv series ever made, "Death Note," which is a limited, single season series that is not about a bunch of fights, but is incredibly tension filled and a totally wild, psychological game of cat and mouse on a global scale, involving mass murder and incredible hubris. And, the art is great. ❤✌

Oh, this is gonna be good - watching this and Ghost in the Shell when I was like 12 or so influenced my taste for life lol. Worth mentioning, this movie is a massively condensed adaption of a larger story, the manga Akira.

I like that the reaction itself was almost 40 minutes here. Much needed for a film within which so much happens.

This film completely blew my mind when I was a teenager - and I rewatch every couple of years and still get so much out of it. Was awesome to see fresh eyes and first reactions!

This film is #4 on my top 10 of all time. When it came out I discovered it by accident. There was a cinema that played a lot of Arthouse movies near me and it showed Akira as part of a Japanese movie fest that also had a screening of my #1 film, Seven Samurai, so I was saw it advertised in the lobby. The poster captivated me, but what really hooked me was the cinema was playing the soundtrack of Akira in the lobby between movies and it just grabbed me. It wasn’t until after I’d seen it that I realised it was an adaptation of a comic, also by Katsuhiro Otomo. I will say the finer details of the world make more sense if you’ve read the comic, but it’s not essential. Otomo basically had to rush an ending for the film, because he was still writing the books when the movie was being made. But that doesn’t take anything away from this movie. I absolutely love it.

The anime masterpiece of it's time and celebrating it's 35th anniversary since 1988. GREAT UPLOAD, GENTS!

Someone already mentioned it, but Perfect Blue definitely needs to be on your watch list. Ghost in the Shell is another anime must watch. The original movie is phenomenal.

When I saw this in '88, it had such a profound affect on me that I put AKIRA on my class ring of '90. Excited that you are doing this reaction. Ty!~

If there are similarities with Bladerunner, Ridley Scott was actually inspired by the aesthetics of 1980s Tokyo and Hong Kong, in the rain - monumental buildings, blazing neon, chattering streets and night markets among the futurism. Tokyo especially has vast buildings -the largest average floorspace in the world, for huge trading floors favoured by the Japanese business model, although kept under the 750ft limit due to earthquakes.

An absolute classic and a work of art, I need to organise a get-together with some friends and watch it again, haven't watched it since the early 2000's.

Oh god, you watched it in dub. Please next time you watch anything anime related, watch it in sun. For so many reasons

I remember what a mission it was to get Akira on VHS back in the day… Mail ordered from Anime UK, and I had to get my Nan to write me a cheque for about £25 which is astronomical now I think about the conversion rates!. A few years later, I got in late one Friday night, a bit pissed and trying not to wake my folks, ended up making loads of noise… my mum come downstairs livid as I was sat there watching channel 4 in the early hours, suddenly a ‘up next on 4’ ad popped up for Akira… English dub!, I’d only heard of this 1989 version but never watched it… so i calmed mum down and convinced her to stay up and watch it, with promises of me making tea during the ads (I made 1 round, she made the rest). 25 years on, I maybe visit once a year as I’ve got my own family and moved far from home, but when I do and everyone’s in bed, me and my mum watch Akira (2001 dub… even better!)

Just an astounding achievement in animation. The first I ever saw and not many others come close. A couple of others I think more people should see are Redline (sci-fi motorsports with insane art) and Venus Wars (not one many will recommend but it's about a motorbike racing team caught in a civil war and again, the animation rules).

Great video guys! I’ve actually never seen this but heard of it so it was nice watching with you guys excited to potentially see more anime’s 👍🏻

for me Akira is a 10/10, its the best Anime Film along with ninja scroll

the animation in this will always stand the test of time. *chefs kiss*

Strangely enough, the stadium at the end, had a sign near the beginning (all in Japanese) that somewhat correctly predicted that they would host the 2020 Olympics, then we all know what happened in the beginning of that year which caused a 2 year delay. And in the States, during the mid to late 90s, the SciFi (now SyFy) channel would show 2 anime movies each Saturday and I would eagerly wait for this to be shown as this was the film that got me into anime, but the one the piqued my interest was The Guyver.

The biker rumble shows Tetsuya will go full force for a goal even if it means his own destruction . He is someone who shouldn't be given power under any circumstances.

Another great video guys! Anime is such a fascinating genre. Some of the heights of animation I've found there . Some suggestions I have are Angel's egg, perfect blue, a silent voice, the tale of princess kaguya, and grave of the fireflys are some good ones.

Loved the reaction, I first watched this movie when I was like 12 which, in retrospect, I absolutely should not have lmao! But I still love revisiting it time and time ago over the years, you somehow notice more details and come away with new ideas every time. I'm glad you guys had fun with it and appreciated the cinematography and animation itself, it really is so good. If you guys are looking for another animated movie to check out that's more character-focused than action-packed, I highly recommend A Silent Voice (Japanese dub/subtitles)! It's 'shot'/animated brilliantly and it's so emotional. Oh, and Tokyo Godfathers!

One of the most important animes. The anime that opened the floodgates in the west, as it showed that anime wasn't just for kids. And the amazing "fullscreen" animations (lots of movement in almost every frame, not just small things like a moving mouth or so) and all hand drawn lighting effects etc. Like the flickering light at the pub where they hang out for example.

so glad you checked this out. Would love to see an anime/animation season from you boys. Anime wise, i would recommend Princess Mononoke (a ghibli film, so watch it on your own time, not for the channel i guess) and Fist of the North Star (not a ghibli lol)

"Memories" made by the same people who did akira. Its three short stories, my favorite was magnectic rose. You guys should definitely check it out.

Now watch "Grave of the fireflies" without knowing anything about it. ;)

In terms of story, I always felt we were meant to focus more on the relationship of Tetsuo and Kaneda, over the rest of the events. Only because we get more information on how their society forced them on two very different paths. The rest of it could basically be anything else happening, to drive that narrative to its conclusion, where Tetsuo evolves away from the hatred he had stored up. I’d recommend Ninja Scroll (1993 anime movie; not the series).

18:10 about the music, composer Geinoh Yamashirogumi was tasked to do the soundtrack but only with a few words of reference, delivering a hell of a soundtrack you would not expect for a sci-fi, it's brilliant.

Akira, Ghost in the Shell, and Perfect Blue are my holy trinity of classic anime films. Studio Ghibli's work goes without saying.

Y'all have already seen Perfect Blue, but Satoshi Kon is maybe my favorite anime director and Millenium Actress is an absolutely moving stunner of a film, but honestly if you want something that approaches some of the scale of Akira but has character work to match, please check out Princess Mononoke from Hayao Miyazaki. It's my fav of his films and just so amazing.

No computers involved in animating this. Every frame is literally a painting.

Really unexpected but very cool of you guys to watch this film. Excited to see if it inspires you to explore this genre. Enjoy the subtitled version, the Japanese will definitely give you more depth in terms of character energy.

Fantastic video as always - I'm sure you've seen, but Netflix UK currently has almost all the critically acclaimed Studio Ghibli titles available for streaming. Be great to see both of your thoughts

When the cinema opened up after lockdown This was showing And what a revelation on the cinema screen All the details you miss on a tv and the sounds you hear through those speakers It’s awesome

Great reaction guys. Some other iconic anime to watch would be Ghost in the shell, Perfect Blue & Ninja Scroll...and if you want a series Cowboy Bebop.

This is one of the all-time ultimate badass movies. It's impossible for someone with a pair of balls to not be impressed.

You should give Princess Mononoke a watch (or anything Miyazaki to be honest - he has lots to say about environmental issues). Ghost in the Shell is a must as well, lots of philosophical musing in that one - and incredible art. I like the live action version too, though this is an unpopular opinion... A live action you really shouldn't miss out on is */ahem* Battle Angel Alita.

Oh wow! I never thought I’d see you guys watch Akira , it’s a classic and one of my favourite animes , and I hope you continue to watch some more along the line , great reaction guys 🫶

It breaks my mind how just about *everything* in this Movie was drawn by hand. I know, I know, all Animes from that era and many years after that were, and Studio Ghibli-Films (most of them, anyway) are to this day. But its something about the sheer detail put into everything here that gets me.

Apparently Taika Waititi is in development of a live action movie of Akira!

Its normal to feel that this movie is a bit overwhelming because Akira is comprised of 6 manga volumes, so imagine these cramped in a 2 hour movie, obviously they cant dedicate a lot of time on each of the side characters, i think they did an amazing job, as for general anime films not all feel that fast paced, it depends on the genre that you'll pick, if you wanna experience something very different i would suggest that you watch A Silent Voice which is my personal favourite anime movie , its a mix of Slice of Life/ Drama, i feel like once you see this it will change your whole perception on anime films, and yeah i think its better to watch the films in japanese dub as intended. Love your channel btw, keep up the good work

Stoked for you to see this! My best friend in high school Julian, RIP he’s no longer with us, he showed me this movie on mushrooms for the first time😳😬

"Imagine getting suffocated in someone else's organs." Then cutting to Kaori -- that's cold.

Hello. I found out by searching Akira on youtube today and found your channel and i must say after seen whole video that this movie is one of my favorite of all time. I bought it on special VHS with one VHS tape with movie and one with a documentary and movie is hand drawn under whole movie. My suggestion if you haven't yet is to find Manga based on movie because it fills out parts that they didn't had time to put in movie in first place. I remember my first time watched this movie. (back to VHS tapes) haha. and it was with Japanese voices and English subtitles. I personally prefer watching Animés like that. New fan here on your channel, and a sub from Sweden. Keep it up guys.

Grave of the fireflies is such a rollercoaster or emotions. X is also a classic. But my top pick for an modern anime film is probably your name.

back in the 90s 16 year old me had a cherished vhs of akira. continues to be a great way to teach people that animation is an awesome media

Ghost in the Shell and Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust are both very different but wonderful