AKIRA Changed Everything 

AKIIIRRRRAAAAA!!!!!!!!

"If you hold back, if you don't actually show how horrible things can be, that's disrespectful to how bad things have been." 🙌🏼 -hill Daniel Greene would die on

Akira would make such a good show. The movie was made when the manga wasn’t finished so there’s plenty left to be explored.

sometimes Daniel praises a movie/series/book and i'm like "oh ok, he liked it" but when he says "i ordered a poster and a tshirt" my interest instantly doubles

The movie is one of those films that only covers half the story and elevates the first half of the manga. The manga itself is brilliant and couldn’t be covered completely by the movie. It’s a masterclass in sequential art and I’d check it out if I were you.

I miss the 80`s and 90`s anime that were hand drawn, they had a different feel to it.

Daniel is becoming a weeb... I'm so proud of this community

Good to see Daniel's stepping out of the Ghibli universe, next steps : Perfect Blue, Paprika and Summer Wars !!

My dude, you gotta explore Satoshi Kon's movies now, they're the inspiration for like Inception and Black Swan

Funny that the Manga of Akira came out at the same year and month as Blade Runner, but just a few days earlier.

Daniel starting to become an anime fan ;)

* Puts on nerd glasses * You should read the manga. No. Seriously. The manga is so beatifuly drawn, and goes even deeper down in The theme and setting. Ofc with 2000 pages it has the time and space to do so, where one single movie cant.

oh my how glorious it is to experience daniel's discreet yet unavoidable descent into becoming a weeb. he had no chance, the poor fellow. welcome to the community daniel! enjoy!

Oh man I first watched Akira when I was like 7 years old, which was probably too young since I remember the violence burning itself into my young eyes, but I've watched it numerous times since and it's one of my absolute favorite anime movies. I definitely plan on reading the manga some time as I hear it's even better and this movie only covers the first half of it.

Love to see him broadening his horizons Edit: also if you liked this, you may also like Monster, especially regarding tone and use of themes

Man once you are into anime...you just cant stop. Love to see others getting into it as well.

An interesting thing about Akira is that the movie was made before the Manga was complete. The first two volumes was made before the movie, the middle two was made during the movies production and the last two was made after the movie came out. The volumes are real thicc bois so it took a while for them to be complete. If you have enough interest you should read the Manga. It expands further on the world and the characters. Side note: there's also a thing called Bartkira which takes the characters from Simpsons and uses them to tell the story of the Akira manga. It works surprisingly well. Edit: I forgot to mention but the Bartkira manga was drawn by like over 500 different artists

They hand-drew the whole thing is the most mind blowing fact to me. I mean they hand drew the millions of light on the buildings. It is insane

Yeah it’s visuals was revolutionary back in the day.

Watched this movie a few months ago for the first time. I agree with everything you said. It is an incredible movie that belongs in the discussion of not only greatest animated movies of all time, but also greatest movies in general.

i don't know how i haven't seen anyone recommending Monster or any of Urasawa's works yet but you should definetely check it out, it's a manga classic and for good reason.

YESSS! FINALLY! YES! THIS IS A FUCKING MASTERPIECE!

Let's not forget the soundtrack. Some of the most haunting/beautiful music I've ever been exposed to. It really serves as a major backbone for the tone of this story. Requiem is a journey in and of itself.

Akira was my first real introduction to the world of anime, and I still find it to be so powerful. I would LOVE to see a full series of this, but only if it is done correctly. Like Ghost in the Shell. Otherwise, forget it. Thanks, Daniel 😄😄😄 EDIT: THE ORIGINAL GHOST IN THE SHELL.

I love Akira, and my favorite anime movie is Redline. I think you should watch Ghost in the Shell and Serial Experiments Lain, because I'll say this 3 are the pick of old scifi anime.

I would recommend you to check out the manga. It develops the world even further and is one of the best that I have read. The movie is also one of my all time favourites.

Wow. Daniel is leaning hard into anime. I love it.😂💖

The funny thing is, when I first watched Akira, I couldn't even process what I watched. I knew what I saw, but I couldn't understand it. I still haven't rematched from years ago but I'm almost constantly thinking about it. And I just get excited when someone mentions it. That is a sign of a monumental film.

Akiiiira! First anime movie I ever watched (probably waaay too young). Blew my damn mind. It messed me up for months.

The 80s were a special time for anime. It wasn't just Akira, though it was the high water mark of technical achievement. It was this time frame of the hand drawn animators coming into true mastery of their craft, coupled with the money people not really understanding what they were green lighting so long as it turned a profit. The same year Akira came out there was Grave of the Fireflies, a serious exanimation of the horrors of war, and that movie is scaring. My Neighbor Totoro, Ghibli's best film for me. Appleseed, war and government corruption. Legend of the Galactic Heroes started it's run... which is still the most intricate scifi narrative put to film. Patlabor started it's run, which is about the misuse of technology and police forces having to militarize to keep up with crime using that technology... we're having that conversation now.. Japan had a show about it in the 80s. Gunbuster was a take on the realities of fighting a war across relativistic distances. A lot of it went away not long after 90. Part of it was economic, Japan's economy was cratering and couldn't afford lavish art projects about niche ideas and themes that just happened to interest the creators. A few got made each year for writers/directors/producers that had a proven track record. But nothing like in the 80s. The other thing that happened in 1988 Japan was The Otaku Killer. Japan backlashed HARD on the especially violent anime of the 80s after a serial killer popped up. Anime got cleaned up in a hurry. Even to this day nothing in anime is explicitly as gory as the things that came out in the 80s. It hints instead of shows the worst parts.

Greene: i cant believe such violence in 80s japan :0 80s Japan: collection of the most brutal and violent depictions of animation ever created

Welcome to the club. My AP english teacher had this on his 50 movies to see before you die list, back in 2002. Glad to see you covering some anime and manga content and love the channel.

A good recommendation for you might be the anime "Made in Abyss", especially with the movie taking place after the first season, "Dawn of the deep soul". Best Villain Ive seen in media in a while.

Now he needs to watch Redline. It's style over substance, but god damn does it have style.

One thing that is awesome and still blows my mind is that the director/screenwriter was also the manga writer/artist. It’s so dope that the author has two very different ways to tell his story and get his message across and both are classics. I can think of any other examples, maybe if I stretch Princess Bride?

oooo you're on your anime film arc. There's always a part in an anime fan's life where they're just obsessed with anime films. I recommend A Silent Voice, any Satoshi Kon movie (R.I.P to a legend), Children of the Sea, Maquia, Ride your Wave, In This Corner of the World, and any Mamoru Hosoda movie.

You should check out the Vampire Hunter D movies and Lensmen (all here on RU-vid). Both are from around this time period and are based on Books series that have influenced others works in the same way Akira has. Late 80s/90s are the golden age for anime.

For my 22nd birthday we had a Japanese film day (yes, day). All great films (though we couldn't get a few that I really wanted like Yojimbo and Sanjuro), but the one that elicited the most discussion and required us to break and go for dinner to hash out what we had just watched was AKIRA. I love this film, and it demands multiple viewings. The soundtrack is also phenomenal.

this movie is so good its in my personal top three of anyhting animated of all time :P ITS SO GOOD. the mangas even better!

So happy to see you dive more into anime, and discover that masterpiece. I don't know about its impact in the States but in France it was the first anime film ever projected in theater. It wasn't a blockbuster, but it made more and more people reconsider the genre, and envision that it could have as much artistic value and purpose than cinema. While in the topic of masterpieces and punches to the gut I encourage you to broaden your Ghibli experience, and dive into the second founder of the studio, i.e. Isao TAKAHATA. More precisely to watch HIS masterpiece, Grave of the fireflies. Its based on a semi-autobiographical short story of the same name by Akiyuki Nosaka, and one of the most moving recounting of war experience I've seen. Also I know you said you're not a big manga reader, but in the same spirit I'd recommend Barefoot Gen by Keiji Nakazawa. It's freely based on the author's experience of WWII in and around of Hiroshima, and does not shy away from violence or hard hitting subjects. And in my opinion is something EVERYONE should read. (There were several anime and live action adaptations, but I don't know them, so I stick to the original...)

YESS OUR GOBLIN IS BECOMING A WEEB Hi Daniel, I'm glad you're finding more and more anime stuff you enjoy! There's an anime called Monster, super dark and grounded in reality (and doesn't have any of that anime humor that you love so much)

The way they did light in a hand-drawn movie is incredible, never been done better before or after.

Daniel, would you do a video discussing Macross plus? I literally cried with joy just reading this title. Thanks so much!!

Loved this growing up one of my fav. Along side Armitage, about a cop and he's cyborg partner, its in the same style, love ur vids keep it up and thanks for all the reviews, info and funny clip vids.

I think Daniel and I got into Anime around the same time and our parallel progression through the media is awesome and I'm watching Akira now.

Akira was and is a cultural cornerstone. So many works have borrowed this anime classic. Also there propably wouldn't even be worldwide intrest in anime without this movie's infuence on general movie theater audience in the late 80s and early 90s.

Ah you hit the nail on the head my friend. I had the great honor of seeing this in theaters last year. It was glorious. One amazing fact about it; they actually shone light through the panels to make EVERY light, which gives it such an amazing and individual experience. Now go watch some stuff by Satoshi Kon (he worked on Akira before directing himself). My recommendation is for Millennium Actress, Tokyo Godfathers, and Paprika in that order. Also Summer Wars, because it's beautiful, human, and makes me love the world every time I see it.

I remember my mum bought Akira for me as a kid, because she knew I liked Dragon Ball Z, but she had no idea how violent and graphic it is hahaha It definitely has a special place in my heart as far as anime goes, and become a bit of a gateway for me to horror anime, manga (Junji Ito) etc. the list goes on

I would love to see Daniel's opinions on classical novels. Maybe some Víctor Hugo, Dostoievski, Garcia Marquez, maybe even Javier Marías

You know what makes this movie so special to me, the amount of work put into the backgrounds. Every scene makes you feel like you're watching just a tiny story happening in this huge city that feels alive, even in the most simplest scenes like where two people are walking along a road in the foreground while through gaps in between big skyscrapers in the background you see the flashing neon lights and small hints of the city's brimming nightlife. It's not often you get to see anime that pays attention to detail like that.

My first anime experience was this movie and I was blown away with the beauty of the animation style and the complexity of the story themes. Hooked me hard and I have never left manga and anime since.

Good choice, Daniel! I would recommend some more recent sci-fi name series for you to watch - Akudama Drive (the 1st episode is very, very fast paced), Deca-Dance, Vivy Fluorite Eye's Song, and Eighty-Six. You'll love them - especially Vivy.

So happy to hear what you think about one of my favorite movies ever. This movie was my go to movie for years and hearing it holds up to new fans makes my heart super happy.

If you enjoyed this film I would highly recommend the manga! The man who directed the film wrote the manga, which is actually much longer and more in-depth. He wrote it while working on the film and the movie ended up coming out first, so in a way the manga is the final draft of the movie. The film is basically the beginning and the end of the manga, with some light connections to make sure everything flows. Great review!

Akira's soundtrack is one of the most beautiful things in this world.

That was an awesome review! I watched Akira for the first time at 5 years old. Mom didn't know it wasn't for kids. This movie stayed with me so long after I've watched it, even though I had no idea what the story was. I rewatched it in my teens and it instantly became a classic in my head. Related note, I can't wait to see if you'll review Cowboy Bebop someday!

The influence this movie had on animation is very long-lasting. Iconic scenes are emulated many years later (there are compilations on RU-vid showing this). The manga naturally has more space to breathe but this is a must-have for any anime collection.

TET . . . SU . . .O . . . . KAN . . . NE . . . A . . . so much love for this movie. Glad you liked it too. And for all the right reasons.

I watched this back in the mid 90s and was blown away. I watched again a few years ago and was blown away. The anime that pushed the limits of what anime can be.

I actually don’t find the art style ugly, maybe it’s just because I can’t draw...anything at all, but I find the art to be quite pretty.

I remember first watching this movie with my 17 year old brother when I was 12. That was probably not the best choice. But I will say that this is probably my favorite anime ever, even beating out the series I watched. I still watch it about once per year.

Your background is one of the bests if not the best in booktube.

The movie covered only half of the story if you want the full experience read the manga

I don't read a lot of Manga anymore, but I still want to own my own copies of Akira one day, because that series is amazing 😱 Hard recommendations!

I'm loving the lighting in your new setup. Of course, great video too.

If you're into cyber punk I highly recommend an anime series called "Psycho-Pass". I just finished watching it and was blown away. Another title to consider: "Ergo Proxy". This one also has strong post-apo vibes. Also really really solid one

Back in the day a neighbor of mine gave me this video tape with Akira and Fist of the North Star movie on it. As a 10-11 years old kid, I was way more impressed by all the exploding heads and sliced bodies in the later movie (plus that "Heart of Madness" track for the battle between Rei and Raoh which you can check in its full (non spoiler) glory on RU-vid... OMG, still gives me chills till today), but as I grew older I started finding the undertones of Akira and to comprehend its story more and more, not to say the animation which is an magnum opus in itself. I still watch Akira every few years and it is always a great experience. A must see movie if you want to get into anime. Pretty much at the top of the list.

Seriously you need to read the Balme manga (don't watch any adaptation, just don't). It just amps up the body horror and dystopia straight into the stratosphere.

Ghibli wish they could animate like this. Akira is the most visually stunning animated movie of all time

Awesome to see you becoming an anime fan! If I may suggest another anime movie, Ghost in the Shell is one of the best movies out there, and it's pretty reminiscent and close to Blade Runner if you're into that. It's flavor of cyberpunk is one of the best out there as well, along with the themes of keeping your humanity with a ton of cybernetic enhancements that can go as far as to have you being essentially a brain in a metal shell (or a ghost in a shell). Plus the music is god tier so it's almost watching just for that.

The new setup with the natural light is so amazing, I can't even focus on what you're saying sometimes as I get lost in the background haha

Dude, get out of my head. I was just thinking about this moving last night! Thanks for the great review!

This made me really want to rewatch Akira!! I don't think I was old enough to really understand it back when I watched it, but even then I thought it was great! Hopefully it'll be even better now!

Wow at the memory this review triggered! While I'd never heard of this anime, I remember a conversation with a guy who worked with me at the college radio station back in the mid 80s. He had this ultraviolet street gang story idea which sounded very similar to this. I did a couple of illustrations for him based on the imagery he described which included garish colors and lots of gore. I no longer have the art, but it was vividly violent.

Akira has meant a ton to me ever since the first time I had my mind blown by it as a high school kid with a bootleg VHS cassette and nothing for context other than Robotech. I like too many things to call it my favorite, but on any given day it will be at the top of my list of things that shaped my tastes. I haven't ever name dropped other RU-vid videos in comments before, but I'm big into anything that grows my love of a thing. beyond reading the manga as people have already suggested, Certain Starting Place Movies's animation breakdown of the biker gang fight "Akira - Animation the Hard Way" and Super Eyepatch Wolf's video essay "The Impact of Akira: The Film That Changed Everything" really helped me gain even more appreciation for something I already loved but couldn't really articulate why it amazed me. Edit: Oh, and Bonsai Pop has a nice video summary where he makes (his interpretation of) the philosophy and metaphors of these movie explicit. Also quite good.

Whenever you review anime I want to recommend Shinsekai Yori, it's a fantasy dystopia that tells a brilliant story and I find has been really overlooked. (It's got a solid 8.3 rating on MAL, but I feel few people have seen it)

1000% agree with your comment about violence in art (when it's required).

Not related to the video (except for your shirt ig) but really proud of you for coming out on Twitter earlier today 🤧

I watched the movie for this video. It had been on my watchlist for far too long, so thanks Daniel for giving me the push to finally watch this amazing classic.

I am SO happy you watched this movie! I saw this for the first time as a little child and have rewatched it repeatedly over the course of my life. It's such a meaningful piece of media in my life. Hope you'll consider reading the manga because it adds so much more depth to the narrative and I think you might enjoy it :)

In regards to animation I also want to drive home the fact that this film is basically entirely hand drawn which is amazing when you think about it. Also in regards to the dub being good, that REALLY depends on which dub you watch. The more recent dub you are probably ok but the original one at least going off of the clips I watched........ It was redubbed for a reason.

fun fact: Devilman by Go Nagi was written in the 70's and is the best selling per volume manga of all time with 10 MILLION per volume when averaged out. You've probably heard about about it's 2018 adaptation Devilman Cry Baby that came out a few years ago. It's basically an updated version and keep in mind the original was released in the same magazine that publishes One Piece.

Checking out what you enjoyed in Akira, Berserk would be a good choice as your next anime pick. Its a Dark Fantasy series with some of the best writen Characters, brutal combat and world.

So part of the reason the animation is so different is because of the frame count. I believe there are around 24 drawings per second. I highly recommend watching Super Eyepatch wolf's video on Akira he goes more indepth. I'm glad you like this though Daniel, a lot of anime is the same thing but there's some absolute masterpieces within the genre.

Just before the cinema's shut down here in the UK, they had a limited 4K release of the film. In 4K with true cinema sound... wow, just wow. Hopefully you got to see the full version as some cuts leave out little bits that explain some of the stranger bits of the story.

I'm so glad to hear you enjoyed Akira. The Manga is an incredible read. It's a lot more of a labyrinth but of all the manga I've read, Otomo's panel work is the most exquisitely cinematic. He knows how to lead the eye to create stunning sequential art. Tetsuo, Kaneda, and the rest of the group get so much more development, and the story gets balls deep into themes that the movie only scratches the surface of. That said, the film was game changer for my young weeb ass, and I'm glad you finally got to experience it in all its sakuga glory.

Akira's animation is *still* top tier decades later. It's my favorite anime movie of all time although I haven't seen Demon Slayer: Mugen Train yet. Daniel. Check out Demon Slayer, it's on Netflix and it is *gorgeous*

I first watched Akira at university, and it was my gateway into Japanese culture, hence why I am sitting in Japan at the moment as I type this. I think your review is fantastic, as well, great points made.

One of my favorite RU-vidrs covering my actual favorite movie? *grabs popcorn*

You GOTTA read the manga!! It is one of my absolute favorites!! Also!! Check out his other work too!! (Katsuhiro Otomo) Metropolis is SO beautifully animated!!

HARD AGREE. This move is incredible. It was so intense that it took me multiple sittings just to stomach and process what was going on. It asked more questions than it answered until the very end, and yet it progress so naturally... until the very end. I'm a huge fan of stories that address the most basic human struggles in a creative way, and this did such a good job of that, from the character insecurity level up to the meaning of the universe. Laugh and tear-a, thank you Akira.

3:00 Makes me wonder has Daniel seen grave of the fireflies

I adore Akira. I really enjoy the comics and both the english dubbed and subtitled versions of the movie. I'm not even super into animé in general, but Akira and Ghost in the Shell are wonderful to me. I really enjoyed Metropolis too, but it doesn't quite reach the height of the two others for me.

Surprised to see that you didn't rate the animation a 10! Maybe Akira isn't as aesthetically "pleasing" as Ghibli, per se, but I can name very few anime even in the modern day that measure up to Akira in sheer quality of animation. Anyway, great review, and I'm looking forward to more anime reviews in the future!

The animation of this film is so beautiful!

Love this movie. Saw it when I was a kid and one of those horrendous "squishy" scenes was all I really remembered until I saw it again as an adult. Now it's one of my favorite movies and one that I evangelize to others.

I'm happy to see you enjoy my favourite dystopian sci-fi anime. Now I have only to ask you to look into another fantastic work which is called Wonderful Days. It's Korean and it's so incredibly good and up there with the best in the genre. For all of you who don't know it, do yourself the favour of checking it out.

Akira: come for the nightmare fuel, stay for the intellectual discussion.

It appears the goblin has left his shirt on for the cut in "if the narrative requires it". Thats like finding a shiny pokemon.

if you havent watched it, I can also highly recommend Jin-Roh