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Akira

  • 1988
  • R
  • 2h 4m
IMDb RATING
8.0/10
213K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
2,281
1
Akira (1988)
Trailer for Akira: 25th Anniversary Edition
Play trailer1:03
2 Videos
99+ Photos
Action EpicAdult AnimationAnimeCyberpunkDark FantasyDystopian Sci-FiEpicFantasy EpicHand-Drawn AnimationPolitical Drama

A secret military project endangers Neo-Tokyo when it turns a biker gang member into a rampaging psychic psychopath who can only be stopped by a teenager, his gang of biker friends and a gro... Read allA secret military project endangers Neo-Tokyo when it turns a biker gang member into a rampaging psychic psychopath who can only be stopped by a teenager, his gang of biker friends and a group of psychics.A secret military project endangers Neo-Tokyo when it turns a biker gang member into a rampaging psychic psychopath who can only be stopped by a teenager, his gang of biker friends and a group of psychics.

  • Director
    • Katsuhiro Ôtomo
  • Writers
    • Katsuhiro Ôtomo
    • Izô Hashimoto
  • Stars
    • Mitsuo Iwata
    • Nozomu Sasaki
    • Mami Koyama
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    8.0/10
    213K
    YOUR RATING
    POPULARITY
    2,281
    1
    • Director
      • Katsuhiro Ôtomo
    • Writers
      • Katsuhiro Ôtomo
      • Izô Hashimoto
    • Stars
      • Mitsuo Iwata
      • Nozomu Sasaki
      • Mami Koyama
    • 641User reviews
    • 133Critic reviews
    • 68Metascore
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 1 win total

    Videos2

    Akira: 25th Anniversary Edition
    Trailer 1:03
    Akira: 25th Anniversary Edition
    Akira
    Trailer 1:16
    Akira
    Akira
    Trailer 1:16
    Akira

    Photos172

    View Poster
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    + 165
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    Top cast99+

    Edit
    Mitsuo Iwata
    Mitsuo Iwata
    • Shôtarô Kaneda
    • (voice)
    Nozomu Sasaki
    Nozomu Sasaki
    • Tetsuo Shima
    • (voice)
    Mami Koyama
    Mami Koyama
    • Kei
    • (voice)
    Tesshô Genda
    Tesshô Genda
    • Ryû
    • (voice)
    Hiroshi Ôtake
    • Nezu
    • (voice)
    Kôichi Kitamura
    • Lady Miyako
    • (voice)
    • …
    Michihiro Ikemizu
    • Inspector
    • (voice)
    • …
    Yuriko Fuchizaki
    • Kaori
    • (voice)
    Masaaki Ôkura
    • Yamagata
    • (voice)
    Tarô Arakawa
    • Eiichi Watanabe
    • (voice)
    • …
    Takeshi Kusao
    Takeshi Kusao
    • Kai
    • (voice)
    Kazumi Tanaka
    • Army
    • (voice)
    Masayuki Katô
    • Engineer Sakiyama
    • (voice)
    • …
    Yôsuke Akimoto
    • Harukiya Bartender
    • (voice)
    Masato Hirano
    • Yûji Takeyama
    • (voice)
    • …
    Yukimasa Kishino
    • Mitsuru Kuwata
    • (voice)
    • …
    Kazuhiro Kandô
    • Masaru (No. 27)
    • (voice)
    Tatsuhiko Nakamura
    • Takashi (No. 26)
    • (voice)
    • Director
      • Katsuhiro Ôtomo
    • Writers
      • Katsuhiro Ôtomo
      • Izô Hashimoto
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      "Akira" means "Bright, intelligent, clear" in Japanese.
    • Goofs
      After the unnamed man escorting Takashi uses himself as a shield to protect him, Takashi apparently has spots of blood on his head, but as he gets up we see that blood was on the pavement and overlapped Takashi's head due to an animation error.
    • Quotes

      Kiyoko: The future is not a straight line. It is filled with many crossroads. There must be a future that we can choose for ourselves.

    • Crazy credits
      The date of the first coming of Akira is the exact same date as it was released originally in Japan.
    • Alternate versions
      2001 re-release of the English language includes a new English dub script and voice cast.
    • Connections
      Featured in Akira: Production Report (1988)
    • Soundtracks
      Tokyo Shoeshine Boy
      Performed by Teruko Akatsuki

    User reviews641

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    6/10

    I really wanted to like this movie

    I really wanted to like this movie, I heard from everyone that it was an anime classic and I had seen screenshots that looked really cool. In the end I was disappointed.

    The movie was hand drawn and it looked amazing no doubt about that, I could stare at still from this movie all day long, it's the other things that bothered me.

    The story is a mess. I loved the first act, seeing this cyberpunk city was really cool, seeing the gangs and everything. After that the movie turned into a anime horror movie, which I don't feel fit the tone at all. The whole Akira thing was confusing as hell, they never explained it, everyone was asking the whole movie "What is Akira?" The third act dragged out so much, things that were happening didn't make sense at all. The end was just a mess with destruction everywhere, but no story to tell about it.

    The soundtrack was also annoying. Some of the songs were cool, but they play them almost 7 or 8 times in the movie, which wears out the song and just makes it ambient noise.

    This might be only the English dub, but the dubbing was horrible. The words were off the mouth movements and the voice actors were bad. In intense scenes the voice actors never gave an intense feel.

    For a classic there were some big problems. The story could have been more direct and made more sense. In fact, they could have just made the movie about the city and the gangs fighting and that would have made it better. With the movie how it is, they could have cut it down to take out the dragging on of the end. Akira just ended up losing my interest near the end, making it not as interesting as I thought it would be.
    • UsernameHype
    • Aug 18, 2015
    • Permalink

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    FAQ9

    • What is 'Akira' about?
    • Is 'Akira' based on a book?
    • So just who, in fact, was Akira?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • July 16, 1988 (Japan)
    • Country of origin
      • Japan
    • Official sites
      • Bandai Visual (Japan)
      • Official Site (United States)
    • Language
      • Japanese
    • Also known as
      • Akira: The Special Edition
    • Filming locations
      • Tokyo, Japan
    • Production companies
      • Akira Committee Company Ltd.
      • Akira Studio
      • TMS Entertainment
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • ¥1,100,000,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $553,171
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $11,263
      • Jan 1, 1990
    • Gross worldwide
      • $3,325,812
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      2 hours 4 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

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