Jul 15, 2023
Well, I'll say it's great for it's time. Not so much for now.
The art and animation is amazing, especially considering when it was made, and I think that has a lot to do with why it's as hyped as it is. The soundtrack is appropriate, unique and unsettling when it needs to be.
I'm writing this review in 2023 and methods of story telling and plot development in visual media has been improved tremendously with time and practice. This makes this movie's story, by comparison, poorly explained. It's hard to get invested in any character, as there's not enough backstory or insight into who they are,
...
and their motivations. You just know who each character is.
This is Tetsuo, this is Kei, this is Kaneda.
I originally planned on no spoilers, but the more I type, the more I feel the need to explain my difficulties with this film.
Characters feel like they just bumble into situations and there's not enough logical plot progression.
The 3 powered children were harassing Tetsuo with images of toys, while he was in pain in the hospital. When he got angry and retaliated, he started his transition into a reckless power hungry monster. I have no idea why they were provoking him in the first place. The little powered girl gave a prediction about him, so it's not like they had no idea what he would become. I don't know if I'm supposed to assume that they're technically still children so they're not THAT smart?
What was the point of Kaori's character really that she deserved some focus?
She bumbled around following Tetsuo, and then she died accidentally by him in the end. Was the purpose to just... I dunno, add some personality to Tetsuo? Like, well, there's something to him, because Kaneda and Kaori care about him for some reason? Or did they just need a character to have assaulted so they can let the audience know this is for an adult audience? I'm honestly asking.
Why was Tetsuo so bent on getting to Akira?
From his point of view, he was in an accident, was in the hospital, and in pain. The kids were bothering him with visions, and he went to deal with them in the "baby room". After that, he abandoned his efforts to get rid of the kids and went for Akira. I didn't get enough information to make me understand why getting to Akira was so important to him. Yes Akira was in his head at one point but so were the kids, and in a worse way.
The Akira cult, I need some information on why they exist so that I can better understand the reason for riots and be invested in each factor's motivations in the story's conclusion.
No I haven't watched any analysis video yet. I'm writing this review based on watching the movie alone, because as the hyped up classic "Masterpiece" that is, it should be able to stand on it's own.
At the end the 3 children sacrifice themselves to save Kaneda.
I don't know why they cared enough about him, to jump in and save him... only him. Kiyako saved Kei, after using her body to battle Tetsuo, so I can assume she saved her in return for using her. But Kaneda? I don't get it. They said, he has nothing to do with this, so they should save him. But I mean, the presumed millions that died as a consequence also had nothing to do with this. I would think that THEY would think their lives are more valuable, considering they can aid in both predicting, and stopping another threat like Tetsuo.
Overall it was just okay for modern day. Amazing for the time it was made though.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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