What is to be said about Akira? This is one of the first anime titles I ever saw and a great title to watch if you have never seen any anime.
First off the story is solid however the down side is that none on the other volumes of the story line have been converted into an animated format. The dialogue is never lacking nor repetitive. When the animation is brought up you must take into consideration when this movie was made and for its time and even compared to many titles released since Akira is a beautiful and well stylized film. Lastly the entertainment value of this movie is high what with it being a full length feature.
If you have never watched anything this is a great anime to begin with and may make anyone who looks at anime as "Oh, cartoons are for children". Akira is what anime is all about. (show less)

Although some might call this anime old, and not worth mentioning by today's standards I strongly disagree. This is an anime with a plot and story that makes you think hard about what life could be like in the future. With it's animation style and imagery based on classic manga, it's both appealing to the eyes but at the same time not overly produced with special effects that it distracts a person from the dialogue and the flow of the movie. People who are used to modernised anime with CGI effects can still watch this film and appreciate how anime films were made before technical advancements. Imagery aside, the theme of the movie aspires in us a thought of what life could possibly hold if the events in the film were to actually happen. The relationships between the characters are vast and don't stick to one form. There is angst, love and hatred especially when it comes to the gang violence. There is a huge psychological aspect of this film too as the context of the anime is based on the psychosis of Akira and Tsetsuo. At the end of the day a person could watch this anime more than once and still be able to relate to it. (show less)

Definitely high-class in terms of animation and storyline. Anyone who says it's outdated or cheesy must be pretty shallow. Sure, they didn't have computer effects like we see nowadays, but the attention to detail and careful unfolding of the deep plot are excellent. I understand after watching it why the makers of The Matrix revered and referenced it; there are some similarities in theme and plot between the two. It's highly philosophical and thoughtful, and has realistic animation. One thing that struck me while watching it was the smoothness of the animation, a great contrast with many animes that have very jerky animation. As the others said, a must-watch for any serious anime fan. (show less)