Akira

Author: Katsuhiro Otomo

What was then called Japanamation in the US, now known worldwide as Anime, exploded onto the mainstream with Akira. It was the first feature length anime to gain a massive following outside of Japan, while becoming important to the growing animation industry in Japan. Based on an early 1980s comic, the story brings together post-apocalyptic setting with psychic motorcycle gangs, elements or fantasy, and a general sense of wonder. The most famous of the 1980s blossoming of science fiction animes, the stylish design of everything from the sprawling megalopolis of Neo-Tokyo to the motorcycles of the gangs has influenced not only Japanese animators, but also American, and especially French animation, ever since. The story is a great adventure, and while it delves deeply into violence, it never feels heavy-handed or oppressive. When you watch Akira for the first time, it'll strike you just how much it feels like a film made far more recently. From the setting to the way the audience is presented a story that forces them to synthesize many different concepts that don't pop up in lesser films, to the fashion sense, it all feels very much of the now. Why it's on the listEasily the best science fiction anime ever made.