---
title: "Akira"
year: 1988
kind: "film"
canonical: "https://film.one/film/akira"
fi1m_id: "akira"
imdb_id: "tt0094625"
tmdb_id: 149
wikidata_id: "Q1905968"
fi1m_score: 83
critics_score: 82
critics_reviews: 16
published: "2026-09-15"
updated: "2026-09-18T08:38:18.677304+00:00"
region: "US"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Akira (1988)

Directed by Katsuhiro Otomo · 2h 04m · MPA NR · Animation, Science Fiction, Action

## Identity

Akira

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/film/akira
- **Type:** Film
- **Fi1m ID:** akira
- **IMDb ID:** tt0094625
- **TMDB ID:** 149
- **Wikidata ID:** Q1905968
- **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0094625/, https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/149, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1905968

**Fi1m score: 83** · Critics 82 from 16 reviews

*In a sentence:* We would happily pause the apocalypse for a better look at the buildings

> Katsuhiro Otomo’s *Akira* makes a violent future frighteningly tangible through its hand-drawn city and hurtling action. We recommend it for that conviction, with a warning: the crowded story gives several characters too little room.

## Synopsis

Shotaro Kaneda (voiced by Mitsuo Iwata) and Tetsuo Shima (Nozomu Sasaki) are caught up in the violence of Neo-Tokyo, where rebellion and struggles over power put their friendship under pressure. Their story unfolds alongside those of Kei (Mami Koyama), Colonel Shikishima (Taro Ishida) and Doctor Ônishi (Mizuho Suzuki). Katsuhiro Otomo directs and co-writes this animated science-fiction film, set in a city shaped by destruction and threatened by more. Motorcycle action runs alongside a conflict over scientific knowledge and its uses, as the personal struggle between Kaneda and Tetsuo becomes entangled with the city’s troubles.

## Review

*Akira* is worth an evening for its furious action and the care lavished on its city, even when the story becomes difficult to untangle. Director Katsuhiro Otomo wants the changing friendship at its centre to matter amid rebellion, violence and struggles over scientific power. That is a lot to fit together, and the connections are sometimes hurried. The excitement survives those problems, though several supporting characters could have used some of the attention given to the scenery.

The hand-drawn city is the main reason to stay with it. Katsuji Misawa’s cinematography keeps the elaborate artwork and strong colours clear enough for us to look around as well as follow the action. The density of the cityscapes makes Neo-Tokyo feel as though it has uses beyond providing somewhere for the plot to happen. We can enjoy the production design without waiting for the next eruption of violence. The buildings deserve a closer look.

We were exhilarated by the motorcycle sequence: the densely drawn streets remain readable at speed. Takeshi Seyama’s editing gives the action a direction we can follow, letting us enjoy the movement without continually working out where to look. The drawings carry the excitement, and the cutting knows how to help them. There is some stiffness in the animation of human movement elsewhere, a small but visible limitation in a film that sets such exacting standards for itself.

Kaneda and Tetsuo, voiced by Mitsuo Iwata and Nozomu Sasaki, give the violence a necessary personal interest. Their changing friendship is something we can hold on to when the wider story starts demanding too much explanation. Otomo and fellow screenwriter Izo Hashimoto do not give everyone the same chance to matter, and the growing crowd of characters makes the storytelling feel rushed. Kei, voiced by Mami Koyama, belongs to a supporting cast we would gladly have spent longer getting to know.

Shoji Yamashiro’s music helps keep the violence unsettling. It gives the action weight, and we never felt invited simply to cheer the damage. That matters in a film concerned with scientific knowledge used without enough thought for its consequences: the excitement needs something to stop it becoming an endorsement. The sound supplies much of that unease, even when the images are at their most seductive.

At 124 minutes, there is room here for more patient storytelling, and we would have traded a little spectacle for it. In science fiction, an imagined place needs to convince us that people could live there before asking us to fear for them. *Akira* does that through the sheer care of its urban detail, and its anxiety about destruction survives the muddled passages. Choose a large screen if possible; there is too much to look at to spend the evening squinting.

*Fi1m score 83, published 15 September 2026.*

## What the critics say

Most critics are agreed: fifteen of sixteen reviews are positive, and the praise clusters almost entirely on the animation. The hand-drawn artwork, the detail in each frame of Neo-Tokyo, the colour and the scale of the destruction are named again and again, along with the sound and score. Several reviews treat the film as a turning point for animation and a model for much that followed. The themes are noted too: nuclear anxiety, distrust of government, a lost generation.

The reservations are about the story. Even admiring reviews call the plot crowded, rushed or overcomplicated, with too many characters and supporting players who matter less than the spectacle; the English dub and some stiffness in human movement also get a mention. The one dissent comes from the Los Angeles Times, which finds the film a jumble of clichés and thinks viewers without knowledge of the source comics will be lost. Otherwise the spread is narrow, running from warm to rapturous.

## Straight answers

**Is Akira worth watching?**

*Akira* is worth watching for anyone who can take a violent, crowded science-fiction story in exchange for a hand-drawn city of rare care, and we scored it 83. The motorcycle action is exhilarating and Neo-Tokyo feels lived in, but the story hurries its connections and several supporting characters are left with too little room. Choose the largest screen you can.

**How long is Akira, and what is it rated?**

*Akira* runs 2h 04m and is rated NR by the MPA in the US. It is an animation and science fiction film.

**Where can I watch Akira in the US?**

*Akira* is streaming on The Roku Channel in the US. Availability is checked daily; the links above go straight to each service.

**How violent or frightening is Akira, and is it suitable for children?**

*Akira* carries a UK 12 certificate and is a violent film, with rebellion, street fighting and destruction running throughout its 124 minutes. Shoji Yamashiro’s music keeps that violence unsettling rather than cheerful, which is to its credit but makes it heavier going than most animation. We would not suggest it for younger children; older children and teenagers used to action films should manage.

**How does Akira compare to Metropolis?**

*Akira* and [*Metropolis*](https://film.one/film/metropolis) are both visions of a divided future city whose buildings show who holds the power, and both are worth seeing for their scale and visual precision. Otomo’s film is louder and more violent, and its story is the more crowded; Lang’s is the more coherent but offers a cure for class conflict we found much too easy. Take *Akira* for action, *Metropolis* for grandeur.

**What should I watch after Akira?**

After *Akira*, try [*Metropolis*](https://film.one/film/metropolis) (1927, Fi1m 87): Another divided future city whose buildings tell us who holds the power. Then [*Fantastic Planet*](https://film.one/film/fantastic-planet) (1973, Fi1m 80): Strange animation makes domination and rebellion unsettling to watch, even without familiar human faces; and [*Ghost in the Shell*](https://film.one/film/ghost-in-the-shell) (1995, Fi1m 83): A more contemplative cyberpunk city, with questions about who owns a body.

### Reviews we read (16)

- **Empire**, Kim Newman (90/100, inferred): The critic describes Otomo's film as an ingenious cyber-punk epic beginning and ending with devastation, obsessed with power, rebellion and a changing friendship. It singles out the scintillating hand-drawn animated visuals as unmatched, declaring the film vitally important to cinema. [Read](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/akira-review/)
- **Evening Standard** (90/100, inferred): The critic hails Katsuhiro Otomo's 1988 anime as his finest achievement, a brilliantly drawn extravaganza now restored in high definition. It singles out the film's aesthetic passion, visual flair and underlying philosophy amid its anarchic violence as what elevates it among the greatest animated features. [Read](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/akira-review-7425488.html)
- **The New York Times**, Janet Maslin (90/100, inferred): The critic calls 'Akira' a phenomenal work of animation with the hallmarks of an instant cult classic. She singles out the intricate, detailed artwork and vibrant color palette for praise. [Read](https://www.nytimes.com/1990/10/19/movies/review-film-a-tokyo-of-the-future-in-vibrant-animation.html)
- **The Times**, Kevin Maher (★★★★☆): The astonishing 1988 animation is essential viewing that you cannot write the story of popular culture without. Its hand-drawn artistry is impeccable and the visuals, cityscapes and action have endured as ideologically bleak, incessantly violent and astonishing. [Read](https://www.thetimes.com/culture/film/article/akira-film-review-vts2fpxhf)
- **Variety**, Variety Staff (90/100, inferred): The review describes the film as a lavish animation extravaganza and a remarkable technical achievement in design and sound. It notes a minor drawback in the slight stiffness of human movement animation. [Read](https://variety.com/1987/film/reviews/akira-1200427683/)
- **Screen Daily** (85/100, inferred): The piece celebrates Akira as one of the most vivid and technically accomplished animation films ever made. It singles out the unprecedented use of 160,000 cels for fluid detail and the innovative pre-scoring of dialogue, crediting it with elevating animation for a sophisticated global audience and inspiring later filmmakers. [Read](https://www.screendaily.com/akira-1988/5098246.article)
- **Little White Lies**, Joe Marczynski (80/100, inferred): The critic explores how Akira mirrors the trauma of Hiroshima and Nagasaki through its themes of government distrust, military failure and apocalyptic destruction. It highlights the film's portrayal of a lost generation and ends on a note of cautious hope amid the ruins of Neo-Tokyo. [Read](https://lwlies.com/long-read/akira-and-the-spectre-of-nuclear-war)
- **The Guardian** (80/100, inferred): The 1988 cyberpunk animation re-emerges as a deeply strange nightmare about destruction and rebirth. It delivers a startling post- and pre-apocalyptic nuclear-age parable of anxiety, with a thanatonic rapture in its vision of a world ending and being reborn. [Read](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2020/oct/06/akira-review-1988-japanese-anime-rerelease-katsuhiro-otomo)
- **Time Out**, David Jenkins (4/5): The review praises the film's towering achievement of imagination and the miraculous detail in each frame as a miracle of film artistry. It notes that Otomo favours spectacle above all else, so supporting players feel less integral to the story. [Read](https://www.timeout.com/movies/akira-1)
- **The AV Club**, Tasha Robinson (70/100, inferred): The critic finds the 1988 film a landmark animated production whose script is crowded and rushed but whose imagery is incomparable, with post-apocalyptic Tokyo vividly realized in both intimate action scenes and large-scale destruction. Otomo's use of sound and a restored version's visuals are singled out for praise. [Read](https://www.avclub.com/akira-1798197120)
- **Los Angeles Times**, Charles Solomon (30/100, inferred): The critic dismisses 'Akira' as a compendium of the worst clichés of Japanese animation and a jumble of high-tech visuals. He complains that the convoluted story will leave most viewers lost without prior knowledge of the source comics. [Read](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-03-14-ca-113-story.html)
- **Collider**, Marco Vito Oddo (A): The critic finds the 1988 film still a quintessential cyberpunk experience that effectively discusses the dangers of scientific knowledge without moral guidance. The hand-drawn animation remains eye-popping and technically groundbreaking more than three decades later. [Read](https://collider.com/akira-1988-movie-review/)
- **Den of Geek**, Ryan Lambie (90/100, inferred): The critic praises Akira as one of the most important and influential animated features, highlighting its technical brilliance, kinetic animation, and human story beneath the violence and intrigue. They single out the exhilarating motorcycle scene and the film's distinctive design and score for praise. [Read](https://www.denofgeek.com/culture/akira-revisiting-katsuhiro-otomos-anime-classic/)
- **Eye for Film**, Donald Munro (90/100, inferred): The critic calls Akira a classic and a step change in animation, praising its stunning visuals, attention to detail, and bold imagery as a spectacular watch. Minor complaints include an overcomplicated plot, too many characters, and a clumsy English dub. [Read](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/akira-film-review-by-donald-munro)
- **/Film**, Joshua Meyer (90/100, inferred): The critic celebrates Akira as an essential, landmark sci-fi and gateway anime that introduced the genre to Western audiences and influenced countless films. They single out its imaginative, dense, and high-bar-setting animation and storytelling as standing the test of time. [Read](https://www.slashfilm.com/559594/akira-at-30/)
- **Digital Spy**, Hugh Armitage (85/100, inferred): The review lauds Akira as a visually stunning and kinetically energetic anime classic that remains relevant, praising its detailed animation and dark parable on societal breakdown. It singles out the stunning design and prescient themes for praise while noting the violence may not suit everyone. [Read](https://www.digitalspy.com/movies/re-viewed/a494982/akira-re-viewed-anime-classic-still-darkly-relevant-25-years-later/)

## Details

- **Director:** Katsuhiro Otomo
- **Director:** Katsuhiro Otomo
- **Screenplay:** Izo Hashimoto, Katsuhiro Otomo
- **Cinematography:** Katsuji Misawa
- **Editor:** Takeshi Seyama
- **Music:** Tsutomu Ōhashi
- **Producer:** Shunzo Kato, Ryohei Suzuki
- **Cast:** Mitsuo Iwata as Shotaro Kaneda (voice); Nozomu Sasaki as Tetsuo Shima (voice); Mami Koyama as Kei (voice); Taro Ishida as Colonel Shikishima; Mizuho Suzuki as Doctor Ônishi; Tessyo Genda as Ryûsaku (voice); Koichi Kitamura as Priestess Miyako / Council A (voice); Yuriko Fuchizaki as Kaori (voice)
- **Runtime:** 2h 04m
- **Certificate (MPA):** NR
- **Release (the US):** 4 September 2026
- **Genres:** Animation, Science Fiction, Action
- **Budget:** $6 million
- **Box office:** $57 million
- **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jq4ER-P6NCQ

## Where to watch in the US

- The Roku Channel: add-on, hd

*Checked 2026-09-15.*

Also available in: BE, CH, FR, GB, IE, JP, KR, NL, US. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country.

## Awards

- Annecy Cristal for a Feature Film 1989: Annecy Cristal for a Feature Film (nominated)

## If you liked this

- *Metropolis* (1927), Fi1m 87: Another divided future city whose buildings tell us who holds the power. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/metropolis.md)
- *Fantastic Planet* (1973), Fi1m 80: Strange animation makes domination and rebellion unsettling to watch, even without familiar human faces. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/fantastic-planet.md)
- *Scanners* (1981): Scientific meddling and dangerous minds, with bodily damage that remains difficult to forget.
- *Ghost in the Shell* (1995), Fi1m 83: A more contemplative cyberpunk city, with questions about who owns a body. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/ghost-in-the-shell.md)
- *Children of Men* (2006), Fi1m 85: A collapsing society made convincing through street detail and carefully organised chaos. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/children-of-men.md)

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/akira