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From the early '80s through the '90s, there was a trend of revisiting biblical stories in filmmaking, which later developed into a whole movement, such as Gnosticism. In Akira, the plot revolves around the previous coming of a supreme being named Akira, who is a personification of the god-man. Tetsuo is the Antichrist, elevated to glory more by people than by his own actions. As in the Bible, the Antichrist is destroyed by God in his second coming. For contemporaries, I think this anime was top-notch. I appreciated the animation, and the bionic arm made of shit and bricks stood out to me because I reasoned that such a thing had obviously not been shown in anime before '82. However, I'm watching the anime in 2025, and I notice plot holes and illogic, especially with a trio of mutant children who apparently represent the Trinity. Overall, the plot isn't bad, but the story is weak. I liked how Kaneda was revealed to be such an infantile, dominant beta orbiter, but the portrayal still needs work to convince the audience. But there are simply no more revealed characters for me.
It's a semi-serious social fantasy with a focus on visuals. Though I wouldn't say the title stands out from other works of that time, there are fucking a lot of close-up shots. This is standard for the director. However, this action title is noticeably smarter than Bubblegum Crisis and Megazone 23, which are trashier but more fun. The plot, written on uppers based on the manga by its author, tends to come across as streams of consciousness and quotations with philosophical themes.
There are flying bikes in the sewers and patients roaming freely in a hospital of national importance, ahem. Yes, and the semi-fail astral ending is a classic anime cancer.
