Critical response
On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval score of 91% based on 54 reviews, with an average rating of 7.9/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Akira is strikingly bloody and violent, but its phenomenal animation and sheer kinetic energy helped set the standard for modern anime."[85]
From contemporary reviews, Tony Rayns commented in The Monthly Film Bulletin that the narrative was paced at such "speed and complexity" that "viewers who come to it without prior knowledge of the manga (comic-strip) version tend to find it almost overpowering" concluding that "The film virtually demands to be 'read' alongside the manga, and amounts to a kind of commentary on it."[86] Discussing the story, Rayns found the film "not particularly ground-breaking as science fiction" comparing the film to be between Blade Runner and 2001: A Space Odyssey with the film's main achievement being "the sheer credibility of his vision of future-tech, as seen in fully thorough designs of vehicles, laboratory equipment" and that the film "yields some extremely arresting images in the film's closing scenes" and that "Simply as animation, Akira is an undoubted tour de force."[87] Variety praises aspects of the film "from the imaginative and detailed design of tomorrow to the booming Dolby effects on the soundtrack" but criticizes the "slight stiffness in the drawing of human movement".[88] Chicago Tribune's Dave Kehr commends Otomo's "excellent animation-specific ideas: Vehicles leave little color trails as they roar through the night, and there are a number of dream sequences that make nice use of the medium's ability to confound scale and distort perspective".[89]
From retrospective reviews, Anime News Network's Bamboo Dong commends the Limited Edition's DVD for its "superbly translated" English subtitles and the commendable English dubbing, which "sticks very close to the English translation, and the voice actors deliver their lines with emotion".[90] THEM Anime's Raphael See applauds the film's "astounding special effects and clean, crisp animation".[91] Chris Beveridge comments on the Japanese audio, which brings "the forward soundstage nicely into play when required. Dialogue is well placed, with several key moments of directionality used perfectly".[92] Janet Maslin of The New York Times commends Otomo's artwork, stating "the drawings of Neo-Tokyo by night are so intricately detailed that all the individual windows of huge skyscrapers appear distinct. And these night scenes glow with subtle, vibrant color".[93] Richard Harrison of The Washington Post comments on the pace of the film, stating that the author "has condensed the narrative sprawl of the comics to provide coherence, though there's a bit of "Back to the Future Part II" incompleteness to the story. That hardly matters, since the film moves with such kinetic energy that you'll be hanging on for dear life".[94] Roger Ebert compares the film to Mad Max, calling it "very gory, very gruesome, but entertaining in its own demented way."[95] Kim Newman of Empire commends the film's "scintillating animated visuals, with not one – not one – computer-assisted shot in sight".[96] Helen McCarthy in 500 Essential Anime Movies claims that the anime "remains fresh and exciting, easily holding its own against the products of two decades of massive technical advancement".[97] Meanwhile, in February 2004, Dan Persons of Cinefantastique listed the film as one of the "10 Essential Animations", simply referring to the film as "the film that changed everything."[98]
Awards
In 1992, Akira won the Silver Scream Award at the Amsterdam Fantastic Film Festival.[99]
Akira was one of the four nominees for the 2007 American Anime Awards' "Best Anime Feature" award, but it lost to Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children.
