Teenage biker gang in post-apocalypse Tokyo stumbles upon a secret government project. Otomo Katushiro's best known work and one of the first anime films to make a big impact in North America. Akira is a dark, nightmarish film about absolute power, repression and human attempts to control nature. When it was first released, Akira represented a major technical achievement in animation quality. With the advent of computer-assisted animation, the technical aspect seems less impressive, but Akira's animation quality is still remarkable. The film remains a striking and bizarre work of imagination. Akira can be a little tough to understand. The synopsis below, taken from the official web site, should help:
Akira: The Story
The year is 2019, 31 years after Tokyo was destroyed by a top secret weapons project during World War III. Now, Neo-Tokyo has risen from the ashes to become a dark and dangerous megalopolis infested with gangs and terrorists. The government seethes with corruption and only maintains token control over the powerful military that prevents total chaos and hides the secrets of the past. Childhood friends Tetsuo and Kaneda plunge into Neo-Tokyo's darkest secret when their motorcycle gang encounters a military operation to retrieve an escaped experimental subject. Tetsuo, captured by the military, is subjected to experiments that make him a powerful psychic, but, unfortunately for Neo-Tokyo, Tetsuo's powers rage out of control and he lashes out at the world that has oppressed him! Nothing can stop the destructive forces that Tetsuo wields except possibly the last boy to destroy Tokyo - Akira!
Other Versions The above refers to Akira the movie. The movie is based on the long-running manga which is also available in English. The animated video Akira Countdown is not related to Otomo Katsuhiro's Akira.
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