History YMMV / Akira

* {{Moe}}

* DarknessInducedAudienceApathy: Given that the story is set in a post-apocalyptic world where violence and corruption are rampant, with nearly every character being a reckless criminal, an authoritative megalomaniac, or a helpless victim suffering from poor living conditions, it is entirely possible for an audience member to become completely hopeless and indifferent towards their struggle. The fact that many of the characters are very similar visually does nothing to help viewers distinguish between those who are at least somewhat likable and those who are simply not likable at all.

** The story is in a backdrop of the 2020 Neo-Tokyo Olympics, and Akira was apparently buried below the unfinished Olympic stadium. On September 9, 2013, Tokyo was selected as the host of the 2020 Summer Olympics.
** In addition, the giant teddy bear and rabbit resemble Freddy and Bonnie respectively from ''VideoGame/FiveNightsAtFreddys'', even invading the main character's darkened room with murderous intent.

** [[https://soranews24.com/2020/02/18/did-the-akira-manga-predict-the-coronavirus-epidemic/ a blurb]] in the manga claiming that the World Health Organization being criticized for its handling of a pandemic was even more prescient in 2020 during the coronavirus crisis.

* ILikedItBetterWhenItSucked: The first Spanish dub was based on the American Streamline dub, and it contained a number of artistic license and changes to the original material. When the movie was redubbed by Animaze in United States, so it did in Spain, but with an important difference: while the new Spanish dub was much more faithful to the original, its casting and performances were comparatively horrid. Naturally, this produced a strong backlash from the fans, who pointed it that, although the old dub was bad, it had at least some effort put and was more enjoyable. It took a third one with much more money invested to finally give ''AKIRA'' a respectable dub in Spain.

* MagnumOpus: By far Otomo's most successful piece out of the three he wrote. See below.

* SugarWiki/AwesomeArt: [[HolyShitQuotient Dear GOD, YES!]] Even people who aren't fans of the film won't deny how stunning its animation is.

* ToughActToFollow: ''AKIRA'' was such an influential and massively successful piece that Creator/KatsuhiroOtomo never rose to the same level again afterwards. To wit, ''Manga/TheLegendOfMotherSarah'' which he wrote and completed afterwards was also popular and took much longer to complete (16 years) but was always overshadowed by its predecessor, despite its high-brow and intricate plot. Likewise, his first manga ''Manga/Domu'' is also not as known despite its quality.

** Also, there is a literal example in the first dubbed version of the movie. When Tetsuo hears the name Akira in his head, he shouts "I'm not Akira!". In the second dub, he says "I don't know who that is!"
*** And Akira's doomsday cult in the movie think he's Akira after he shows off his powers battling the army, a misconception Tetsuo is in no hurry to correct.

* SpiritualAdaptation: WordOfGod has stated that Akira is this to Tetsujin 28-Go, but with psychics instead of giant robots.
* TheWoobie: Kaori, She's one of the few characters who actually loves and cares for Tetsuo and for simply liking the guy, she was molested by a biker gang that was rivals with Tetsuo's, is constantly shown to be in a state of sadness due to all the crap that happened to Tetsuo, and is [[spoiler:rather cruelly killed off at the end]]. Tetsuo himself would be here on this list too if not for his more villainous actions.

** Chinese aggressive invadion of Japan hits a little close to home with China building staging point islands starting in the early to mid 2010s.

** The story is in a backdrop of the 2020 Neo-Tokyo Olympics, and Akira was apparently below the unfinished Olympic stadium. On September 9, 2013, Tokyo was selected as the host of the 2020 Summer Olympics.

** It's kind of humorous to see the Soviet Union around in 2019 given how the whole government collapsed like a house of cards just 1 year after the manga's completion.

** It's kind of humorous to see the Soviet Union around in 2019 given how the whole government collapsed like a house of cards just 1 years after the manga's completion.

** It's kind of humorous to see the Soviet Union around in 2030 given how the whole government collapsed like a house of cards just 3 years after the manga's release.

%%* HoYay: Kai. Of the bikers it is rather conspicuous that Kai never has any female hangers-on, and seems rather attached to Yamagata. He's effeminate and neatly dressed, by far the shortest member of the gang, and actually cries over Yamagata's death. WordOfGod is that Kai is gay and has a bit of a crush on Yamagata, who is straight.
* IAmNotShazam: People who have seen covers for the movie or comic often mistake either Kaneda or Tetsuo for Akira since they are more prominent.

* DesignatedHero: Kaneda, at least in the beginning.

* SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic: Most of the soundtrack, but especially the opening/ending music, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Af5r8ONtacw Kaneda]].

* AdaptationDisplacement: The movie is undoubtedly more well-known than the original manga, in part because the source material had a really screwed up release. Creator/MarvelComics bought the rights to translate it/bring it over to America when the movie was released in the US in 1989 and but Katsuhiro Otomo's decision to redraw the last 1/6th of the manga led to the US version seeing a massive delay in the publication of the last eight issues and by the time the last issue came out in 1995, the series was out of print as well as the trade paperbacks, of which only 10 of the proposed 13 volumes ever saw the light of day. It was not until Dark Horse Comics got the rights to the series in 2000 that the manga received wide release, in terms of availability.

* AndYouThoughtItWouldFail: Creator/StevenSpielberg and Creator/GeorgeLucas thought the film would be unmarketable in the U.S.

* AnimationAgeGhetto: Despite the original release having warnings that it was not for children and the re-release being rated R, you can still find stores that put this in the "family" shelf. Other stores at least put it in the dedicated "Anime" section, leaving it to the person browsing the shelf to at least use their own discretion when searching for stuff to show their children.

* SugarWiki/AwesomeArt: [[HolyShitQuotient Dear GOD, YES!]]. Even people who aren't fans of the film won't deny how stunning its animation is.
* GatewaySeries: Towards adult-oriented anime. Creator/StevenSpielberg had claimed the movie to be Unmarketable in the U.S. due to the AnimationAgeGhetto.

* HilariousInHindsight: The story is in a backdrop of the 2020 Neo-Tokyo Olympics, and Akira was apparently below the unfinished Olympic stadium. On September 9, 2013, Tokyo was selected as the host of the 2020 Summer Olympics.

** Tetsuo crosses it when he [[spoiler:kills Yamagata]] in both the film and manga; earlier on in the manga than in the film.

** Tetsuo crosses it when he [[spoiler:kills Yamagata]] in both the film and the manga; earlier on in the manga than in the film.

* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter: Kaori is Tetsuo's girlfriend and probably one of the few people who really understood/cared for him. She only gets a handful of lines and screentime before being [[spoiler:killed off unceremoniously]].

* SugarWiki/AwesomeArt: [[HolyShitQuotient Dear GOD YES!]]. Even people who aren't fans of the film won't deny how stunning its animation is.

* GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff: For some reason, the film was overlooked in Japan while it received positive reviews in the Americas and Europe, basically introducing anime aimed at adults in those regions. The film version was also cited, along with ''Anime/GhostInTheShell'' and ''Anime/SerialExperimentsLain'', as influences for American films like ''Franchise/TheMatrix'' and ''{{Film/Chronicle}}''.
* HarsherInHindsight: As Tetsuo advances towards the city we see a young man standing down a tank, an anti-government demonstration, government censorship of the media, and the massacre of countless civilians. Remember that the movie was released in 1988. [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiananmen_Square_protests_of_1989 Do you know what happened in China the following year]]?

* SpiritualSuccessor: WordOfGod has stated that Akira is this to Tetsujin 28-Go, but with psychics instead of giant robots.

* GatewaySeries: Towards adult-oriented anime. Steven Spielberg had claimed the movie to be Unmarketable in the U.S. due to the AnimationAgeGhetto.