Why do people think Akira is so great? When I watched it my reaction was a shoulder shrug. Maybe I missed something about it, I don't know, but I did not have the experience that most people seem to have with it. Maybe because I saw Chronicle way before it and thought it did the same thing but infinitely better. But yeah, cool that it's on.
Akira, as in the anime? The one with that guy who has the motorcycle? Never took interest into it. I'm not into the really old anime'. The furthest back I will willingly go is the Original Dragonball and sometimes not even there, normally I settle with the 2003 version of Fullmetal alchemist. Though this does only apply if we're talking about the Anime, if not then ignore this.
Chronicle did not do the same thing. Not even close. The dark themes and apocalyptic imagery of Akira were a mirror of the effect Japan suffered from having two nukes dropped on them. The "kids with powers" plot is really just a thin frame over a much deeper story about hubris, fatalism, and individual people wrestling with their own powerlessness and the futility of their struggles. Not to mention, it was one of the first pieces of Japanese animation not to cut corners. The animation was full-body, the dialogue was pre-scored, and the backdrops were fully realized, long before such became common - and even today it still looks lovely, barring the odd facial movements at times. The directing was top-notch for the time and it has aged well. tl;dr people think Akira is great because it is great. It's Evangelion for people with more than half a brain.
