Austin Chronicle by Richard Whittaker

Adapted by Katsuhiro Otomo from his sprawling, post-apocalyptic cyberpunk tale of government conspiracies, street gangs, and psychic powers that can save or destroy the world, it's still an all-time classic, and has never looked better.

Total Film by Simon Kinnear

Conceived on an unprecedented scale in ambition and technique, Otomo’s rich visuals and awe-inspiring action depict a post-apocalyptic dystopia where the threat of feral biker gangs is dwarfed by the rise of an uncontrollable psychic.

The A.V. Club by Tasha Robinson

A landmark production that can be watched with equal satisfaction as a metaphorical psychodrama or as a sheer visual spectacular.

Variety

A remarkable technical achievement in every respect, from the imaginative and detailed design of tomorrow to the booming Dolby effects on the soundtrack, pic’s only drawback is the slight stiffness in the drawing of human movement.

Time Out

It’s a towering achievement of imagination and the detail of each frame is a miracle of film artistry.

Washington Post

The most expensive animated feature ever made in Japan (over 1 billion yen) and it's easily the most impressive, as well.

The Guardian by Peter Bradshaw

Akira’s strangeness is very startling and sometimes bewildering. But there is a thanatonic rapture to its vision of a whole world ending and being reborn as something else.

The New York Times by Janet Maslin

Violent as it is on the surface, Akira is tranquil at its core. The story's sanest characters plead for the wise use of mankind's frightening new powers, lending the whole film the feeling of a cautionary tale.

New Times (L.A.) by Luke Y. Thompson

One of the few unanimously acclaimed classics of Japanese animation.

Empire by Kim Newman

As befits a distillation of 1,318 pages of the story so far, Akira the film is teeming with incident and detail.

Variety by Staff (Not Credited)

A remarkable technical achievement in every respect, from the imaginative and detailed design of tomorrow to the booming Dolby effects on the soundtrack, pic’s only drawback is the slight stiffness in the drawing of human movement.

Time Out by David Jenkins

It’s a towering achievement of imagination and the detail of each frame is a miracle of film artistry.

Washington Post by Richard Harrington

The most expensive animated feature ever made in Japan (over 1 billion yen) and it's easily the most impressive, as well.

Village Voice by Michael Atkinson

Some kind of fever-dream masterpiece, easily the most breathtaking and kinetic anime ever made and one of the most eloquent films about atomic afterclap.

TV Guide Magazine

The powerful movement of the movie is exhilarating, but it's all action with little characterization or plot. There is a moral here about mankind's lust for power, but it never clearly emerges from the spectacle of destruction and violence. Ultimately, AKIRA is really all about the animation.