Easily the best anime film I've ever seen, and one that set the standard by which all that have followed are judged. I first got into anime in the early 90s after the Sci-Fi Channel ran Robot Carnival, Lensman, & Vampire Hunter D back-to-back. My enthusiasm for the genre ran high up until I saw Ghost in the Shell, which bored me asleep (in fact, when my friends & I went to see it in the theatre each of us fell asleep at various points). I never got into many of the anime television series, but I have enjoyed many of the full-length films.
Once I saw Akira it blew the rest of them away. Great story, superb animation, and unforgettable images set it apart from and raised the bar for the rest of the anime pack. These days I don't keep up with anime like I did in the 90s, but I still find the occasional film to enjoy. While Japanese animation has greatly improved since Akira, none of the more recent films have had the impact that this one did on me.
