Akira

I watched this a long time ago, was very impressed by the animation, but found the story hard to follow and didn't really understand what the movie was about. Now, after getting older, finishing college, and learning more about the world and Japan's history/culture, I see on rewatch that Akira is about a lot of things: power, trauma, politics, and more. I would sound really pretentious and annoying if I tried to explain what I like about Akira, and I probably wouldn't be able to articulate it very well anyway, so I won't. I'll just let this movie's reputation speak for itself and say that I'd recommend checking it out at least once. Even if you find the story hard to follow, you'll still get to experience an extremely memorable visual spectacle, and a great soundtrack too. I'm really considering reading the manga so I can see the ideas touched on in this movie explored in more depth. Next up: Porco Rosso