When you absolutely, positively have to get some anime in your life, accept no substitutes; 23 years on, Akira is still the genre’s crowning achievement.
Biker gangs roam post-WWIII streets of Neo-Tokyo and when one of their number gains stupendous psychic powers, all hell breaks lose.
In truth, it’s a pretty confused plot (inevitable, given the 2,000-page source material), but who cares?
Pretty much every frame delivers startling new peaks of animation, and the sheer ambition of the thing takes the breath away.
Give yourself a reward, if you can understand the ending, though.