Oh the nostalgia that comes out of this one. My roots back into Japanese animation actually reaches all the way back to this very movie, shown once on a Saturday morning before the Sci Fi channel became SyFy. This was the first of the batch I saw, and admittedly I cam in mid way through the adventure and was so lost I didn't finish watching it, but the seeds were planted and I tuned in for many other shows in that timeline, some of which would go on to become my favorite movies, hands down. Years later, I came back to this rather violent and strange tale - smartly watching it from the beginning to the end that time. Tell you what, the only way to watch Akira is from start to finish - otherwise be prepared to not get the most out of it.