The story is a <a href="http://www.toastyfrog.com/toastywiki/index.php/Site/ThumbnailAkira01">confused</a> <a href="http://www.toastyfrog.com/toastywiki/index.php/Site/ThumbnailAkira02">mess</a> of unfulfilled sub-plots and the absence of a real ending. It's all too obvious that the movie was made well before the manga had concluded. I think it still has merit as a straight action affair, though, and it remains one of the foremost examples of how beautiful cel animation can be.