Visually, Akira is by far one of the best-animated movies of all time, and it probably always will be. Aurally, the soundtrack has this great rhythmic quality to it that provides a constant driving force behind the action onscreen. Miscellaneously, Kaneda has a bitchin' set of wheels.

And after that, it really doesn't matter that the story is a bastardized mash-up of the manga's epic narrative with a dumb non-ending.