I never got into Manga or much into Anime, but Akira is a classic as far as I'm concerned. The things that annoy me so much about a lot of anime is all of the goofy character animation and epileptic seizure-enducing flashing during still frame fight scenes, of which Akira was pretty much devoid. I like it's style, and definitely the soundtrack (one of my favorite scenes is the bike battle). Also, I think the story, while loose-ended, was unique.

So, in conclusion, much love!