Nice and enjoyable, not groundbreaking. Excellent soundtrack and an interesting animation style; lends itslef well to the often deeply graphic and hypersexual depictions as they become more like charicatures than anything else. The plot feels a touch typical, but apparently the original from 1970 is the inspiration from which many other (berserk, eva etc) have drawn, so that is more a strong suit. Found the last few episodes a touch rushed... the world is plunged into this chaos and it does not seem to trigger much change in any of the main characters at all... Miki is as virtuous as ever and despite the loss of her entire family is almost immediately there to support Akira again.
I binged this entire series during a trip through china. Decidedly some of the best anime I've ever watched, and stands as a great epic in its own right. We shall see what stories make it through when we go to conquer the stars, this one deserves to be among them. I could waste pages on the politics, the scheming, thoughts on the value of sacrifice or nationhood and whatnot, but it is best to just watch it yourself, and then think about it. Ultimately it is a story about how it is the action of great individuals, those who transcend their time, who will shape the world. The political systems are irrelevant if there is substrate for greatness, and then the seed too.
It's been a while since I've read this but it's been an influence like few other works. The strife of an individual, the hellish surroundings... the refusal to give up and the feeling of humanity within it all. Beautifully illustrated, simply the best the genre has to offer.