Katsuhiro Otomo’s original Akira manga is a cyberpunk tale filled with biker gangs, top secret government projects, and psychic children that plays out in the ruins of a post-apocalyptic Tokyo. Produced over the course of eight years and consisting of 120 chapters, it’s an epic work of comic storytelling, and a must-read for anyone even remotely interested in the medium.

Not surprisingly, Otomo’s animated adaptation tells a very abbreviated version of the story, with entire storylines excised. As a result, the Akira anime can occasionally feel jarring and incomplete. But it’s no less an epic in its own right, and filled with some of the greatest and most intricately detailed animated scenes of all time, which are made all the more exotic and otherworldly by Geinoh Yamashirogumi’s gamelan-inspired score.

In addition to being one of the greatest animated films of all time, Akira helped to establish anime as a legitimate artform outside of Japan and has influenced countless filmmakers over the years. (If you doubt me, just search for “Akira slide” on YouTube.)