Ironically never saw this... was always told the manga was better. Maybe I grab all the manga then watch the movie.
I saw part of it a loooong time ago. I was like 15 or 16 at the time. I didn't remember much.
The animation is really top notch, great mechanical designs etc. The story isn't mind blowing but solid and the pacing was good and kept it's momentum. From what I've read up on, watching the movie won't really spoil the manga and vice versa... like Akira.
It took me this long to actually see it and I was quite surprised how I've passed over it all these years. From what I've gathered from posts on here I think you're from the same school as me as far as this kind of stuff goes. I think you'll enjoy it... it's definitely worth watching and finding out if nothing else.
I had an old friend come visit last weekend. We started it late one night.... we got about 10 minutes in and she asked "Wow this is really good looking.... can we go outside a smoke a joint before we get into it?" It was funny because I was surprised also and was thinking the same thing.