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Akira Actors: Mitsuo Iwata, Nozomu Sasaki, Mami Koyama Director: Katsuhiro Ôtomo Number of Items: 1 Picture Format: Anamorphic Widescreen Format: Color, Widescreen, Animated Audience Rating: R (Restricted) Running Time: 124 minutes Studio: Pioneer Video Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1 Region Code: 1 Product Group: DVD Release Date: 2001-07-24 Buy from Amazon |
 "Akira"Akira the animated film is a different animal from it's original comic book/graphic novel series. The printed series is far superior to this animated one and if you just plop in the DVD you're more than likely going to be confused as to what's happening in the end. Tetsuo's power is so overwhelming that he cannot control it thus it manifests itself in the grotesque flesh mutation we see at the end of the movie. In the books this happens over a long period of time so we know exactly what is happening to him. Akira himself appears in the book series as a little boy but in the film we see him in parts contained in jars of liquid. When you know the difference between what we read and what we see in this film then can we only appreciate what Akira is really about. I would not recommend this DVD to anyone unless you have read through the paper series and can understand what the whole story is about. If you're just a technical junkie then the animation prowess Otomo presents in this film may be enough to get you to like it. Overall the series is an absolute must read and the film itself is good but is rather condensed which is what is confusing a lot of the reviewers I have read through.  "It's been changed"Akira is one of, if not the best (besides Twilight of The Dark Master) japanamation of all time. Or at least since Ive been watching them for more than ten years. Ive had it on VHS forever and have watched it frequently until I bought this special edition DVD. Don't get me wrong with the three stars, I love this movie. What bothers me is the characters voices have changed AND the dialoge is different. Not to the point to where the story plot has changed but noticably. I have noticed now that it says in plain english "new english dialogue" on the features on the back of the DVD, and if I had noticed that beforehand I wouldn't have bought it. Or who am I kidding; It's Akira, yes I would have just to have the special edition. But I must tell you that when I feel like watching Akira, I pop in the VHS with the original voices and dialogue. The DVD, most likely, will forever sit on my shelf. I just hope I can find the original on DVD. So far everyone I have looked at says "new english dialogue". "The "killer app" of this genre"If you think back long enough, there will be a time when there simply was no animation available in the United States from anywhere else in the world. Everything that was animation was made in the U.S. (Disney, Hanna Barbara). There had been a few strange animations that had drifted across the Pacific, one of them being the epic "Robotech" - a compilation of 3 different animes into one long American show. Another notable exception was the grand old race car show from Asia called "Speed Racer." These shows had a small, small group of fans who thought they were alright, but when it came to a major animated work one usually thought of Walt Disney (for good reason they make amazing films). Then, in 1988, something new came across the waters, a new and controversial film called AKIRA. A reworking of a popular comic book in Japan, this film featured a mind bending plot and a new kind of animation that was vastly different from anything anyone had seen before. Needless to say its cult status exploded upon its limited run in select theaters. It made much, much more money stateside than was expected and the response was even more unexpected : they wanted more. Ever since, anime has been a niche category in the States, a new genre brought forth by AKIRA. The film itself is a totally original work, there is absolutely nothing like Akira out there. It is a political drama, a story about racing friends, a science fiction story, it is all these things. It is very, very unique. More than anything, though, it was the vastly different style of the film that made it marketable. Like any killer app, it filled a niche perfectly and then ignited the market for that product. People were ready for something different and AKIRA delivers in spades. Disc One: Akira with full options menu - all dubs / brand new English vocal track with better translation / optional subtitles / THX and Dolby Disc Two: Extras galore. Interview with the creators (Otomo is a huge fan of 2001 and a Clockwork Orange) / beautiful mechanical artwork made for machines and equipment / a study of the soundtrack / Interview with the new American vocal cast and American producers / "AKIRA IS #1"This movie was 124 minutes long but I loved it. I don't care weather the orginal version that came to America on vhs in the 90's had different english voice actors. On this dvd it has were you can pick captions to appear during the movie, it's shap like a giant pill like the one Kaneda has on the back of his coat. The first war began in 1988 after Akira distoryed everything the Tokyo was turn into Neo-Tokyo after re-molding the ruins. In the year 2019 it happens again when Tetsuo can't control his power and starts mutation then the three kids calls Akira, but thats bought all I'm going to give you. "Do not be foolish."YES this version is different from the original Streamline release. YES it has different voices and dialogue. and YES, it IS better for it. the original translators butchered the script, often with hilarious results, with dialogue that often didn't make any sense, thus rendering the story almost beyond understanding. don't get me wrong, i will always cherish my original VHS. that's what got me into anime to begin with. but the fact is, it was obviously done with serious budget constraints and did not get the care and attention it deserved. with the new version, however, the team went back to the original script and re-translated the dialogue to more accurately reflect Otomo's vision. the is clearly documented on the bonus disc. the story is now more understandable, and the "wtf?" bits of dialogue have been replaced with that which makes sense. an example of this is Kaneda'a original "just when my coils were reaching the green line". this has changed to the more accurate "just when my motor coils were getting warmed up". what was also incorrect in the original is in the scene after the gang is arrested when the man pulls a grenade. in the original, the gang sounds like they are defending the would-be suicide bomber ("what are you gonna do, hang 'em?"). what they were actually doing, as is seen in the new release, is berating the man for his stupidity in endangering them all ("next time why don't you just hang yourself!"). as for those who bash the movie because "it's not Disney'!!! you are just morons. the movie was NEVER intended to be viewed by children. it is an adult feature film. the japanese don't just make movies for kids. animation is the major form of cinematic entertainment in japan. don't be an ill-informed ignoramous. all in all, the new release is superior. again, i will always cherish my VHS, if only for it's blatent campy dialogue and for obvious sentimental reasons. but for viewing pleasure, it's the new release all the way. |
