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Akira (Special Edition) Actors: Mitsuo Iwata, Nozomu Sasaki, Mami Koyama Director: Katsuhiro Ôtomo Number of Items: 2 Picture Format: Anamorphic Widescreen Format: Color, Widescreen 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

Customer Reviews: Total numer of reviews: 618 Average rating: 4.0 "Whoa" This was a blend if simply geinus work and stunning artwork. As well as a good sound track to back it up. If your a fan of anime or just a person willing to see some action storyline as well as magnificent detail this is a movie ( a good one). The plot may me difficult to follow but it is worth it to get some tutoring. See it 'nuff said. "Buy the older version" Although I love the Akira story and everything about it, the special edition changed many things about the original. for one thing, the character's voices are different! am i alone in the group that thinks that is a really stupid maneauver? I'm really pissed that they would do such a thing. I LIKED the way Koneda's voice sounds when he's yelling at Tetsuo. I liked how twisted Tetsuo's voice becomes throughout the film. I liked the sounds of everyone els'es voice in the movie. why in the hell did they change that??! stupid morons. The movie is great, but if you want the real feel of the movie, go back to the original version of the movie. it's much much much better. "Amazing" The first time i saw this movie i was blown away. I have been watching anime for many years and this tops them all. It is the perfect anime movie and should be seen by everyone. I originally bought the single feature dvd but i loved so much that i bought the special edition dvd. I recommend it to anyone though it may be confusing for some. "Tetsuo!!!" I totally agree with the bad english dub issue. Unless Pioneer had to change it for legal reasons (?) there was no reason to touch it - the old dub was actually decent, considering. BUT ... if you're into foreign films/anime you should realize that the english dubs almost ALWAYS suck. Learn to read subtitles people - you'll appreciate the acting more. PROS: picture quality is fully restored, 100x better than before; second disc is full of bonus features CONS: english dub is completely different, and subsequently sucks; the Japanese language audio track is the original, and has not been remastered (this is typical of most foreign films with english dubs released in North America) Is it worth the high price tag? It is if you want all the extras on the second disc. Otherwise, track down the single disc version and stop complaining! :) "This is lucky 1 is as low as it goes :)" I know there are others out there who agree with me (not many, I'm sure) but I must warn those who are reading all of these five stars. This movie is overrated. It isn't the end-all film or perfect anime it's made out to be. Personally, I found it absolutely pathetic at best. The characters are hardly memorable, with little history and even less depth. The plot is paper thin. The voice acting (in the dubbed version anyways, that's all I've brought myself to watch because this movie was so disappointing.) is awful, everyone sounds much like Steve Erkel with a head cold. In my humble and personal opinion, this is the worst movie I have wasted two hours on, whether anime or live action, in a long, long time. I recommend renting this movie, or finding a friend with a copy, if you really want to see it. If you do, for some reason, waste the money to purchase it, you may contact me, and I will give you some very fun Martha-Stewartish tips to turn the DVDs into a coaster for your drinks. :)