Rating: 
Summary: Not as breath taking
Review: Never Americanized a Japanese classic animation as they did in this new version. This would be the perfect edition but due to the fact that the new english dialogue made me want to throw up, I had to say If your a real Akira fan and has follow it's history since it's uprising, you would our already know which is a better version of Akira. Settle for the 1st translated edition then this new piece of work. But if your a hardcore anime collector it's a joy.
Rating: 
Summary: "Pretty good Akira"
Review: The picture quality is great, the dub is average, I missed the old voices, they had more individual character. "New" translation doesn't make it any easier to understand, it just makes the lines awkward. If you need to understand it, try reading the manga. Nice extras although my RCA dvd player doesn't like the "Capsule" option and restarts the DVD everytime I tried to get the movie to continue.
Rating: 
Summary: Incomprehensible, but Beautiful
Review: "Akira" is the best example of why anime can often times be so frustrating to watch. Many praise "Akira" as the greatest film of its kind, a landmark in animation. True, from a visual standpoint, "Akira" is dazzling, especially in this new DVD version where the colors are more vibrant than ever before. But can anyone make sense of the damn thing? I've seen it a few times and still couldn't tell you what happens in the last 30 minutes. And to be quite honest, I don't think I care. The characters are never devloped all that well, and their faces are drawn in such a manner that it is easy to confuse them. The new voice dubbing doesn't help either; everyone in Kaneda's gang sounds exactly the same. Then there's the seemingly requisite misogyny found in many anime releases, but not the best -- "Princess Mononoke" still stands taller than all other films in the genre. Is "Akira" a masterpiece? No. But I suspect that it will always be seen as one because of its cult film status. But it just doesn't work for me; I'm more interested in the fates of the characters in "Final Fantasy IX" on PSX than I am in these street thugs.
Rating: 
Summary: Better than ever, and don't let anyone tell you otherwise.
Review: Alright, I'm not sure what Danny Kim, who's review is posted up there, is thinking. I mean, he's entitled to his own opinion, and if he feels that the voices in this version are inferior, I guess that's up to him, but I feel I should set the record straight here so people don't get the wrong idea. The voices in this new dub of the movie much more closely mimic those of the original Japanese production, which was the intent of the crew doing the new version all along. For example, the numbers do indeed now all have the voices of children, but perhaps something Mr. Kim missed is that they ARE children, despite what they look like. If you flip to the Japanese audio, sure enough they all have very childlike voices, even Masaru, who in the original english dub had a much more gravely, mature sounding voice. As for the Colonel, his voice sounds much less over the top, keeping in line, again, with the original Japanese vocal track. He sounds much more thoughtful and reserved this time around, which I believe fits his character a bit more readily than the all out gutteral barks that made up most of his original english voice. Basically, if you really loved the original translation and dub of Akira, you may not be too thrilled with this one, mostly because it differs so much. It's kind of a shock to hear all the voices you've grown used to changed around on you. I know a lot of people grew very attached to it, and for the time it was very well done, but if you want what the author had intended for Akira, this dub is as close as you're going to get short of just leaving the audio on Japanese (which would be a shame, because a lot of thought went into this dub.) I found myself occasionally pining for the original dub myself, and I do wish Pioneer had found some way to include it as a third audio track, but oh well. In my own personal opinion, I liked Kaneda's original dub voice a little better, but more for the sound of it than the performance. I think the new artist does a better job overall in conveying Kaneda's emotional range. He sounded like a bit of a dunderhead in the first one. Tetsuo, well...sue me, but I can hardly tell the difference. They sound very similar to me, and therefore I prefer the new one due to it's superior translation. Kei, Ryu, The Doctor, and most of the supporting cast sound similar to me, and no voice really stuck out as seeming out of place besides Nazu's. He has a normal voice now, and oddly, it doesn't fit him as well as the warped one he got in the original. Nonetheless, I've grown to appreciate this dub much more than the original. Then again, I'm something of a purist, and typically won't watch a dub to any movie unless it's done as well as the original and has an accurate translation to boot. This dub is just that. It's basically the Japanese script put into English, with voices that sound as similar as possible. Bottom line: If you've never seen Akira, or consider yourself an Anime purist, get this version. If you watched it back in the day and feel like that version was fine the way it was, and don't mind a minorly sub-par translation, stick with the first one. I personally can't reccomend this disk enough. I grabbed one of the metal limited edition ones, but I'm pretty sure this has the same stuff in it.
Rating:
Summary: One of the best animes ever!
Review: This was the first anime I saw about seven years ago. But when I saw this version, it was better than my first time.
Rating:
Summary: A Great Animation Movie
Review: This 1989 animation movie remains one of the best animation movie ever made. Katsuhiro Otomo created a real masterpiece
Rating:
Summary: The best anime movie ever!
Review: Akira is my favorite anime movie and one of my top ten favorite movies of all time. This is NOT FOR KIDS, it has tons of violence and blood, some mild language, and even a scene of breif nudity make this for mature audiences. The animation is very good, I wish I could draw like that! Akira has a new dubbing, though I don't know how it is compared to the old dubbing because I've never seen the old dub. The story is kind of confusing, so some people may have to whatch Akira over and over (that's good, since it's such a great movie!). I won't spoil any storyline for you just in case you havent seen it yet ( shame on you if it's true! ). After you've seen this, you can finally call yourself an anime fan. Enjoy this great piece of anime you must see.
Rating:
Summary: BREATHTAKING AND INTENSE TO THE END!
Review: I really haven't watched too many Anime films, so I'm no expert on them. I have finally seen "Akira", and I loved it. Especially in this new remastered version.I apologize, but I can't really lay out the whole story for you. The greatness in this film is uncovering the mysteries that this Anime poses. Just know that there is brillant story telling, stunning action sequences, and a lot of suspence in this sci-fi film which creates a dark and horrifying future. It has a very complex plot, and at times may seem very confusing. This is definitely a movie you have to see more than once in order to understand it. Even if you don't understand every single thing the first time you see it, you'll still enjoy it because the animation is cutting edge and puts computer animation to shame. It this film was animated the way "Final Fantasy" was, it wouldn't be the same movie, and it would lose the sharpness and intensity that it already has. I've only seen "Akria" twice, but after seeing it a second time, I think I understand it a little more. I will have to watch it again in order to fully understand it, maybe even more. A lot of people don't like the new dubbed version. The first time I saw it, I watched it in subtitles and got lost very quickly. Watching it dubbed made it easier for me to understand and I thought the voices sounded okay. Then again, I've never heard the original dubbed version, so I can't tell you if it's better or worse. I love how this remastered version looks and sounds. This is a classic that shouldn't be missed by anyone. Don't let the complexity of this film aggravate you, just enjoy it the first time, and then you can watch it again and pay a little more attention to it and understand it more. What is "Akira"? That's something you'll have to find out in this thought provoking, and visually stunning film. I loved every minute of it. *I'm giving five stars for the film and how it looks and sounds. I haven't watched the special features, but there are plenty of them there for those who like extras.
Rating:
Summary: New Akira Sucks Buy the Old Akira instead.
Review: Although this new dvd may come in a special collectors case and look fancy it is a huge let down. The animation may look great but if you compare the voice acting of this Pioneer release to the good old Streamline Pictures 1988 release, the Streamline Pictures one blows this new one away. I miss the original Voice Actors of the English dub. The only way I could see if some one wants to buy this is for the Japanese Track. But if you buy it for the English track I suggest you find the old version it is 10 Times better. I give 5 Stars to the original version but only 2 to this one..
Rating:
Summary: Very intense!
Review: This is an epic anime classic which will endure for years to come. I thoroughly enjoyed watching it; although some parts can get a little *gratuitously* violent, it really doesn't take away from the engrossing plot. I first saw it about a month ago, and I'm still raving about it. Every anime fan (who isn't turned off by lots and lots of gore and some very icky bodily transformations) should see it.
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