Rating: 
Summary: Good remaster, but becomes a cartoon instead of Anime.
Review: This is Akira. The movie is great. The re-mastered sound makes it sound awesome. But what I don't like is they put so much color into this, it takes away from the Anime gritty feel to it, and looks more like cartoon artwork. For the old school Akira fans; I don't know if I'll be able to get used to the new voice overs. I guess it's supposed to be more of the original script, but they don't really tell you. The actors doing the voices didn't put the energy and feelings into it like the originals did. If you've never seen this movie before, you won't know any difference and you will thouroughly enjoy this movie. But for someone who has gotten used to it a certain way for 12 years, this version is a little hard to swallow. All in all this is still a great movie, and I just wanted to get the DVD so I wouldn't wear out my ORIGINAL (limited widescreen edition) vhs tape.
Rating: 
Summary: BEST ANIME EVER!!!
Review: I dare anybody to tell me a japanese animation better than AKIRA! I'll buy him/her a free movie...! The animation is superv, the plot is smart and well adapted from the long thousand+ manga with the same name. The sound must be excellent, and I can't hardly wait to get it on DVD. If you really enjoy this movie I recommend you to buy the paperback versions ( They are 6 or 7 I think, but they have just released the first 3), which you can buy here too. Come on, get yourself into some really smart, sofisticated, high-tech, action packed movie!!
Rating: 
Summary: The New Dubbing is horrible
Review: I cannot express how disappointed I am with this new release of the Anime classic Akira. The new overdub is exceptionally bad. Even the Japanese overdub has been changed and is equally awful. The original dialogue was edgy and dangerous, whereas this new dialogue is vanilla and overly PC and wordy. I have been a major fan of this film, but I will look for one of the original versions to add to my collection. They also altered the amazing musical score. Cutting it short in some places and fading it out to a background noise in others, terrible. The original was a 5 star all the way, this ranks only 2. I couldn't have told you dubbing would make such a difference, now I know the truth.
Rating:
Summary: Dubbing was a complete dissapointment
Review: I was looking forward to this DVD release and the new dubbing, but about 30minutes into the movie I had to pull out my VHS letterbox copy from 1989. Later I went back and watched it Subtitled which was good. The artwork looks outstanding, but the new dubbing (although it is a more exact translation) is horrible. Most notably the voice acting. The actors are the worst I have heard in a long time. It sounds like they are reading their script to you not acting. The actors were also miss cast, the voice tones don't match the faces with the exception of Kei. If you enjoyed the origonal dubbed version the dubbing in this one is going to make your stomach churn. If you can get a copy of the 1989 letterbox version dubbed I would suggest it. The dubbed voice acting is outstanding in that version. The capsule modes are neat and if you prefer Subtitles anyway (I generally do but just happen to be fond of the origonal release of this movie) I would recommend it. But don't be fooled by the promise of the re-done dubbing it is sad, almost shameful.
Rating:
Summary: Visual Panache Overwhelms Story--But What Visuals!
Review: "Akira" is not my favorite anime movie by any stretch of the imagination--that title would have to go to "Mononoke Hime"/"Princess Mononoke," the greatest accomplishment of anime's greatest film director, Miyazaki Hayao. But there is no way that Miyazaki's imagination, as expansive, intelligent, and vivid as it is, could ever come up with something as visually and aurally striking as Otomo Katsuhiro's "Akira." First, even with a five star review, "Akira" in terms of contents has some storytelling problems--the oft-noted fact that there were thousands of manga pages to condense into a two-hour film production obviously did not help in clarifying the story, especially for newcomers to anime and manga. However, I am happy to report that the new dub and subtitling job has made many elements much clearer than the old Streamline release. The explanation of the psychic powers in the children and the ending have been clarified a great deal, though not entirely (the movie simply couldn't condense the manga that much). Also, contrary to most of the reviewers who have panned the new dub, I personally can't see on any technical standard how the old dub is in any way superior to the new one, which I found a lot less irritating and overacted. I actually do agree, however, that they might have added the old dub as an extra audio track for nostalgia's sake and it would add to the value of this already excellent package. "Akira" was the first anime to become popular in the mainstream American culture, and so perhaps the memories of those early fans should have been taken into consideration. Nevertheless, I don't consider it a huge loss, especially since the dub is definitely clearer in explaining the story and is more accurate. (Me? I still prefer subtitles, of course. :) The storytelling problems I mentioned above, however, definitely are overwhelemed by the fantastic visuals, of which just about every reviewer has spoken. The video restoration on the DVD is nothing less than astounding, considering the film's age. Details like tiny lamps and desks in the thousands of lighted office windows are now clear. The hyperkinetic racing sequences are even more glorious in their energy than before, as the colors have been restored and the dark color palette, which made VHS releases look fuzzy and muted, is now sharp and distinct. The soundtrack is one of the most thrilling and innovative ethnic soundtracks used in film, anime or not, and it too has been digitally restored. "Akira" is an absolute aesthetic triumph in anime, and despite its less-than-perfect storytelling qualities (and, for me, excessive bloodletting), it is the defining visual statement of what cel animation can accomplish. The DVD release also sets a new standard in audio/video quality and also in the wealth of informational material included on the Special Edition's second DVD--for me, it was a fascinating first peek at the actual production of a feature anime. First, "Mononoke" set THE standard for quality audio/video transfer, though it lacked in extras and was a recent film in either case; now, "Akira" takes my top spot for technical and aesthetic excellence for a Region 1 anime DVD release.
Rating:
Summary: Dont fix it if it aint broke..
Review: This movie was one of the first anime that I saw, one I enjoyed. While this DVD takes the cake for having some nice visuals, the new english dub royaly sucks, talk about the fastest way to ruin a good piece of art. I dont like VHS tapes, and ive stoped buying them, but after purchasing the special edition DVD with the Metal case (Where you nearly have to bend the dvd's in half to get them out of the holders) I would GIVE my copy to anyone who would trade me the english Dubbed version of the VHS. Not only did the original acting sound more realistic, it was worded better, and had better actors playing the parts. I would rate the DVD at 93% for visual quality, and 25% for the new audio translation, all of our favorite screams and laughs are gone.. sound effects/music sounded good on Dolby 5.1, the only good thing i can say about that. The VHS takes the cake with 87% in visuals, and 92% in audio. Until (if ever) they release the original audio dub on DVD, stay away from this DVD.
Rating:
Summary: THE BEST CHOICE
Review: always i'm asking, why the guys of pioneer don't make the DVD of Akira?, i wait this release for about 2 years, and when i see the special edition, i understead why, the people of pioneer knowing the importance of this product, and they need make it the best of the best, and they'll made, the metallic case is the best package for a DVD, that i ever seen, it's a good choice in any sense, you don't need be a anime fan for enjoy this DVD, it's a piece of visual history of the world. i was tolk.
Rating:
Summary: I want the old dialog back
Review: I, like many others, am a Akira fanatic. After watching the old dubbed vhs for some many years, I could recite the words like it was the latest trendy pop song. And maybe that is why I gave the DVD version 2 of 5 stars. The video, to me, looks no different. A little brighter in some areas. Some of the new sounds are good, but not much more then that. My biggest problem is the new dialog. I can't stand the sound of these chumps. I couldnt watch the movie after hearing the sound of some of the characters. They took the voice of kaneda that sounded like an overconfident punk and turned hmm into some confused kid. It probably would sound better if every character was voiced by Eddie Izzard, at least then it would be a comedy. They need to put out a dvd version that has the old dialog on it. I have yet to watch the dvd all the way through, instead I watch a little bit then throw in the vhs to keep my sanity. So imho if you are looking to buy Akira, I would get a vhs and hope it is the old dialog or can be returned. Then again, if you dont own Akira yet, you probably wont care much....
Rating: 
Summary: An Entertaining and Visually Stunning Work of Art
Review: This ground-breaking film set new standards in animation when it was first released over 11 years ago and, thanks to it's meticulous attention to detail, complex and imaginative action sequences, and creative special effects, still manages to hold up among today's CGI-filled cinema. The over-the-top action sequences and darkly intense sci-fi storyline have even influenced live-action Hollywood movies such as "Dark City" and "The Matrix". Pioneer has done a wonderful job porting "Akira" to DVD, using the same attention to detail as the filmmakers. The remaster is excellent, with little, if any, of the visual problems that sometimes crop up in animated movies tranferred to DVD format. The sound is well done, although, to my disappointment, the original Japanese soundtrack did not receive the 5.1 dolby treatment. The number and quality of the features included with the special edition are top-notch and should satisfy all but the most critical of DVD enthusiasts. In all, an excellent package of a marvelous film that should not be missed. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: GREAT RE-RELEASE
Review: The new digitally mastered version of Akira is truely a masterpiece in the making. The picture looks better than ever its crisp and clear with absolutely no blurs!! It totally blows away the old VHS, Laserdisc, and VCD versions of it! Most people were upset by the fact that the movie has been Re-Dubbed but my opinion is that the new dub is in fact better than the original. First of all in the original Dub many things were not stated very clearly due to poor translating such as the jail scene where the Canada and the girl (forgot her name) were in the prison and she was explaining the subject of Akira. In the original version it was very unclear what she was trying to say and many people were confused saying "Huh what in the world is she talking about". In the newly dubbed version everything totally makes sense! So if you are one of the many Anime fans who saw Akira originally I stongly suggest you to buy the newly remastered version of Akira and if you can try to get this limited edition because it comes in a killer tin case and has a second dsic with a ton of suplimental extras. But if you cant the regular re-release is still cool.
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