Akira

Rating:
Summary: One of the best Anime films, one of the best films PERIOD!!!
Review: "Blade Runner" blew everybody's mind with its stunning visuals and deeply philosophical story of the line between man and machine, creating the sub-genre known commonly as cyberpunk. "Akira" stands as not only a testament to the beauty of animation (especially Japanese anime), but also to the expansiveness of the genre "Blade Runner" created. But to call "Akira" an animated version of "Blade Runner" is not only inaccurate, but a serious injustice to the genius of "Akira." This special edition DVD captures all the essence of "Akira," giving any fan all he or she could ever want out of the film, and more.
First of all, the movie is as brilliant as ever, if not moreso. The newly restored movie gives brighter color, sharper picture, and thus intensifying the already wild visuals. The picture is better, the sound is better, and the subtitle translation is better (I refuse to watch the new English track though...while I generally hold no malice against dubs, this new version has the English actors using Japanese pronounciations of the names...it just doesn't work in English, even though the actual dialogue is a more accurate translation). The story is as brain-numbing as a university lecture on quantum physics combined with the philosophies of Socrates and Plato, with a little Philip K. Dick thrown in. Katsuhiro Otomo's storytelling is just brilliant! 30 years after a holocaust that went the world into WWIII, Neo-Tokyo stands where Tokyo once stood. A teenage biker, Tetsuo has been abused and mistreated his whole life, and when he has been granted paranormal powers, he lashes out at the world, forcing not only the ones responsible for his psychic plight, but his only friends in the world to stop him in any way they can before he reawakens a mysterious power known as Akira, the force that caused the holocaust 30 years before. Great story full of philosophical truths and possibilities, and the ending is something Stanley Kubrick would be proud of (a la "2001"). The music by Geinoh Yamashirogumi is amazing, and has to be one of the most diverse world music soundtracks ever produced (see separate review of soundtrack album).
Secondly, the DVD is incredible, chock-full of special features, from the "Production Report" documentary, to an interview with Otomo, to image galleries full of production sketches, backgrounds, and the original comic book covers, as well as a soundclip from the soundtrack. It's everything you could want out of a DVD for a film of this magnitude.
This is truly one of the greatest pieces of science-fiction literature and film-making, and I encourage both anime fans and non-anime fans to see it. To see it in any form less than the one presented in this special edition is a crime. See "Akira!"

Rating:
Summary: Bit Confusing but overall good
Review: Though Akira falls into the trappings of most anime (some far off crazy plot point that is never explained but is supposed to have a "deep" meaning) it doesnt take itself sooooo seriously that it turns into awful mush. Akira handles the mysterious parts of the story in a way that you feel you've gotten enough to understand the goings on, unlike that horrible princess mononoke which some people have the audacity to say is better than Akira. This film is classic because it takes the best of japanese animation without making it too confusing and warped to understand.

Rating:
Summary: An all time landmark in anime
Review: Akira is without a doubt one of the all time greatest anime's ever created, and I admit I was skeptical when I heard about this "new version" (the original version of Akira was the second anime I ever saw, the first was Vampire Hunter D). First off, I will say that the animation is still superb, especially now that the picture has been remastered; the Blade Runner-esque city and buildings jump off the screen, and you will notice more detail than you did in the original version. However, the new dubbing job doesn't completely fix the convulted plot (it does a bit though), and the ending still leaves something to be desired. Also, the new voice actors don't quite fit with the characters the way the original voice actors did in the original film. Kanada sounds like a little kid, and Tetsuo sounds no more menacing than he did in the original, but aside from those gripes everything is perfect. Do yourself a favor, if you love great anime like Vampire Hunter D or Wicked City, pick up Akira, it is an all time landmark in anime, and now has never been a better time to purchase it.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent animation and music, but...
Review: The animation of Akira is a true landmark for its time (originally released in 1988). The city (Neo-Tokyo) is filled with details and the characters as well: they have lots of distinct traits beyond the more traditional type of anime, where almost all characters have large eyes, although the movies take place in Japan. Also the music that accompanied the feature -like most animes- was outstanding.

However, I admit that I had a hard time understanding certain parts of the movie, just like I did with Escaflone more recently. Some friends who are cult followers of the genre explained to me that the reason for this was the fact that the movie was derived from a comic book series from the early eighties. Therefore, unless you are big time into anime movies, except for the artistic side of the movie (animation, music) be ready for a story where you will have to fill in a lot of blanks. Also be ready for a movie with lots of violence: definitely not for children or people who are easily impressed with bloody scenes. My personal opinion: I'd much rather see 'Ghost in the Shell' or 'Final Fantasy' again.

Rating:
Summary: Anime masterpiece
Review: This landmark anime movie was awe-inspiring upon its release and is still fantastic a decade later.

I cannot recommend this film highly enough. View this materpiece with an open mind. Akira tends to draw fanatics too bloodthirsty to appreciate its message while scaring away critics intelligent enough to understand it.

A+, If I were to give this film a rating, based on four stars, I would give it twenty-seven.

Rating:
Summary: The end-all be-all of Anime
Review: Akira is a masterpiece any way you look at it, whether it is the great plot, the incredible animation, or even the stunning musical score. I won't spoil things for those who HAVEN'T seen is by writing a review here, but if you haven't seen it then you desperately need to. The only downside to this disk that I have currently found is in the new English dub of the film, which is drab and unemotional throughout. This is countered by the fact that the original Japanese audio tracks are present along with subtitles on the disk. This is by far the most worthwhile addition to my DVD collection. I sugguest Ghost in the Shell as another valuable DVD purchase.

Rating:
Summary: voices... not right...
Review: the picture is amazing and the sound quality is beautiful but i have to disagree with most of these reviews. while i thought the dubbing was well done and the old version's dialogue a bit hokey at times, these new voices just had *no emotion*. especially the colonel. i know im in the minority here but i was the old voices with the dvd quality!

i especially missed "just when my coil's reaching the green line!"

Rating:
Summary: A 10 Star DVD
Review: I won this baby at an auction and I have to say that I'm damn impressed. The transfer from the old film to this remastered and enhanced DVD is absolutely stunning. I've seen Akira many times before in a VCD copy, but seeing it restored in DVD is like watching a whole new Anime. The new voice-overs are good, but sometimes you'll wonder if that is Anakin Skywalker (Jake Lloyd) dubbing some of the voices (there are dull and over-acting moments in the English Dub) - I suggest watching it in it's original Japanese Dub with the subtitles - nothing really beats the Jap language - it captures the character's emotions perfectly!

The 2nd Disc is jam-packed with extras. I wish they had the entire page run of the Akira comics in the DVD though... it would be a great read.

All in all, this is perfect. There are times that I wish they popped in a booklet of some sort (like the Starting a Fight manual in the Fight Club DVD) - it's also nice to see the characters in something printed.

Rating:
Summary: Oh yes, OH HECK YES
Review: I remember seeing this a few years ago with the old dub. When this version was released I snatched it up as fast as I could. I was completely blown away. I watched it twice in a row. First with the new dub second with the Japanese. The new dub is pretty good actually, a huge improvement in my opinion over the original (though I do miss the old dub's "Kaneda! Help me!!"). The Japanese track was surprising. This is one of the few anime where the mouth moves with the works. Whoa. . . The picture is also amazing. If I didn't know better, I'd swear that this was made in the last two or three years! The animation is smooth, crisp, and consistant. The story is great; complex and gripping which is especially good since they took a HUGE manga/comic series and condensed it to a two hour movie (unlike X where they take a huge story and condense it to 90 minutes and butcher it completely). If you've never seen any anime before, go get it. If you've never seen this movie, go get it. If you've never seen this version, go get it. Do I think this is one of those movies that any movie fan has to see? Oh HECK yes!!

Rating:
Summary: AKIRA--The Collecter's Edition
Review: AKIRA is a graphic movie about the power of your own mind. Tetsuo, a young biker punk tries to prove to older buddy Kaneda that he doesn't need a "hero". When captured by a government research facility, Testsuo is given a capsule that awakens the hidden powers that are so big, because of all the sycological drama he has delt with in his lifetime. When his power rages out of controll, the phycic powers become too much for his body, and his entire body mutates into an infant-like blob.

The ammount of detail and precision put into this movie is like none other, and that is partly to credit for its maraculus come-back since it's debut in 1988.