Akira

Rating:
Summary: Solid Anime Movie
Review: This is one one of my favorite movies that I have ever seen. Some of the people I know think that live action will always dominate anime, and this goes to show that this is idea is well, wrong! I loved this movie and watched many times in a row, and I also confess to watching the final battle between Tetsuo and Kaneda many, many times. This is not a movie that you should miss.

If I was weighing the pros and cons of this new version, I would have to say the good is more than the bad. I can see that many people were upset over the new voices, and I agree with them. The change in Kaneda's voice almost made me give it a 4 by itself! Instead, I looked on the bright side. the animation was re-vamped to become top notch, and the music has been redone to a great degree. Overall, this is probably the best anime title that has ever been made, and to miss it would be a crime.

Rating:
Summary: Why change it?
Review: Myself and several of my friends love this film and were eagerly awaiting this collector version on DVD. As soon as the DVD began we knew something was wrong. They changed the English voices! When you have watched the original dubbed version many, many times you get to love those characters with those voices. Changing the voices is like destroying a work of art. Imagine if Disney redid Snow White and changed the voices? Imagine how stupid that would be. Well that's what you get here. A sad decision. I am selling my collector set and looking for the first DVD release with the original voices. Let me say, my friends and I were sadly disappointed. Bad job, bad disc.

Rating:
Summary: An Anime Classic!
Review: As many people have said "Akira" is classic anime. But why? Is it the animation? The plot? What? Well lets take a trip back to when this was first released shall we? Back in the 80's (70's?) Disney ruled the world with an iron fist (Okay, so mabye the world hasn't changed THAT much!) cartoons were made "for kids" and nothing more! Everyone knew that the word "cartoon" ment "kids stuff" or something like that, anyway...when Streamline Pictures first released this movie people reacted with shock! People being shot, smashed, blown up (From the inside none-the-less)...this movie was a madhouse of gore! Blood, language, MILD MILD MILD nudity (Really), there was even a scean where a guys guts just spilt on the floor (No joke)!!!

THIS wasn't something people were used to in cartoons...heck, this was definetly NOT "kids stuff" like cartoons normally were! Not only was it bloody as hell, but the plot was complex and weird! Remember those old horror flicks (You know, the one's that were actually smart)? The plot in this movie resembled the weird twisted plot of an old Hitchcock movie (Although STILL not nearly as suspenseful)! Of course lets not forget the fact that the animation was lightyears ahead of it's time! People were wondering if Disney would ever make it to this level of animation with their films.

Whether they did or not is not for me to say, but lets just say it started the controversy of whether or not american animation was better then japanesse animation! Not to mention the rockin soundtrack that was also tacked on made this one solid adult movie! Now 20 (30?) years later, Pioneer Entertainment decided it was time for this wonderful movie to break out of it's shell and be seen again! Pioneer spent $1 million dollers to re-dub, re-master, and re-sound (Okay so it's not really re-sounding, they just buffed the sound to suround sound. Same thing right?) the movie so that it could shine!

While not many people saw it on the big screen, many people now have the chance to view this anime classic with a load of special features bound to please any fan! The cons? The special tin case is no longer available, and the may still be too gory for some people! But other then that, "Akria" managed to set a whole new standerd for animation, and it also opened up many possablity's for future animated releases!

Rating:
Summary: Something lost in the translation
Review: I was excited when Akira came out on DVD. However, I was not prepared for what I was about to see. Having watched the "ORIGINAL" Akira on VHS, I was awaiting the digitally remastered and new English dialogue to be superb. Who's (...) idea was this? The new English dialogue lost EVERYTHING from the original Akira. I watched and listened to three different characters pronounce "Akira" three different ways, all incorrectly. The only part about the digitally remastering of this classic was that the colors appeared crisp and brighter accenting the fact that it is a well done anime.

I was thoroughly disappointed in what Pioneer has done to a classic movie. I wasted money (...) for this awful version. I guess it just goes to show that you shouldn't mess with perfection.

Rating:
Summary: First Anime Movie ever
Review: At last a re-vamped version of Katsushiro Otomo's Fantastic Movie. With all the movie re-mastered. This is the best version of the movie I've ever seen. All the visual noise has been wiped clean and the sound is perfect.

This Is a much awaited sci-fi release and it is up to the expectations I had.

Rating:
Summary: Incredible
Review: I can't say for sure if you'll like this movie or not. It is Manga, a Japanese comic that was turned into a film. A very good film. It is pure anime. People who like anime often don't like this movie. Actually, hardly nobody likes this movie. Unless, of course you see it for its whole beauty which consists of blood and gore, an epic story, some of the best animation, and great effects.

If you are under the age of 18, your parents might not approve of you seeing this, of course. The movie has everything in the book. There you have it. I can't see what kind of grandma wouldn't let their kids see this movie, however. It's just a movie and something to be cherished with at least a little bit of your whole family, if not the whole family. The grim story and blood and gore will make people not to want their kids to see this, of course.

In the year 2019, a nuclear bomb goes off in Tokyo. Three minutes later, World War 3 starts. Several years later, after the great big devastating destructive war, a new Tokyo is built around the edges of the crater of the bomb. This is Neo Tokyo. Neo Tokyo is a huge futuristic city. It's everything Tokyo is now with more neon and more buildings. A small motorcycle gang consisting of a group of rebel teenagers fights with rival gangs and has small focuses. Two of the main characters in this movie are Kaneda and Tetsuo. They are in the gang, except Tetsuo is often left behind, and crashing while the rest of the gang has great fun killing off the Clown Gang. Kaneda and Tetsuo are best friends. Kaneda has a large, expensive, very red, and high tech bike, while Tetsuo has a little blue piece of junkyard bike. Tetsuo is obviously the one who is always left behind. Kaneda is the leader of the group. One night, they're riding around killing Clowns when Tetsuo nearly crashes into a Psychic boy. Tetsuo's bike is blown up and Tetsuo is thrown from the bike. A few helicopters come around and they pick up the boy. It is obvious that the boy is important. Tetsuo is soon picked up too because he has psychic powers as well. Tetsuo soon gains control of his powers and uses it against the people who oppressed him, while Kaneda tries to stop him. Tetsuo is warned that he is soon in danger of unleashing the power of Akira.

This movie, has excellent dubbing even though it doesn't contain the original subtitles. The movie is long and confusing, so you'll watch it again and again. If you like anime and a good story, I would pick up Akira.

Rating:
Summary: Akira - An Awesome Anine
Review: You have to see this! It is one of the best animes ever! It's right up there with Trigun, Gundam, and
Dragonball Z!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Rating:
Summary: sigh, change CAN be good
Review: I got the Limited Edition Tin within the first week of it's release. Well, to say the least it was worth my money and then some and unlike many of my DVD's don't collect dust.

The picture is just incredible. There were a couple scenes where the reds were slightly too bright but it was not so obvious that it detracted from my viewing of the movie. This is an entirely hand drawn animation that is still more detailed than anything Disney or even Pixar supplies us today and it was treated with the dignity it deserved.

Japanese Audio is always the way to go. I wish they had remixed it in the Dolby 5.1 but unless you have an elaborate entertainment system setup it isn't that signifigant. Just would have been a nice treat. Voices were PERFECT. It just all fit perfectly. I love the Japanese voice for Tetsuo, he just had that perfect, insane, but you still feel for him to a certain extent, something that I felt was lost in the English translation.

English Audio: Um... how does anyone miss that crap of a job dub done in '88? Masaru sounded like my grandfather for crying out loud, the girlfriends of Kanada's biker gang have thick Jersey accents, Kaneda sounds like he's 30ish and it goes on (I won't even begin to mention that it was the FIRST dub that screwed up the japanese script, not vice versa!). And this is exactly what people complain about. I've heard a lot of people complain about the new voice of Kaneda because he sounds too young. Did everyone forget that Kaneda and Tetsuo are in the age ranger of 14-17? They are supposed to sound young! Same problem came up with the kids.... in the Japanese script I hate to say it but the numbers do sound like small children. No heavy accents, when I put on the subtitles with the dub to see how well they matched, it was remarkably close to the original script. Goodness forbid this movie wasn't confusing enough to understand without the script being screwed up.

Extras: The menu was simple yet elegant with the motorcycle theme. (who wouldn't want Kaneda's bike?) And the capsule mode was interesting since I have always wondered what some of the writing says here and there. Documentaries and restoration features are nice for those who really enjoy seeing how painstaking the art of animation is. There is an index to all the terms in the movie and Manga for those who want to learn a little more or didn't quite get a certain part. Probably the best set of extras ever seen in an anime DVD.

Movie: I won't review it, there are plent of others right behind me and anything I say is redundant. You will most likely either love it, hate it, or simply not understand it. A classic in my book, heavily overrated by others.

Rating:
Summary: New Sound Effects Not too great
Review: I am an old time fan of Akira. I bought this DVD with high exceptions. I just want to put out to the fans that are thinking of buying the DVD to please reconsider. The original sound effects and the old voices are gone. Some company takes pride with ruining the movie's original sound English translation. Shame on them for retranslating the movies and stripping all the cool sounds. Like when number 26 (I think that is the little guy's name) is moaning and the windows break out of the building. In this new version most of the coolest sound effects are gone. I couldn't even finish watching it because the movie is ruined. The picture and the plot are still the same.... But the sound stinks. The VHS version is better for the old time fans.

Rating:
Summary: Akira: A Roundup
Review: What can you say about Akira, the manga or the movie, that hasn't already been said? It's brilliant, to
say the least. The animated version, like the graphic novel series, has withstood the test of time most
honorably. That said, it's great fun to watch, and there's so much detail that it will require several
viewings to fully drink it all in. (To this day, I still haven't picked up on all the details in the scenes with
Kaneda's gang and their assigned groupies. Talk about complex!)
As a big anime fan, I of course recommend you see it in the original Japanese. Sure, there's no fancy
mix like you get with the English tracks, but no English dub can really do this film any justice. Besides,
this is a film set in Japan with Japanese characters, and really should be watched in its original language. (On that note, I must warn those of you that don't have it yet: The video uses the opening
and end credits from Streamline's previous subtitled version of the VHS, which gives credit to the
original Japanese cast. Pioneer adds their own voice credits after the originals run. Thought you'd get
the original Japanese print?)