Rating: 
Summary: an epic breakthrough!
Review: in 1988, director Katshiro Otomo created AKIRA. an epic sci fi anime film that defined animation forever! now in 2001, AKIRA is back and better than ever. it now has been cleaned up and re-mastered for superior quality. it is now in widescreen format and given a new english dub. AKIRA tells the story of a nightmare future on the brink of destruction. Kaneda, the leader of a teenager bike gang prowls the streets fighting with rival gangs. one night, a member of Kaneda's gang, Tetsuo, collides with a run away test subject. this subject is one with powerful telekentic powers. after the collision, tetsuo slowly begins to develop a phychic power of his own. once he learns of his new ability, he runs wild causing destruction wherever he goes. once he learns of another as powerful as he, "AKIRA", he goes out to find him. to sum it up, this movie is awesome. the dvd itself has great features. this is one of the greatest films i have ever seen.
Rating: 
Summary: Why
Review: Why oh why did they think they needed to redo the english dubbing. now insted of they sounding like they look on the screen . they all sound like a bunch of first graders. although it still is watchable if you turn off the english and go with the subtitles
Rating: 
Summary: Not in the editorial
Review: I just bought this item and was surprised to find that this is a wide screen edition 1:1.75
Rating:
Summary: Superb movie, with a great new dub
Review: For those of you whining about your old dub let me just put it this way, that was garbage. Names were mispronounced, the storyline was changed, the kids had voices of adults, the list goes on. Pioneer did an excellent job re-dubbing this movie and trying to match the script and the voices to the original japanese track. The video looks very great after this restoration. Overall an awesome movie.
Rating:
Summary: An exceptional new movie, with an exceptional new dub
Review: First of all, this is a top-notch anime worthy of its title. Now, for all of you out there that miss your original dub let me say this: your original dub was garbage. There was a reason that Pioneer did a new dub cause any novice anime fan could see the vast flaws in it. On a side note, if you did not know, this original dubbing was soo bad, that it was responsible for the fansubbing movement that is still alive today, and Kaneda is pronounced, kah-neda unlike on the original dub; a funimation dbz dub is much better than this was. Moving on, the original japanese track is superb and the restoration of this movie makes it almost flawless. A top-notch movie. I recommend you buy it for the original japanese track, but if you like to watch anime dubbed, this new track is very well done.
Rating:
Summary: "Akira" Remastered and ready to be enjoyed by a new generato
Review: I first saw 20 minutes of "Akira" when I was eight. It freaked me out.I am now 14 and was going to Blockbuster to rent a Dreamcast game and saw the special edition DVD. Not only does it contain the original Japanese version, but a new english dub(I prefer the first) and a 2nd disk packed full of special features. The storyboards are the best. They even have some that weren't used. In my opiion, this is the best DVD of this year. Buy it!
Rating:
Summary: Great anime, great presentation
Review: Everything that should have been said about Akira is probabily said, so let's focus on a review of thje new master done for this DVD. While old (1988), this feature looks brand new on this master, thanks to the million dollar restoration proccess that Pioneer pursued to release this title. It made me wonder how was to be on a theather in Japan when it was released, watching a brand new print, probabily the best comparison to the experience of watching this DVD.Both audio tracks sounds great, and considering that it was done in 1988, it's amazing to see how much the producers invested at that time on this feature, which features Dolby Surround Prologic sound on the japanese version (if you're to consider that most recent features are still using stereo sound). The second disc, packed of extras is a must. If you liked Akira, you deserve a copy of the limited edition, which is the only way to get your hands on one of those shiny discs. Featuring a making of, interview with director Katsuhiro Otomo, musical clips and so many stuff it'd be hard to list, Pioneer hits big with this title. Just as a side note, the special edition, on a special package, had 100,000 copies issued, which sold out TWO WHOLE MONTHS BEFORE the release date.
Rating:
Summary: Oh Yeah!
Review: This was the classic anime that everybody talks about but is really hard to find in video stores. This DVD edition is incredible, the menus are sublime and the special features are easy to use(even for a new user of dvds like me).
This has to be the best animated movie out there...
Rating: 
Summary: Beautiful but Dull
Review: I'm going to have to wade against the current and give this a really negative review. Having heard about this movie for years without getting a chance to see anything but a few clips, I rushed home from the video rental store where I found it with great expectations. But although the animation was every bit as impressive as I expected, the story itself was worse than just nonsense, it was DULL. I don't fully blame Akira's creator for this boring confused mess, after all he had to condense a large, complex work thousands of pages long into a relatively short movie. However, I found it to be as boring and vacuous as the Americanized version of the original Godzilla. Like Godzilla, much of the movie is taken up by an (albeit visually impressive) monstrosity running rampant through Tokyo and brainlessly destroying everything in its way without any clear motive. Sure, the original comic, which I haven't read (a movie should stand on its own), probably makes sense and has some meaning and depth, much like the original Japanese version of Godzilla is supposed to be a powerful allegory of the nuking of Hiroshima, but personally I don't find the sight of animated buildings being destroyed for what seems to be an eternity any more interesting than watching it happen to a bunch of models built by Toho. It does begin with an interesting storyline about government experimentation and study of psychics and about a motorcycle gang, but with the film's chopped up story, it just becomes a confused mess and an excuse for the later destruction. Akira is worth watching for those purely interested in the technical aspects of animation, and one of it plusses is that it actually has oriental characters (much Japanese animation portrays futures in which there isn't one single oriental). But neither does it fully avoid the disturbingly conformist manner in which human physical characteristics are (unrealistically) portrayed in Japanese animation (big eyes, etc. -- how about some individual artistic expression?), and there are a number of movies now available in North America with equally impressive animation and better unlike back when Akira first came out. Akira did help introduce a new genre to North America, which is a wonderful accomplishment, so it is still of historic interest, but I have to pass on Akira itself.
Rating:
Summary: good crisp clean animation
Review: i've watched this over and over again for two good reasons. one is the depth and graphic nature of the script. theres always some deep moral issue or some conflict with individuality and society or whatever.
and then theres the animation. a lot of people mention the end fight sequences and the distinct style. this is really really good. but what really does it for me is attention to the little things. stuff like the way smoke moves and twists, or the trail of light coming of the motorcycles. violence is present but i dont think its overdone. everything has a purpose or reason for being in this movie
also theres the pace of the movie and the effects of using sound or silence.
all add up to a good movie with a distinct goal by the creator. the dvd is good because the image is really crisp and the special features are ok. this version has less than the more expensive one, but i dont think it really matters. i'd just watch the feature.
i recommend this to anyone except those who think they are too mature for cartoons. those people can go watch their long winded p.t. andersons (not that he's a bad director, just a little wordy).
i also recommend everyone to watch it in Japanese with the subtitles. i think the jokes seem funnier and the expressions match better with its original language.
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