Customer Reviews

Akira (Widescreen)

5 star:		(232)
4 star:		(64)
3 star:		(29)
2 star:		(22)
1 star:		(35)

 

 

Fisrt of all, this movie will not likely appeal to those who only watch anime for the big hair and eyes that are the current style. The animation is realistic and graphic, closer to Miyazaki or Venus Wars than more stylistic films like Ninja Scroll. The soundtrack is deffinately distinct and can take some getting used to, using mostly voices and a few instruments.

The movie is hard to describe. Apart from the mixing surface plots involving the biker gangs and "blue kids," there's plenty of material to play with for the philosophically inclined. Themes like existance and the nature of humanity show up beneath the main storyline.

I gave the movie 4 stars because I feel it deserves it from a story and intellectual stand point. The animation, although plain by current standards, is smooth and detailed. The storyline can be confusing and most people I know needed to watch it through a couple times but for me the big shortcoming of this edition was the new dialogue. I felt that the original recording was sharper and fit the movie better. It feels like they dumbed it down for the new one.

I bought this going in blind. My friends all told me that it was amazing and I wanted to see it for a while so finally I bought it. I have watched quite a few anime's in my day and I must say that Akira was by far the most in depth and artistic I have ever seen. Props to the artists who took the time to make this film because it was just simply amazing. The story is very interesting and keeps you watching, never did I want to stop watching or take a break. The animation is very cool and quite intricate. Have an open mind going into this film (as you should to be watching all anime) as there are some strange parts that are awesome in my opinion. (This is where the animation gets really intense) There is a bit of gore and swearing so I wouldn't recommend letting young kids watch this but that is up to what you believe. All in all a must buy. (Just a little side note if you want to check out some other good anime's then here are a few.....Anything from Studio Ghibli are a must see, Berserk....very graphic and medieval like, and finally one of my favorites High School Of The Dead....which is very graphic and has quite a bit of sexual innuendo (Zombie series) Studio Ghibli you could let your kids watch as it is in collaboration with Disney but the others I just listed lol I wouldn't. Check em out!

The day I saw this movie I was in shock and filled with excitment. Before, I never saw an anime or knew what it was, I thought it was no more than japanese Disney. In the the end of the 80's is when I saw Akira and I loved anime ever since. This movie makes you not want to get up out of your seat and possibly lead you to soil your pants. The only thing I don't like about the special edition is the remastering of the original english dubbing. The old dubbing had more character and brass which helped me love it so much, with that extra umph I marvelled this movie for a very long time. Get it!

First off let me clear something up. THE NEW DUB IS MUCH MUCH BETTER THAN THE ORIGINAL!!! EVERYONE THAT KEEPS DOWN-TALKING IT HAVE CLEARLY NEVER SEEN THE JAPANES VERSION!! If you're going to redub an anime you're not going to hire voice that sound just like the original, you want voices that fit the characters and sound like the Japanese voices.

Glad I got that out.

Now as for the DVD we all know this one's a classic. Every anime fan should own this movie. It's packed FULL of extras and it looks and sounds better than it ever has. Plus the new dub sounds great. Pioneer went through great lenghths to keep this dub as close to the original Japanes version as possible and they have succeeded. Get this movie!!

This is a great movie, one that really makes you think. If you really pay attention to details, something clicks in your mind at the end of the movie that says, "AHA! I get it now!" and then moments later, "Or do I?" It is has a good plot with strong philosophical overtones that really come through if you pay attention to the details. If you like action, this is a safe bet. If you like Sci-Fi, this is a safe bet. However the movie's strength comes in its well developed, intriguing plot and in its ability to really make you think.

Although I don't own the DVD myself, I have seen the new dub and it is much better than the old one, it clears up so many questions I had about the plot, and those lines that just sounded really awkward aren't there (Anyone remember Tetsuo saying something along the lines of, "want to turn me into a humanoid like the others"? and Tetsuo IS human, by the way). And overall the new dub made sense, so it didn't just leave me dumbfounded at the end like the older dub did. I haven't watched any subtitled versions, though.

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!!

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.

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.

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.

What can I say about this movie? One thing is for sure, it's not for casual watching. Every single sentence in this movie is important, you have to pay complete attention to understand it, and even then you wont understand it first time. The first time I watched it, I had no idea what it all meant, but it was still hauntingly beautiful. It left me with curiousity, I watched again and understood a little more. I asked questions and watched another time, and it took three viewings of this movie for it all to come together. This movie has enough plots for 5 movies, it's an amazing film animated or otherwise. If you want questions answered go to a search engine and type in "akira FAQ" It might help out a bit.

The music in this movie is so unique, it's a blend between ethnic and futuristic, but it really fits the mood of the movie. This has to be one of my top 10 movies because everything in this movie has a reason. It may not seem that way upon first viewing. But keep watching it comes all together.

Example: Tetsuo has a dream about him and Kaneda playing when they're young. He sees the building in front of him collapse, and then he himself physically collapses, but Kaneda isn't harmed.

This wasn't stuck in the movie just to capture the attention of the viewers. The meaning of the dream is that Tetsuo would destroy the city, and then himself, but his love for Kaneda would keep Kaneda alive. This is one example of hidden meanings lying within this movie.

As for the dub, yes the first dub was better, but even if it was on the dvd. I'd still choose the Japanese, it honestly does the best job of portraying the characters emotions. So don't complain about the dub, watch the Japanese, it's better then both.

The animation is top notch, and it is very vivid. It amazes me to think this film was made in 1988.

Akira will frustrate those who are not willing to spend some time thinking about a movie. But for the rest of us, it's a film we can actually think about, it's not a movie that shoves everything in your face, you will come to your own conclusions, and that's what makes it so beautiful.