Amazon.com essential video: Artist-writer Katsuhiro Ôtomo began telling the story of Akira as a comic book series in 1982 but took a break from 1986 to 1988 to write, direct, supervise, and design this animated film version. Set in 2019, the film richly imagines the new metropolis of Neo-Tokyo, which is designed from huge buildings down to the smallest details of passing vehicles or police uniforms. Two disaffected orphan teenagers--slight, resentful Tetsuo and confident, breezy Kaneda--run with a biker gang, but trouble grows when Tetsuo start to resent the way Kaneda always has to rescue him. Meanwhile, a group of scientists, military men, and politicians wonder what to do with a collection of withered children who possess enormous psychic powers, especially the mysterious, rarely seen Akira, whose awakening might well have caused the end of the old world. Tetsuo is visited by the children, who trigger the growth of psychic and physical powers that might make him a superman or a supermonster. As befits a distillation of 1,318 pages of the story so far, Akira is overstuffed with character, incident, and detail. However, it piles up astonishing set pieces: the chases and shootouts (amazingly kinetic, amazingly bloody) benefit from minute cartoon detail that extends to the surprised or shocked faces of the tiniest extra; the Tetsuo monster alternately looks like a billion-gallon scrotal sac or a Tex Avery mutation of the monster from The Quatermass Experiment; and the finale--which combines flashbacks to more innocent days with a destruction of Neo City and the creation of a new universe--is one of the most mind-bending in all sci-fi cinema. --Kim Newman
Description: In 1988, the landmark Anime film AKIRA, by director Katsuhiro Otomo, defined the cutting edge of Anime around the world. By today's standards, Akira remains the pinnacle of cel animation and retains the explosive impact of its highly detailed animation and its intensely violent saga of power and corruption. Neo-Tokyo has risen from the ashes of World War III to become a dark and dangerous megalopolis infested with gangs and terrorists. The government seethes with corruption and only maintains a token control over the powerful military that prevents total chaos and hides the secrets of the past. Childhood friends Tetsuo and Kaneda plunge into Neo-Tokyo's darkest secret when their motorcycle gang encounters a military operation to retrieve an escaped experimental subject. Tetsuo, captured by the military, is subjected to experiments that make him a powerful psychic, but, unfortunately for Neo-Tokyo, Tetsuo's powers rage out of control and he lashes out at the world that has oppressed him! Nothing can stop the destructive forces that Tetsuo wields except possibly the last boy to destroy Tokyo. Insert: 1) Black BRC response card (regular version).
2) Todd McFarlane Toy Insert (limited to 300,000 total inserts) * Anime masterpiece first time ever on DVD for North American release! * Created and directed by Katsuhiro Otomo. Special Features: * Digitally re-mastered including High Definition film transfer, High Definition restoration. * THX Certified * New English dialogue, new 5.1 mix (on the English audio only), scene access and more. * Disc 2 contains supplementary materials including "Akira" Production Report, "Sound Clip," director's interview, trailers, production materials, Restoration of "Akria", and "Akria" glossary. * Widescreen format (1:78) and enhanced for widescreen TV's (anamorphic). Akria The Special Edition (DVD9, 2 discs)
That's Mister Kaneda to You, Punk! The Good Things *Loads of fantastic action. *Fair (but notable) amounts of bloody violence. *Despite the age, the animation quality is good. Backgrounds are extremely detailed and artistic. Video remastery has made the colors very vivid. *Art design is great. Even though the characters look a little weird, they are memorable. Above all, the city stands out and the bikes are cool. *Interesting story. It's actually very thick with politics and far-out ideas, and may come across as convoluted at first. It's good, because it keeps you thinking (could be bad too, because it may be confusing). *Some deep themes to think about (about society and humanity, for example). Lots of fascinating ideas. *Interesting cast of characters, which are fairly well-developed. *Although die-hard fans may prefer the original 1988 dubbing, I believe that the new English dubbing on this disc is great. The voices match the characters better (Kaneda no longer sounds like a sufer dude), it's not as goofy (the General no longer growls all the time), and some phrases sound better. *Bizzare (but good) music.
The Bad Things *Even with the new English dubbing, some of the dialogue is goofy or corny. Some of it is laughable (could also be a good thing, because it's fun and memorable). *The two main characters like to scream at each other a lot ("Tetsuo!!!!!" "Kaneda!!!!!!!"). It's kind of funny. *As noted above, plotline can be confusing. *Storyline is shortened for the film format, and is therefore different from the manga (albiet the movie is a good adaptation anyway; both the comic and the film were made by the same man).
It is easy to see why this film stands out as one of the most essential anime films ever made; it is to anime what "Star Wars" was to live-action movies. It is loaded with innovative action scenes; most of them still blow me away. It is fast, furious, and completely unrestricted. Above all, it has exceptional quality in all respects (art, story-telling, music, sound, etc). The story may be hard to follow in some spots, and the characters may not be as well-developed as in other films (like "The Ninja Scroll" or "Berserk"). Still, it is wildly entertaining and somewhat thought-provoking. I highly reccomend this film to anybody who is even remotely interested in anime (and doesn't mind seeing some blood).
It is English dubbed (the new 2001 dubbing, not the old 1988 dubbing), but I am sure that it also includes the original Japanese dubbing with English subtitles.
Disc one includes a cool subtitles track that translates background graffitti. Disc two includes shed-loads of still image galleries (something like 4,000 images!). It also has a few feauturettes and the trailer.
A Classic One of the best Japanese animation projects ever made, Akira is a true classic. The story does tend to get just a little silly at the end, but the movie as a whole is extremely entertaining, and the quality of the animation still holds a standard over today's sci-fi movies.
A note on the "New" English Dialog: It actually makes the story easier to understand. For those of you who were hoping to find the "Original English" dub, its not provided on the Special Edition, contrary to some false info I have read on forums claiming it is. I missed the old voices, especially from the first time I saw this movie in a theater in NYC. None the less, the nostalgia holds faithful. Akira is fantastic.
Telekinetic Armageddon Akira is frequently cited as the best Magna of all time. This is probably due to the barrage on the senses that lasts for well over 60 minutes in the second half of the movie which is a non-stop smash down of Neo-Tokyo done in the style of the day of reckoning.
The story revolves around the mysterious Akira, which gives people special powers so dangerous that they can basically nuke buildings by thought alone.
The film takes place in Neo-Tokyo where the government is using the military to shutdown a revolution that is taking place of the streets. Biker gangs cause chaos and are involved in constant reprisals. One gang of teens finds themselves becoming embroiled in a conspiracy involving a scientific experiment of a magnitude that threatens civilization as we know it.
Not everybody is a fan of Akira the first time round but some of this movie's most ardent supporters found themselves suddenly taken aback by it only after subsequent viewings. Akira grows on you, and over the decades remains a classic example of how Manga changed all action movies forever.
Akira is up there with the likes of Vampire Hunter D, Ninja Scroll and Ghost in a Shell, so if you are looking for the best of the best Manga, or even just outrageously good mayhem, then Akira is a must see.
Akira, not all it's cracked up to be Ah yes, Akira. After many years of anime fandom and having watched great movies like Perfect Blue and Vampire Hunter D, I expected this acclaimed anime to be best I had ever seen. I read tons of reviews and decided it was time I watched it as well. I sat in anticipation in front of my computer as the opening credits ran. But when the ended, I wasn't surprised by the 80s animation (I experienced plenty of that with Vampire Hunter D). As the story progressed, I got attached to the characters and thought damn...WHEN DOES THIS END?!?! The movie drug on and on and was FAR too long. In the end, I felt like the writers just dragged out the plot for the animation (that isn't even really that great). In the end, I was left thinking, "What the hell just happened?" Oh well, I wasted 2 and a half or so of my life. At least now I know what everyone is talking about...I just don't idolize Akira like everyone else.
For my Boyfriend I got this gift for my boyfriend and when he opened up the gift he picked me up and swung me around yelling this is awesome!! I think that this is a great gift for the anime lover, and for the weird movie lover in your life. It is one of the 100 greatest films you have to see and one of the 100 greatest gifts I have given.
Anything Goes Trivia
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