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Review: The epic that taught us anime could be great gets even greater as Akira goes Blu-ray
We're a decade past the time when hits like Pokemon and Dragonball Z helped make Japanese animation a smash mainstream phenomenon, so it's gotten pretty easy to forget some of the older classics. We're talking about the real cornerstones of the medium, the works of animation genius that established a handful of quirky Tokyo film and TV animation houses as artistic and storytelling pioneers.
Foremost among these oft-neglected classics is Akira, an electrifying science fiction fable from 1988. Yep, that's more than 20 years ago. Time flies, huh?
Akira is often remembered for its importance in establishing anime as a mature, sophisticated storytelling medium going way beyond just presenting a startling tale of youthful rebellion and corruption in a bombed-out future Tokyo. It showcases the sheer visual potential of the animation medium in a way that very, very few films have; it's a movie bursting with arresting images and luster (and cool motorbikes).
But why am I bringing up Akira? Well, it's pretty simple: you can now nab this beauty of a movie on Blu-ray. Granted, Akira's DVD release—now sadly out of print—benefited from a video remaster and re-recorded English audio. It took a movie badly in need of a makeover and made it pretty again. But that DVD's gotten scarce, and even if you picked it up, there are other reasons to give Akira another look.
The film's producers have gone back to the well and created an even fresher transfer for this new high-definition release. Akira is a revelation in 1080p, exploding with color and movement. It seriously has never looked this good. The original Japanese audio is also a technical highlight: it is gorgeous to hear and totally uncompressed. It's also packed with extra documentaries and storyboards and all of the little things we've come to love about movies on optical media. It's also important to note that the English audio features the newer dubbed version, which is notable for its accurate translation and lack of hilarious one-liners from the old theatrical dub ("Men, we're going to the Olympics!").
It's high time that anime fans witness this film in its full glory. Akira used to be a staple of anime—just part of the curriculum, you know? But decades after its arrival, a lot of younger anime fans don't know that much about it. It's time to take them to school with this Blu-ray release—if you hunt carefully, you might even find Bandai Entertainment's initial version, which includes a slipcase and nifty booklet. Time to rediscover an anime classic; you can start right here in Neo-Tokyo.
By REDante at 6:37 AM ON 04/16/09
Im all for it im glad to see this classic go blue ray, except once again another version to buy. How many bersions are there now? What new features can this one hold asides from the new look. Oh I know, how about an alternate ending that gives you closure rather then WTF???
By Jen at 8:12 AM ON 04/16/09
I saw the movie then read the comicbooks (which were published under Marvel's Epic line back in the 80's/90's). More recently Dark Horse published Akira in five volumes.
You've got to read the comics if you want closure. Besides that, the comics are brilliant. The movie is good, the comics are better.
By Robert V Aldrich at 8:58 AM ON 04/16/09
I find it interesting that the newer Pioneer dub is heralded as being superior. There are a lot of fans, including myself, who strongly prefer the original Streamline dub.
By nilus at 10:06 AM ON 04/16/09
Personally I would have hoped the blu-ray would have both dubs. The newer dub is more accurate but the classic steamline dub is what I grew up watching.
By Boda at 10:54 AM ON 04/16/09
I have this Blu-Ray. And I must say that I agree 100% with this review. Even if you've seen 'Akira' a million times, seeing it in this format will be like seeing it for the first time!
By stealthgear at 12:20 PM ON 04/16/09
The most recent dub is superior because the dialogue actually makes more sense, however the color seemed almost too vivid when they redid it in the computer. I almost wonder what the original animators thought of the color saturation? Was it like they painted? So I'm not sure...I want to find out what they thought. Wish I had a blu ray for this! Overall a good movie looking back, but some of the extra content, like the children & politics, eclipses the focus on Kaneda & Tetsuo's rivalry. It was like two worlds colliding into one ending.
By IsoTek at 10:57 PM ON 04/16/09
Robert V Aldrich, Stealthgear's assesment on the Pioneer voice dub is correct. The Streamline version suffered horribly from translation anomalies of the time that have been remedied now. In addition the voice acting was rather poor for the Streamline dub. I know they tried hard but just because you have Jimmy Flinders (Cam Clarke) doing a voice doesn't automatically make it better. I remember when the Streamline dub hit the arthouse theater circuit and I and my best friend having seen the non-translated japanese laserdisk based tape were mortified with the sound of the characters. We didn't know how really bad we had it until the subtitled version came out. Now with Pioneer we get better voices and translation, which in alot of otaku's minds is a better deal overall.
By Robert V Aldrich at 3:09 PM ON 04/19/09
IsoTek, I think you (and Stealthgear) are right about the Pioneer dub being a better translation, but I will argue that the Streamline is a better performance. The lines and voices seemed to represent the characters and story better. For example, when Kanada's trying to pick-up Kei after they're released. In the Japanese and Pioneer dubs (if memory serves), Kanada suggests they go get some tea. In the Streamline, he suggests they 'go have some laughs'. To me, that line better represented the character I was seeing.
At the end of the day, it's opinion, and I certainly don't want to sound like I'm aruging or denouncing yours (or anyone else's). I think nilus' suggestion having both dubs is an excellent idea. I can't imagine an extra audio track taking up that much space on a Blu-ray disc.
By jb at 12:59 PM ON 04/23/09
Must. Buy. This. Now.
By Doug at 6:44 PM ON 06/21/09
I'm sorry but anyone who prefers the new dub has no taste. In the new dub Kaneda doesn't even sound like a bike punk, he sounds like an honor student! Watching the new dub is like someone drew mustaches on my grandma's picture...messing with my cherished childhood memories.
I usually only watch anime with subtitles, but these Streamline dubs were the best. Akira and Fist of the North Star are actually BETTER dubbed than in original Japanese IMHO! Man, just think about some of the line deliveries in Fist...classic!
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Doug:
I'm sorry but anyone who prefers the new dub has no taste. In the new dub Kaneda doesn't even sound like a bike pu...More »