Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #11397 in DVD
• Released on: 2003-06-23
• Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
• Number of discs: 2
• Formats: Box set, PAL
• Original language: English, French, Italian, Japanese, Spanish
• Number of discs: 2
• Running time: 300 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
Artist-writer Katsuhiro Omoto 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 Kanada--run with a biker gang, but trouble grows when Tetsuo start to resent the way Kanada 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 super-monster.

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 shoot-outs (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

On the DVD: as befits this film's status as a Manga classic, Akira has a wide selection of extras spread across two discs, including a "Making of Akira" documentary, a photo gallery, a quiz and a "Make your own trailer" feature, as well as one hidden feature on each disc. The film has been digitally remastered and presented in widescreen format, with Dolby Digital 5.1 for the English-dubbed version, and Dolby Digital 2.0 for the original Japanese language version. The only disappointment of the disc is the animated Scene Selection, where the clips are rendered so small that they can be a bit difficult to decipher. --Rob Burrow

DVD Description
It’s 2019, the world is on the brink of absolute destruction. Tokyo shimmers with tech-noir fetishism, gangs of cyber-punk bikers cruise the sprawl of the post-atomic city and rioting crowds surge under the neon-topped buildings looming a thousand storeys into the sky. Now, old gods return to do battle with Akira and something more than comic book ultra-violence is unleashed. Prepare to enter this astonishing nightmare of hyper-reality created by one of the world’s leading animation directors, Otomo Katsuhiro.

Special Features
Disc One:

• Digitally remastered feature
  
• 16:9 Anamorphic Widescreen
  
• English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound
  
• English Stereo 2.0
  
• Japanese Stereo 2.0
  
• English, Norwegian, Danish, Portugese, Finnish and Swedish subtitles
  
• Running Time: 130 mins approx.

Disc Two:

• Original feature
  
• 4.3 Full Screen
  
• English Stereo 2.0
  
• Production Report
  
• Manga Previews
  
• Running Time: 180 mins approx.

Customer Reviews

Shame about the subtitles
I don't intend to offer a full review here, just make a couple of remarks regarding this version of the film. I originally bought the collector's edition of Akira when it first came out on VHS. I love the film and it is as good as its reputation, so if you've never seen it and are hesitating about buying it, go right ahead.

But just a few words for those hardcore Manga fans out there regarding this particular release. If, like me, you prefer watching the original language versions of Manga films you may want to think twice about the Ultimate Collection. Why? Well, there's only one English subtitle track and it's for the hearing impared. This means that, along with the dialog, you get a load of little notes regarding what sort of background sounds accompany the scene, which is, frankly, as annoying as hell. Take the opening, for example, with the dramatic shot across the crater, you're just getting into the mood of the film when up pops "[wind blowing]" along the bottom of the screen. This sort of thing spoils the atmosphere of the film, especially when you can hear the wind blowing for yourself. I'm not saying there shouldn't be comments for the hearing impared, I'm saying that there should be the option to have regular subtitles as well, without all the little sound effect comments.

Second issue; one of the selling points of the re-mastered version is the new translations. Sadly, though some parts of the dialog are much better and flow more naturally, many other parts lose out. The original had more 'peotic' phrasing in some areas where the new version sounds cold and awkward. For example, where the orginal version wonders whether Akira's power might be "divine", the new version wonders if it "comes from God". On the whole I prefer the original text. Once again I am commenting on the subtitles, I'm afraid I still can't bear watching the dubbed version of the film (even this "improved" version) - it is still not anywhere near as good as the original Japanese voice acting.

Aside from the niggles regarding translation and subtitles, the image quality is very good, I've finally rediscovered the subtelties in colour shades and crisp image I experienced when I first saw the film in the cinema, both of which were sadly lacking from the VHS version.

So, does this version merit the "Ultimate Collection" tag? I'd say close, but not quite...

Almost, but not quite ultimate
Well what can i say about Akira that hasn't already written. It really is one of the greatest films ever made. I remember when it first appeared as part of the inital wave of anime released by Manga Video back in the mid nineties and i absolutley loved it. The dubbing was ok compared to a lot of other early efforts, but its the storyline and animation that really pull you in.

The film is set in 2019, thirty years after a secret weapons project during World War 3 destroyed Tokyo and centres around the friendship between two gang members, Kaneda and Tetsuo. After Tetsuo is involved in a bike accident with an escaped Military test subject, he is then captured and experimented on to give him powerful psychic abilities. Unfortunately his powers get out of control and a new threat looms on the horizon for Neo Tokyo.

In 2002 they released a version of Akira on DVD, this is what the fans had been waiting for for long enough. It looked beautiful it has to be said, and the remastered sound is a feast on the ears, but what happened with the dubbing. All those classic lines had now been repleaced. Growing up with the original dub i was so dissappointed that they had done this, for me it had ruined an already perfect film. Fair enough the new dub is probably a bit closer, and the syncing is better but it just wasn't akira anymore.

And now we have the 'Ultimate Collection'. Finally they've put the original dub on to dvd but have left it in its original state, and you can clearly see the difference in quality between it and the remastered version. And shame on Manga Video, the first disc is the disc from the 2 DVD version from 2002, they couldn't be bothered to do a completely new package. Very disappointing.

Having said that if you're new to Manga and Akira then get this version as its got everything you could ever want to know about one of the greatest films ever made.

Any chance of a remastered version of the original dub then Manga Video. Then i'll be happy.

Puts the rest to shame
This film is worth watching JUST for how it's animated. Seriously, it puts other animated features to shame. From background detail (not one frame doesn't look incredibly precise) to character movement to the fact they LIP-SYNCED THE DIALOGUE, the whole thing screams dedication. The colouring, lighting effects, everything is just gorgeous. So many films made in the 20 or so years since this was released have come close.

A lot of people have complained the plot is incomprehensible. Indeed, it's only after years of watching it that I've been able to understand just about everything that happens. This stems from the fact that the film (or anime) is derived from the manga (that's a style of comic book in Japan, not the anime film company of the same name; confusing, right?) which director Otomo had been writing for 8 years at that point. So epic in scope, so universally massive is the written work that it was actually completed two years AFTER the film version. As such, the film excises much of the detail of the manga in favour of a possibly more contrived ending. But it's still a hell of a story.

Tetsuo is a younger member of a group of friends and as such is treated as a child, and he develops a bit of a complex about it. Worse yet, he's exposed to (or already harbours) a vast, immeasurable power that literally threatens to obliterate the entire city of Neo-Tokyo. His inferiority complex makes this a much worse problem than it needs be. The film follows his exploits as his friends try to save or stop him, and the government and the military fail to cooperate on the particularly serious matter of what to do. Add to this civil unrest, political upheaval and implied divine intervention and you've got yourself a labyrinthine plot worthy of a latter-day TV series at least. As the film draws to it's conclusion, the reset button is pressed for the second time in fifty years and you can't help but wonder if, with the way it's headed, humanity is worth mourning. Otomo's statement about the (dubious) value of life is buried within the picture, but on first viewing you might be too concerned with the spectacular bike battle, giant milk teddy or stadium-eating mutant to notice.

The only problem with this DVD, as well as all available versions, is the splitting of the audio tracks. Basically, the Japanese original track is the best, not least because of the aforementioned lip-syncing, but watching an animated feature with subtitles is a tad too distacting, particularly one of such relentless beauty. The best option in this respect is the original English dub from the late 80s, with a few Metal Gear Solid alumni and other familiar voice actors. Nothing can beat the performance of Mitsuo Iwata as Kaneda (there are so many subtleties to his dialogue and screams exclusive to the Japanese language that just don't carry over), but it's the best you can do. There was a second English dub made in 2002 or so with a wholly rubbish cast, expressionless and monotonous. Sadly, this is the option we're presented with on this collection's first disc, the full-screen remaster of the film. The original dub is on the second disc, but the picture is much worse and it's in 4:3 as well. Shame. The forthcoming Blu-Ray also only offers the inferior dub.

This film seems to be out of print for the time being, so if you get a chance pick it up. This is the best version to get, as once you've watched the sterling remaster on Disc 1 you have the option of the English dub on Disc 2. Like you most likely know, it's a benchmark in animation, not to mention a landmark, but it's also hugely accessible- no aliens, talking animals or tentacle misgivings here. You really owe yourself the treat of watching Akira at least once.