Regular Price $24.98

Starring: Mitsuo Iwata,  Nozomu Sasaki,  Mami Koyama,  Tesshô Genda,  Hiroshi Ôtake, 
Directed By: Katsuhiro Ôtomo, 
Rated: R (Restricted)
Release Date: 2001-07-24
Studio: Geneon [Pioneer]
Format: Animated,  Color,  Dolby,  DTS Surround Sound,  Widescreen,  NTSC, 

Editorial Reviews and DVD Information about Akira (DTS)

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

Customer Reviews for Akira (DTS)

What led to so much more
It really is unbelievable just how many animes derived and used something from this movie. Obvious origins can be compared to Dragon Ball and Elfen Lied, but so many ideas were first featured in this film that later translated into full-length anime series. Aside from setting the groundwork for future animes, this film was also one of the greatest, if not the greatest, anime film ever made (though my favorite is still Spirited Away).
The best aspect of this film, in my opinion, is the character development of Kaneda and Tetsuo, best friends in the film. While Kaneda evolves into a more empathatic person, Tetsuo makes the most dramatic changes, from a jealous and weak individual, to an insane, angry, blood thirsty villian, to a frightened child who clearly realizes his mistakes. Tetsuo has to be my personal favorite villian from any film, purely due to how well he is developed and the absolute human, kind-natured side to him that is apparent throughout the film.
Besides that, the movie is the orgin of anime for most anime fans, and is an absolute must-see film for anyone in my opinion, even for those who don't usually like anime. I mean, who doesn't like an awesome story line, great character developemnt, big explosions with high intensity sequences, and a great ending in my opinion. One of the greatest anime films ever made, and the film that really started it all for anime's popularity.Akira (DTS)

Fantastic piece of classic Anime
Akira in many ways put Anime on the map, at least in the US, but is deserves to be recognized as more than a gateway film into the world of Anime. It is the classic post-apocalyptic setting, a story about what happens when science and teenage hormones run amuck. The film tells the story of a teenage motorcycle gang, and their troubled, latent psychic and second in command Tetsuo. It is an examination of diverse psychology, The Will To Power, corruption in various forms, and ultimately, sacrifice. The artistry of the animation is still amazing almost twenty years later, and the story is just as compelling now as it was then.Akira (DTS)

Amazing Must See
An amazing trend setting Animated film; intense, believable characters, deep story line, incredible animation, sound, and music. A pivotal, groundbreaking work that has inspired animators and film makers since.Akira (DTS)

Still one of the best...
In the years since Akira was first unleashed, a lot has changed in anime - and movies in general, animated or not. Animation has become more sophisticated, voice acting has gotten much better and I think Akira is a big reason why (along with the likes of Ghost In The Shell and Armitage III).

I picked this up a couple years ago, and was mostly happy with my purchase. It sill looks as good as I remember, and the option to translate some of the grafitti and signs is nice for gaijin like me. However, I'm not as fond of the new English dub. While I don't remember the original dialogue line for line, this isn't the same. Some of the voices sound *off* and I'm pretty sure some of the dialogue was changed.

I consider myself a fan of anime, not a fanatic. I'm not familiar hundreds of titles, I don't know everyone's name and I don't worship everything that comes out of Japan. I guess that's part of why I prefer dubs over subs. Even with the best translations, you don't get the full meaning unless you're familiar with the original language, in which case you don't need to be using the subtitles anyway. With the right voice actors and the proper way of translation and localizing the dialogue (and other things, if needed), you can convey the exact same thing, even if it's not a 100% accurate, word for word translation. Subtitles can't do much beyond tell you what the person is saying; they can't tell you how they're saying it, what they're stressing, stuff like that. Some things don't translate very well, and changing them to something that makes sense in the subtitles doesn't always work; you need something more, which English voice acting has a much better chance of doing.

But that's just a matter of personal opinion. The English dub is the only thing I find flawed with this release. Of course, the movie itself has issues of its own - namely the rushed feeling that the end that seems as though the Akira Committee started to run out of steam. Some may point out that this doesn't tell the whole story that the manga version does or remain faithful to every detail in it, but that shouldn't stop you from seeing this movie.

20 years later, Akira is still a must see if you're into anime that's not of the non-sensical sort. And even if you're not into anime, it should still be worth a watch or two. Just go into this with an open mind and be prepared to see or hear something new each time.

Sure, it may not be the best anime ever, but it's still up there as one of the best around. Top 10 material, even.Akira (DTS)

It's okay.
When I first saw this in the early '90s, I thought, "What a load of over-rated technotrash." I thought the underlying plot about a government conspiracy of psychics, a dystopian future, and some kid getting messed up on pills before turning into a giant tentacle machine was retarded.

And I was right. I rented the movie again, about a decade later, wondering if perspective would change my mind. Nope. It's still a bad film. Sure, it's pretty and all, what with the awesome motorcycle and... Uh... Damn, that and the giant psychoturd at the end are really the only two visuals to come out of the film, aren't they?

Man, this thing's horrible. Just don't even bother with this hot mess. Instead, here are some useful things you could do with your money: go buy some Uniball 207 medium point gel pens and draw your own hentai; pick up the first two volumes of "100 Bullets" and get hooked; "Sea Monsters" for the Wii; light some cigars with some Lincolns.

One star. But only because I can't give it fewer.Akira (DTS)