Akira DVD

Advantages: Another Toho movie on dvd
Disadvantages: No bonus features

...Takarada U.S. Screenplay by William J. Keenan US Producer Arthur Rankin Jr Production Toho Co LTD. Soundtrack The Late AKIRA IFUKUBE Features English Mono Subtitles none Color Run time 1hr 32 mins Contains mild violence. Overall this is a priceless DVD to add to your collection provided that you are into any of the following ......................... sci-fi comedy Dai Kaiju (Japanese for big monster) Akira Ifukube Godzilla Toho studios King Kong Robots I myself love this movie for a few reasons..................... I am a big Akira Ifukube music fan I am a big fan of the TOHO GODZILLA movies I am also a big Dai Kaiju fan as well I had all the 8 inch Bandai Dai Kaiju Godzilla vinyl figures from 1992 - 1995 Sadly my house was broken into back in 1995 and everything was stolen & can't be replaced.... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: Two 'versions' of a popular anime, relatively cheap
Disadvantages: Dated and overly extravagant

...knock-offs, that's for sure. From Kaneda's crumbling grip over his small gang to Tetsuo's escalating mental problems and superego we, the audience, are presented with a gritty tale of the near-future mixed up with liberal helpings of almost-fantasy. Again I shall treat "special effects" as referring to "animation" and, while I know and understand that this is an old film I will just say that you shouldn't expect to be wowed by Akira's animation. It was absolutely amazing for its time, but that time has passed. The soundtrack is simply wonderful, lots of luvverly orchestral scores with choral overtones, which I have always felt really lends credence to an epic. And Akira is an epic. To my knowledge it's still around 20 quid in most retail outlets but of course you can get it second-hand, or even new on amazon for much less. For a DVD boxset... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: Fabulous and detailed visuals, brilliant setting, pioneering ideas, great action sequences, £7.99
Disadvantages: Original version has unclear picture, storyline issues, no match for Princess Mononoke, violence

...If you asked a member of the public to name a single film they would most associate with the anime genre, then chances are it would be Akira. Animatrix has come and gone, Spirited Away has won itself a well-deserved Oscar, but its unlikely there will ever be another anime that will match the global impact of Akira - a film that remains religiously popular amongst the anime community almost twenty years on thanks to its unique style and ability to break the general prejudice outside of Japan that animation is merely a child's pursuit; its only a shame that subsequent releases haven't built upon it more. In 1987, Katsuhiro Ôtomo completed the film adaptation of his own epic manga, which comprised of several thousand pages. The Ultimate Edition DVD - consisting of the original and remastered editions of the film - would take a further 16... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful