Akira

IMDB
First time viewed: No
Current Release: No
Watched With: Myself

I'm a huge Akira fan, like so many others it was my gateway film to the world of Anime. I have just finished reading the 6 volume set of the original Manga and was surprised at how different it was.

Rewatching this now I can understand the role some of the minor character in the film had in the overall story. Their inclusion in the film is a little odd though, it makes the film more confusing than it needs to be. The film also contracts and rewrites a lot of things from the Manga. They actually compliment each other quite nicely.

Watching this on bluray is a treat. I know the 2 English dubs well so for the first time I decided to listen to the Japanese audio with English subtitles. I don't know why I haven't done this sooner. It's incredible! They've spruced it up and I think re-recorded some of the sound effects and music for the bluray version. There are definite differences in the music at least. I cannot stress enough just how amazing it sounds. Apparently it's all recorded at 192Hz, instead of the usual 48. I only have a vague idea of what that means but yeah, it sounds great. I've always loved the music, it's so strange, quite 80's in parts and such an odd choice for the pictures it goes with. I've always loved the music, it's so strange, quite 80's in parts and such an odd choice for the pictures it goes with.

The coolest thing about the Japanese track is the lip-synch. This is the only Japanese animation I know of that used the western process of recording the dialogue first and then animating to match rather than the usual Japanese way. It's not Disney or anything but it's definitely far more detailed than most Anime. Not just in the lip-synching but in all the animation and backgrounds. Otomo's work is always gloriously detailed. Just look at Steamboy, my god. Unfortunately I've been spoiled by these latest disney bluray releases where they've cleaned up all the pictures digitally. That's not the case here, there's still a lot of the film grain and a few specks. Still looks better than ever though.

All this talk of Warner Bros. developing a new live-action version for the American market it slightly worrying. Now that I've read the manga I kind of do want to see some of the second half of the story realised on film, but there's so much they could so easily screw up with this one. However seeing how much Otomo changed his own story for his film version I guess we'll have to keep an open mind, wait and see.

If you've never experienced this film, you should at least give it a watch. It's an iconic classic that defined an entire genre for a generation. It's an incredible achievement in animation.