Akira Collection Reviews

Careful

Be careful if you order Akira as it comes in two DVDs with the same feature on it. If you want to watch the digitally remastered version there is no point in ordering the original feature as well.

THE manga film of the 80's.

Back in those old care-free days, for many young impressionable lads a manga film called Akira was the coolest thing since Evil Dead.

Here in this sprawling two-hour futuristic epic, we follow the young leader of a biker gang as he tries to recover his kidnapped comrade and becomes involved in a peculiar government conspiracy known as the Akira project. Actually, that's pretty much all the storyline I was able to follow as it gets pretty confusing the first time round.

It's partially famous for it's groundbreaking style of animation and the massive scope of the project, and partially famous for it's sheer coolness. As you'd expect from manga there's plenty of strange images, explosions, high-tech gadgets, weird mutant thingies and gloriously bad dubbing to keep you entertained. You might find the Japanese sensibilities fascinating or just plain odd, it depends on how much you enjoy weirdness. But this film is a fairly good indication of whether or not you like manga.

If you enjoy this and want to watch some more classic manga, I recommend Vampire Hunter D for some vampire-slaying fun, or for something more recent check out Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke or anything else by Miyazaki.

landmark in animation

There isn't much to be said about Akira that hasn't already been said. Given that it was made some time around 1988 and the animation is a little dated it shouldn't give way to the fact that this is an awesome manga epic, quite possibly the best. Emphatic, absorbing, moving, it's got it all and that's all that needs to be said. Get it.

AKIRA,AKIRA,AKIRA,AKIRA!!!!!!!

The first anime movie I bought on VHS. Gripping action/sci-fi story with very adult themes. It has not lost any of its impact and looks and sounds much better on DVD now I can listen to the original Japanese soundtrack with subs.

One of the best adult anime movies to rent/see/own.

Mangatastic

By far the best Manga film I have ever seen, if not the best cartoon full stop. Great animation, great story, great direction. There are some mind blowing action sequences, easily on par with any live action films, if not better!

The only slight let down is the American voice actors, but they're not awful - some of them are just a bit ill chosen.

Apart from that, this is an amazing film and I can't recommend it enough.

Boring

Too long and boring.

Disc 2 only contains some Extras, didn't find them that exciting. It would have been a nice add-on to a movie disc, but it seems like they couldn't fit everything on once disc.

Astounding!

What a thought-provoking, amazingly drawn, written and executed piece of animation!

From start to finish a futuristic, yet realistic, overview of society's breakdown due to a 3rd world war. Caught in the middle of it all are two juvenile delinquents, Tetsuo and Kaneda. Tragically beautiful 'Akira' follows their friendship right to the very end.

With over 2 hours of ground-breaking animation, Akira is definitely one to watch!

[Highly rated reviewer]

The best animated film ever made. Simply breathtaking. It should be made compulsive viewing in schools around the world.

The Definitive Manga Movie

Every Manga fan MUST watch this movie, If you are new to Anime then this is one to watch, probably the most renouned Anime movie of all time, A fantasticly complex story line with great action scenes topped off with some of the most fantastic animated art work. A True Classic.