Akira Collection on DVD (1988)

A customer from Reading, England , 26/05/2005

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.

  32 out of 37 people found this review helpful

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Noel Clay from Colchester, England , 06/11/2004

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.

  25 out of 27 people found this review helpful

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Martin from Newcastle, England , 30/01/2004

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.

  17 out of 19 people found this review helpful

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sadboy69 from tyne & wear , 10/02/2005

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.

  12 out of 12 people found this review helpful

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A customer from UK , 30/08/2008

Too long and boring.

  1 out of 1 person found this review helpful

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