8.3 | / 10 |
Users | 4.6 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.2 |
On July 16, 1988, Tokyo was destroyed by what was believed to be a new type of bomb, triggering World War III. Thirty-one years later, in 2019, Neo-Tokyo has arisen from ashes under Japan's new political system; but the glittering city is built on foundations of poverty, ignorance and despair. Kaneda and his friends, a bunch of juvenile delinquents, rumble with a rival group of bikers. While the police attempt to disperse a riot with tear gas, the rumble continues. Tetsuo takes the lead and, after disposing of his opponents, nearly runs down what looks to be a 100-year-old baby. Tetsuo's bike suddenly explodes and he is taken prisoner by the top-secret Akira Project where he is subjected to a series of tests which unleash his latent psycho-kinetic powers. But he is really more powerful than anyone imagined and breaks out, creating a swathe of destruction across the city as he mutates into another life form.
Starring: Mitsuo Iwata, Nozomu Sasaki, Mami Koyama, Masaaki Ôkura, Yuriko FuchizakiForeign | 100% |
Anime | 79% |
Sci-Fi | 45% |
Comic book | 25% |
Action | 21% |
Fantasy | 18% |
Drama | 15% |
Thriller | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Japanese: Dolby TrueHD 5.1 (192kHz, 24-bit)
Japanese: LPCM 2.0 (48kHz, 16-bit)
English: Dolby TrueHD 5.1 (48kHz, 16-bit)
Japanese: Dolby Digital 5.1
English, Japanese
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Slipcover in original pressing
Region free
Movie | 4.5 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 5.0 | |
Extras | 1.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Akira is arguably the most popular anime title of all time, and rightfully so. Originally released to Japanese theaters in 1988, the film was co-written and directed by Katsuhiro Otomo, who also created the long-running manga series by the same name. Personally, Akira was my first true introduction to the world of anime (for the record, "Transformers" and "Astro Boy" should also be considered anime, but in my youth, they were simply “cartoons”). From the first time I saw the film, I fell in love with all things anime. Perhaps it was the graphic use of violence in an animated feature, or the futuristic world spawned by the imagination of the film’s gifted creator, but something was downright compelling about Akira. Needless to say, my eyes were opened to something I never thought possible in animation, yet seemed so natural considering the limitations of live-action films.
"Nothing says fast like a red bike!"
Akira is presented in 1080P using the AVC codec, with an average bit-rate of 20
MBPS. I've seen Akira on cable (long ago), VHS, DVD, UMD, high-definition cable
(720P), and now Blu-ray. I'm pleased to report it holds up extremely well with the increased
resolution. Lines are nice and crisp, with no wavering or stair-stepping. Colors don't cover a
wide spectrum, but they appear to accurately reproduce the original print. For instance, the
reds on Kaneda's suit and bike show some level of differentiation, but not the amount we
would come to expect if Akira was made using today's film standards. In addition,
there are thankfully no instances of color variance from scene to scene (an example would
be if a character's jacket looked red in one scene, and orange in another, which tends to
happen when scenes are animated by different groups of people).
Black levels and
contrast are mostly excellent with the exception of one scene (see screen capture number
17), which came across a bieing slightly muddy in appearance. The consistency in detail from
scene to scene could have been better; some scenes look slightly out of focus in comparison
to other scenes, but this is likely more of a source issue and something that was not
noticeable prior to the increased resolution that Blu-ray offers. Lastly, I had one complaint
with the transfer that I tried to accurately capture in the final 3 screenshots. On 3
occasions, there appeared to be a hazy outline around the body or face of a character. This
did not appear to be a halo resulting from edge enhancement, but was not something I
would imagine was present in the source material. It is most apparent in the final
screenshot between the shoe and leg of Kaneda.
One other item worth
mentioning is the odd move to frame the picture on all four sides. On a 16:9 display, thin black bars on the top and
bottom of the screen are appropriate (for a 1.85:1 native aspect ratio), but it is frustrating to view a transfer that doesn't fully utilize the width of my display. I'm guessing this was done to prevent overscan on older
television sets (since the 1.85:1 native aspect ratio of the film is still accurately reproduced without cropping), but it should have been corrected when the film was transferred to high-
definition.
If I could pick one area where this Blu-ray truly shines, it would be the audio. The default
Japanese language track is presented in Dolby TrueHD 5.1 surround sound. There are also
Japanese tracks in Linear PCM 2.0 and Dolby Digital 5.1, but I only spent a brief time with
these inferior tracks. Getting back to the TrueHD track, this is easily the most noticeable
improvement I've heard in the transition to lossless sound. It was as if a blanket was lifted
from each of my speakers, and clarity took an instant jump. Spatial separation is dynamic,
dialogue is appropriately balanced, and there was an unbelievable level of clarity
throughout the film. This is one of those tracks that uses every speaker to envelope you in
the on-screen action. A helicopter pan across the soundstage is appropriately loud, but
never noisy, and the rumble of the film's many explosions resonates with an oomph you'll
feel in your chest.
In the booklet included with the disc, there is a lengthy
discussion of a theory known as the hypersonic effect, and how it was utilized in
remastering the audio track for this Blu-ray release. I can't say I understood everything
included in the 10-page explanation, but I did find it interesting that the film's original
composer, Shoji Yamashiro, is also a professor at the National Institute of Multimedia
Education, and has published books on "Sound Ecology". His studies have led to the theory
of the hypersonic effect, and he was instrumental in remastering the high bit-rate TrueHD
track for this Blu-ray release.
Rounding out the sound options is a Dolby TrueHD
5.1 track dubbed in English, which was on par with the quality of the Japanese TrueHD
track.
Sadly, the wealth of extras on the DVD special edition of Akira are mostly absent on this Blu-ray version, so you may not want to toss out that DVD just yet. All that's included are 5 of the film's theatrical trailers presented in 1080P with Linear PCM 2.0 audio and a Storyboard Collection replicated from Otomo's original drawings that spans an incredible 700 pages.
Akira is a highly influential film in the history of animation and should be viewed at least once by everyone who can stomach the violence. I understand some people are simply not fans of anime, but if you allow yourself to be transported to the world of Akira, you may find there is more to anime than just little green men shooting fireballs at each other. My only reservation in recommending this Blu-ray hinges on the lack of special features when compared to the prior Special Edition DVD release. If special features are your primary concern, I don't doubt that Akira will be revisited for this purpose in the future. In spite of that, Akira is a most welcome addition to any anime fan's growing library of Blu-ray editions, while featuring remarkable audio and the finest picture quality ever made available for this groundbreaking film.
アキラ | Limited Collector's Edition | First Pressing | with Booklet
1988
アキラ | 25th Anniversary Edition
1988
アキラ | Collector's Case Edition
1988
アキラ | Special Limited Edition
1988
1988
アキラ / Corrected HDR Version
1988
人狼
1999
イノセンス / Inosensu
2004
攻殻機動隊 / Kôkaku Kidôtai
1995
機動警察パトレイバー 2 the Movie
1993
Evangerion shin gekijôban: Jo
2007
王立宇宙軍 オネアミスの翼 / Ōritsu Uchūgun: Oneamisu no Tsubasa
1987
レドライン
2009
2002-2003
鋼の錬金術師 FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST
2009
コードギアス 反逆のルルーシュ / コードギアス 反逆のルルーシュR2
2006-2008
2007
Shin Seiki Evangelion Gekijō-ban The End of Evangelion: Air/Magokoro o, Kimi ni
1997
Special Edition | Bekushiru 2077 Nihon sakoku
2007
カウボーイビバップ 天国の扉
2001
2000
2011
1998
1995-1996
Memorîzu
1995
1998