Akira (Special Edition)
$24.95
You Save: $5.00
Other Information
Director: Katsuhiro Otomo
Volume:
Duration(min): 124
Episodes:
Language: Japanese. English dub and sub.
Genre: Action
Rating: M
Region: 4 - Australia, New Zealand
Release Date: November 14, 2001
Neo-Tokyo, 2019. The city is well on the way to rebuilding after World War III. The central characters, Kaneda and Tetsuo, two high school drop-outs, are members of a joy-riding motorcycle gang. In the opening scene, Kaneda and Tetsuo stumble upon a secret government project to develop telekinetic humans, apparently for use as weapons. Tetsuo learns of the existence of his 'peer' Akira, the project's most powerful subject, and determines to challenge him...
DVD Special Features:
Million Dollar Restoration Includes New Film Interpositive, HD-5
High-Definition Mastering With Digital Restoration, THX Certification,
Re-Mixed Dolby Digital AC3 Surround Sound And Brand New English Dub
Akira Production Report
Original Japanese and USA Trailers
Animated Menu Gallery
New AND original version English Dubs
Recently Viewed Products
- Akira (Blu-Ray) (Category: PAL)
- Air (TV) Collection (Category: PAL)
- Air Gear Collection (Category: PAL)
- Air Gear #6 (Category: PAL)
- Ah! My Goddess Season 2 Flights of Fancy Collection (Category: PAL)
Customer Reviews:
DHewetson (Saturday, 05 June 2010)Rating:
Definitely a classic for any anime fan's library. Akira was, arguably, the first "real" anime that I saw at its cinema release. I say
"arguably" because I had long before seen the westernised anime like Voltron, Saber Rider, Robotech, et al. Akira is a bit of a mind-tripper
in the story as it tries to compress a major body of manga into 90 minutes. A lot of details are skipped and one cannot help but wonder if there is
more to it than what was shown in the movie — there is. Quite violent in parts, Akira portrays a dystopian future where the main protagonist tries
to find out what happened to his friend, who was taken away by a super-governmental agency. Conspiracy theories abound, as Kaneda's friend exhibits
paranormal psychic abilities similar to those that destroyed Neo-Tokyo years before. The powers exhibited by Kaneda's friend go out of control and
Kaneda has to try and stop him, and save the city. And that's about it. The story and characters were easy to get into and, while there may not be
much character development, the characters do show evolution and maturity. Visually, the release is good to look at with plenty of absolutely gorgeous
detail. At the time, the most expensive anime movie produced, the visuals are engrossing for a traditional hand-drawn anime. Presented in 16:9
widescreen format, action sequences are fast and fluid; and no indications of short-cuts taken (such as repetitive stock footage, etc.) Akira still
dishes out plenty of impact. Audio comes with three tracks, the original Japanese stereo track, the original (and shocking, compared to contemporary
releases) English track, and a revised English dub for DVD release. The original English dub is unique to the Region 4 release as Madman held the
rights to the original release. Music is also special with a strong traditional ethnic mix of gamelan and percussion, quite unique compared to the
scores of contemporary releases. Extras include production notes to the making of the movie; Japanese and English trailers for the movie; and Madman
trailers. The menu system is also unique (and take a little bit of getting used to) where pressing a single direction will take you to the movie,
extras, dialogue setup, etc. Akira is still a standout performer, and is still a unique experience given the variety of anime currently available and
is well worth going back to re-watching every so often. Very strongly recommended for anyone interested in anime and seeing where the genres exposure
to western audiences really started in earnest. A Blu-Ray release is also available and should be well worth watching.
Online Store
Too hot for eBay!
As I was sorting through items for listing on eBay, I came across some adult product which I couldn't put there. Here is a list of those anime products. Please be aware that you must be over 18 years of age to order any of these items from me! I only have one of each of these. They are available now for immediate delivery.
US anime DVD prices slashed!
The prices of existing US anime DVDs have been reduced by 20-35+%!
Blu-ray anime DVDs
For those of you into the latest and greatest technology, here's a list of anime available on Blu-ray in the US and Australia. I will be updating this list about every two months to try to keep it current (last updated May 26, 2011).
The Baron on YouTube
My alter ego, Baron Heinrich von Hosenscheisser 3rd, has decided to start a YouTube channel. Life will not be the same again.
Oz anime permanent price reductions!
The good folks at Madman have announced some permanent price reductions on selected Australian anime titles. Sure, these ones have been around for a while, but saving some money is a good thing, right 
Some US anime titles which you might have missed
One of the challenges when you have a web site which contains a lot of titles is that many of the good ones tend to get buried amongst all the dross. I presently have about 1,800 US anime DVDs listed, along with about 900 Australian ones. The following list is non-hentai titles which are not available in Australia, but which I should still be able to get from the US. Happy hunting!