AKIRA (WIDESCREEN)

Details

• Release Year: 2001
• Genre: Anime
• Plot: Katsuhiro Otomo's Akira is often described as the movie that created a mass audience for Japanese animation in America. Akira looks better now in this remastered DVD than it did on its original release: dust, dirt, and scratches have been digitally removed and the color has been rebalanced. It also makes more sense in a new translation. The ending still leaves many questions unanswered (which is not unusual in anime), but the convoluted plot is easier to follow than it was in the initial English version. Pioneer has included numerous special features in this two-disc set, some more special than others. 'Capsule mode' offers brief explanations of some details and translations of signs in Japanese during the feature. 'The Akira Production Report,' an old Japanese making-of film, comprises interviews with staff members who explain the basic animation process (the footage of artists inking and painting cels by hand looks almost comically dated). 'Restoration' provides a behind-the-scenes look at the people who prepared the remastered version, but it's pretty superficial. 'Production Materials' contains more than 4,500 still images: storyboards, early character designs, background art, etc. There's also an interview with Otomo and an assortment of trailers. This Akira is the definitive version of a landmark film in the history of Japanese animation and anime fandom: it's a must-have not just for otaku, but for anyone interested in the medium. --Charles Solomon ;
• Cast: Mitsuo Iwata, Nozomu Sasaki, Mami Koyama, Tesshô Genda, Hiroshi Ôtake, Kôichi Kitamura, Michihiro Ikemizu, Yuriko Fuchizaki, Masaaki Ôkura, Tarô Arakawa, Takeshi Kusao, Kazumi Tanaka, Masayuki Katô, Yôsuke Akimoto, Masato Hirano, Yukimasa Kishino, Kazuhiro Kamifuji, Tatsuhiko Nakamura, Fukue Itô, Issei Futamata, Kôzô Shioya, Michitaka Kobayashi, Hideyuki Umezu, Satoru Inagaki, Kayoko Fujii, Masami Toyoshima, Yuka Ôno, Tarô Ishida, Mizuho Suzuki, Bob Bergen, Cam Clarke, Watney Held, Steve Kramer, Melora Harte, Lewis Lemay, Jan Rabson, barbara goodson, Eddie Frierson, Lara Cody, Tony Pope, Julie Phelan, Burt Walters, Bruce Winant, Brad Wurst, Robert Axelrod, William Bassett, Johnny Yong Bosch, Ivan Buckley, Emily Brown, Steve Staley, Paul St. Peter, Dan Woren, Bambi Darro, Josil Ferhardt, Rebecca Forstadt, Sandy Fox, Jessica Gee, Dougary Grant, Skip Stellrecht, W.T. Hatch, Julie Ann Taylor, Matthew Hustin, Simon Prescott, Christopher Joyce, Lee Kelso, William Knight, Lex Lang, Patricia Ja Lee, Peter Lee, Wendee Lee, Mike Lembaw, Detroit Louie, Steve Blum, Jamieson Price, Cody MacKenzie, mona marshall, Dan Martin, Michael McConnohie, Mike Reynolds, Ezra Weisz, Tony Oliver, Jonathan C. Osborne, Guy Pinkham, Richard Plantagenet, Ted Rae, Joe Romersa, Michelle Ruff, Tony Sarducci, Joshua Seth, Adam Sholder, Michael Sorich, Peter Spellos, Doug Stone, Sam Strong, Jim Taggert, Lisa Tarulli, Michael Forest, Chloe Thornton, Kirk Thornton, Michael Lindsay, Katsuhiro Ôtomo
• Director: Katsuhiro Ôtomo
• Runtime: 2:04
• Company: Pioneer Entertainment
• Media Format: movie