Tell me: Akira

[thebitterguy]

It's been a few years since I saw Akira. I do remember it being somewhat incoherent/unintelligble.

Is this inherent to the film or was that something specific to that particular English cut?

Comments

[sixteenbynine.livejournal.com]

The original English edition, IIRC, didn't have the best English translation. The newer version (issued by Pioneer, which is regrettably out of print now that Pioneer has folded) is a lot easier to follow.

It's not the sort of movie that really works on the first viewing for most people regardless, though.

[thebitterguy]

I should probably see it again; I haven't watched it since the early 90s.

[viktor-haag.livejournal.com]

I can't speak to the issue as finely as sixteenbynine; however, my impression was that Akira was a perfectly fine and comprehensible 36-chapter manga that became incomprehensible when compressed into a 90 minute anime. I read the manga before seeing the anime, and was not very pleased. I thought the anime was still OK, but not nearly as good as the manga. (Very similar experience with Appleseed, for example, and Ghost In The Shell; although GitS:SAC v1 is very, very good as an anime.)

Oddly enough, I thought Nausicaa was pretty comprehensible as an anime, but got much less so in the manga (I believe, in this case, that the anime came first; can someone confirm/deny that?)

[madmanofprague.livejournal.com]

Someone else is talking about Akira with me RIGHT NOW.

Anyway, here's some quote:

"Imagine an amoeba..."
"IT HAS THAT KIND OF POWER?!?! TETSUOOOOOO"
"KANEDAAAAAAAAAA"
"TETSUOO!"
"GRRAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHI'M A GIANT AWESOME BABY"

[normanrafferty.livejournal.com]

Whenever an anime fan tells you, "It makes more sense in the original Japanese," there's a 99% chance that he's lying.

In the case of Akira, it's 100%.

[browncoat2x2]

Like sixteenbynine said, the newer release is a better translation (though I have a soft spot for all those original english translation voices shouting KANEDAAAA and TETSUUUUUOOO) so you might find that more intelligable.

I have never had the opportunity to read the entire manga series sadly, but I really enjoyed the Anime and have been able to pick up the overal gist of the story after viewing it more than once, though I'm sure it's missing all the finer details. But the soundtrack is just awesome. So, I'd rec' watching it again, for sure if that's what you're thinking :o)

[thetathx1138.livejournal.com]

The version I saw (the one with the pretty holographic cover, which I sold a while ago) was all right.

It wasn't incomprehensible so much as ridiculously overstuffed. Things had to move at a ridiculous clip for the movie to work at all. Honestly, I think it's overrated, but that tends to be my opinion of most anime.