Akira (Geneon Signature Series)
by Katsuhiro Ohtomo
List Price:
Our Price: $15.93
You Save: $4.05 (20%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $11.65 (click here)
Category: DVD
See more DVD details
Buy this DVD movie at online store in your country
Canada
Canada
DVD details
Actor: Hiroshi Ohtake, Mami Koyama, Mitsuo Iwata, Nozomu Sasaki, Tesshô GendaDirector: Katsuhiro Ohtomo
Writer: Katsuhiro Ohtomo
Producer: Haruyo Kanesaku
Producer: Hiroe Tsukamoto
Producer: James Yosuke Kobayashi
Producer: Ryohei Suzuki
Producer: Sawako Noma
Writer: Izô Hashimoto
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 4.0; Japanese (Original Language), Dolby Digital 4.0
Format: Anamorphic, Animated, Color, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled, THX
Picture Format: 1.78:1
Running Time: 124 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2004-01-06
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Studio: Geneon [Pioneer]
DVD Reviews of Akira (Geneon Signature Series)
DVD Review: Atrocious screen adaptation of a manga masterpiece
Summary: 1 Stars
For years I'd heard all kinds of accolades heaped on this film, running the gamut of "greatest anime ever made" to "film that changed everything." So before I even watched it, I sat down and read all 6 volumes of the original manga from cover to cover, starting from the opening sequence of Tokyo being blown up in Volume 1 to the very last scene of Volume 6.
And boy, am I glad I did, because this is probably one of the most brilliantly written and visually compelling graphic novels ever created. I know that sounds totally "fanboy", but I don't mean to be. The manga truly is a masterpiece in every sense of the word. That's not to say it's not without flaws, but that it's as close as you can get to perfection.
So imagine my shock when I finally saw this film, the so-called "best anime ever made", the one so many anime fans have been raving about. As I watched this film, I didn't feel awe and amazement, but something decidedly different-- the sense that this was probably one of the WORST adaptations of a literary work ever in the history of cinema.
Many people have defended the poor adaptation with the excuse that "there wasn't enough time to put everything from the book into the movie." But this is a straw man. The anime is not poorly adapted because it didn't cram everything from the manga into the movie. It's poorly adapted, because Otomo himself changed his original story so dramatically that it doesn't even come close to resembling the manga in any real sense. It's almost as if the screenplay had been adapted by someone who'd never read Akira a day in his life.
If you think I'm exaggerating, here are some very specific examples of how badly Otomo eviscerated his own work in adapting it to screen:
1) A majority of the events in this film never happened in the manga, and very few of the events in the manga occur in the film. Of the few incidents from the manga included in the film, they happen in a completely different context than in the manga.
2) Characters who died tragically in the book either live in the movie or die in a completely different way than they did in the manga, usually in a manner that is far less dramatic or moving
3) Kaori, the street urchin who Tetsuo's henchman randomly picked off the streets to be his slave, is his girlfriend in the movie
4) Kiyoko, Masaru, and Takahashi are vicious brats who aggressively attack Tetsuo, when it was Tetsuo who was the aggressor
5) Chiyoko doesn't exist, and neither do any of the characters associated with Miyako or Akira's "kingdom" after the destruction of Neo-Tokyo. Nezu, Ryu and other side characters are just thrown in for the hell of it. The scientists in Volume 6 don't exist, and the cigarette fiend makes a small cameo.
6) Remember how much the drugs were a part of the story? They don't figure here at all, except, once again, as a mere cameo (Kaneda wears a pill on his jacket; Tetsuo tries to score drugs off a barkeep)
The most egregious cases in which Otomo dramatically altered his story:
1) He decided he wanted to make "Kiyoko" the "wise sage" in the movie, so he destroyed Lady Miyako's character. In the book, she was the philosophical heart of the story, a central figure very similar to the Oracle character in the Matrix. In the movie, she's transformed from wise and caring sage to crazed lunatic ranting that Neo-Tokyo needs to "burn" to be purified. So whereas in the book she was a protector of people and wise sage, in the movie she's a religious nut who wants them to burn in a "rapture-like" blaze. To add insult to injury, she's given a man's voice to make her seem more crazy, and she's casually killed off along with some anonymous city rabble after two brief cameos that couldn't have lasted more than 20 seconds each.
2) And Akira? I'm not going to spoil it for you, but if you see what "Akira" is in this movie, you'll literally shake your head wondering what in the hell Otomo was thinking. The change defies logic, because in changing him so radically he essentially rewrote his own story beyond recognizability.
All of these dramatic changes would be forgivable if this new version of Akira was entertaining and well written in its own right. Unfortunately, I can't say that it is. I found it painfully boring and convoluted. Not only was the pace plodding, the screenplay was muddled to the point where even I-- who'd read the story-- had trouble following what was going on. So it definitely wasn't a compelling movie for me.
I know I'm gonna tick off a lot of hardcore fans of this movie, but I'm sorry-- as a huge fan of the manga, it's impossible for me to consider it as "the best ever" when it did such a terrible job of adapting the original story to screen. Watch it for the animation if you will, or the nostalgia of having viewed this "revolutionary anime" from when it first came out, or out of curiosity to see what the fuss is all about. But if you're a fan of the manga, I would seriously pass. It's definitely not the adaptation you hoped and dreamed for; if anything, it's the stuff that nightmares are made of.
Bestsellers in DVD
![The Story of Jeremiah [VHS] Image](/images/noimg.gif)
The Story of Jeremiah [VHS]Vision Video; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Wresting With God [VHS]by Vision Video
Vision Video; Published: 1990-10-01; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Price in other shops:
Study Bible Video with Workbook [VHS]Spring Arbor Distributors; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $7.95
Price in other shops:
Tempo:Childrens TV Favourites Video [VHS]HarperCollins Audio; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $9.17
Price in other shops:
Tempo.Herbs:Parseley'Sb/ Party Video [VHS]HarperCollins Audio; VHS Tape; VHS Video
![Strike the Original Match [VHS] Image](/images/Strike-the-Original-Match-VHS-0001374079-X.jpg)
Strike the Original Match [VHS]New Liberty Films; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Price in other shops:
![Medjugorje The Miracles and the Message [VHS] Image](/images/Medjugorje-The-Miracles-and-the-Message-VHS-0001373293-X.jpg)
Medjugorje The Miracles and the Message [VHS]JPN Film Production; Release date: 1995-12-15; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $29.99
Mayo Clinic Echocardiography Review Course for Boards and Recertification DVD 2008by Mayo
DVD
Price in other shops:
Pediatric Diagnostic Imaging DVD: Single Userby Oakstone
DVD
Price in other shops:
Cost Accounting [VHS]by Charles T. Horngren, George Foster, Srikant M. Datar, Howard Teall
Pearson Canada, Toronto; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Similar DVDs, VHS Video, Audio CDs
Princess MononokeBuena Vista Home Video; Release date: 2000-12-19; DVD
Best price: $15.21
Price in other shops:
Akira Volume 1 (Akira)by Katsuhiro Otomo
Kodansha Comics; Published: 2009-10-13; Paperback; Book
Best price: $15.80
Price in other shops:
Cowboy Bebop - The MovieSONY PICTURES HOME ENT; Release date: 2003-06-24; DVD
Best price: $13.16
Price in other shops:
MetropolisSony; Release date: 2002-04-23; DVD
Best price: $4.51
Price in other shops:
Ninja ScrollNinja; Release date: 1998-05-20; DVD
Best price: $58.97
Steamboy: Director's Cut (Widescreen Edition)Sony; Release date: 2005-07-26; Published: 2005-07-01; DVD
Best price: $4.96
Price in other shops:
Ghost in the Shell 2.0Fox; Release date: 2010-01-12; DVD
Best price: $7.48
Price in other shops:
Ghost in the ShellVTI; Release date: 1998-03-31; DVD
Best price: $6.29
Price in other shops:
Tekkon KinkreetSony; Release date: 2007-09-25; DVD
Best price: $5.53
Price in other shops:
PaprikaSony; Release date: 2007-11-27; DVD
Best price: $7.32
Price in other shops: