Akira Limited Special
Edition DVD
By:
Magus XXIII
Ahh yes, the famed Akira. The anime film that made anime popular worldwide. The anime that has gotten the ultimate makeover by Pioneer Entertainment, and given to us fans in the most spectacular way. The long awaited Akira DVD hits North America, but this is no ordinary DVD. Some say it is so full of awsumo powa, some say it is the best anime DVD ever produced, I say it is god-like. From the moment I walked through the entrance of Electronics Boutique, I saw it. The king of DVDs was sitting there amongst those wretched normal live action DVDs, brightly shining in its metal case, protected by a cardboard back cover that had the words "AKIRA - THE SPECIAL EDITION" written on the top. Then I picked it up. It was like holding your own newborn child in your arms. It was one of the happiest moments of my life...alright, so maybe I'm overexagerrating, but this DVD really is THAT good.
As you probably know already, the limited Special Edition comes in a sleek metal casing. That alone can give this
package 100 cool points. The metal case is sort of a dark blackish colour and sports the AKIRA logo in the centre. No pictures or anything (minus the tiny DVD and Pioneer logos at the bottom) so it really stands out and you know that this is the Akira DVD. A wonderful Akira DVD at that. (Why am I describing it? The picture is right there!) The back has a small picture of the capsule. Nothing special, and then there's some silver metal in the middle. Kinda looks like a tin ice-cream sandwich. Nice! Now, this case is very simple, yet probably the most beautiful DVD case I've ever seen. I could sit there holding it and staring at it for hours. I really could. There's also the wonderful insert which looks exactly like the case. Inside on the left page, it lists all the chapters, and the right page describes what's on the extras disc with some screenshots. Very spiffy indeed. The menus on the discs are also some of the nicest I've ever seen. Every time you load up a part of the menu, you can hear the roaring of the motorcycles. And in the backgroud there is a short animation of one of the bikers. It looks really cool, sort of 3D-ish. The menus also load very fast and it is easy to navigate through too. In my opinion: best anime DVD menus ever. EVER. Got it? Never oppose Magus' opinion.
Now that I'm done speculating over that wonderful case, I'll move on to the actual DVD. Pioneer did the most incredible job re-mastering this movie. All the dust and scratches are gone, and the colours of Neo-Tokyo really shine brightly this time! It's not dull or anything like all the previous versions of AKIRA. It's like Mr. Clean and Swiffer were a part of the restoration staff! (Ahem...bad joke.) There are absolutely no flaws in the video transfer except for some rainbows here and there in the subtitles. Compared to the original, this is 1000x better. A lot of work was done to put in all the detail in every scene, and the re-mastered AKIRA actually lets you see all that high detail, unlike before where almost every scene was a lot darker than it should have been. Especially during the sewer scene. If it wasn't for those lights on the hovering bikes, that scene would've almost been like watching them run around in a dark room. Unbearable. But now it's all bright and happy!
The sound is also incredible. It's presented in Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound, but I can't really tell since I have only my lousy TV speakers. Still sounds really good, though. Everything can be heard perfectly, from the sounds of the explosions and guns to the insane screaming of Tetsuo. Wonderful!
Now for the fun stuff! The extras! And since this is the Special Edition, there is one whole disc full of extras! Whoopie! And the extras disc is red. *crowd "ooh's" and "ahhh's"* When you pop in this disc and the menu loads up, just looking at it might give you the feeling that you got jipped. But nooooooooo sir. It is A LOT more than it seems. Interview with Katsuhiro Otomo, Sound Clip by the Geinoh Yamashiro Gumi, Production Materials (4500+ still images! This takes a helluva long time), 3 interviews with the Restoration staff and English VAs, AKIRA Production Report, Trailers and TV Spot, and a Glossary with well over 100 terms. Overall, it should take you over 2 hours to go through all of these. I'm still having trouble with it. You can relaly learn a lot about AKIRA with these extras. The glossary can explain some confusing or unexplained stuff in the movie. It sure helped me a bit.The Production Report and interview with Otomo will show you how AKIRA all began and what they all went through to make this film. Very cool. The interviews with the Restoration staff and VAs is very interesting.
And the 4500+ stills is lengthy, but one of the best extras I've ever seen on a DVD. It can make you feel like you own a part of AKIRA. A pretty big part.
All in all, this is an excellent DVD. The only thing I found wrong with it (other than the minor rainbows int he subs) is that you can't turn the subtitle on and off during play. You always have to go back to the menu and do it. But other than that it is a golden DVD. I will treasure this one forever!
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