2001 Remastered Version Blows

Rating: Null/10 (23 April 2007)

As most things that people try to "remaster," the 2001 version that Poineer Animations put out just doesn't cut it. I've watched Akira on VHS about 4 times in my life with the original English dialogue. That original cast had great voices that supported the characters. Although the translation may not have been as accurate, the actors were portraying the characters appropriately with their voices. In the original cast, the tones of the voices and calculated pauses gave the scenes that sense of urgency and strange phenomena. This new version has lost its aura. The new English voice actors made the characters shallow and stereotypical. These new actors are lifeless. They just sound like Hollywood rejects reading lines, as opposed to acting. My mother could do a better job with line delivery. I used to say that Akira was the best example of dubbing of a foreign film. But no more. From now on, I'm only watching it in Japanese.