Beware: there are several versions of Akira.

Rating: Null/10 (30 May 2001)

Personally I like the original, wide-screen, dubbed English version. This was the movie that incited me to start riding motorcycles over a decade ago, when I was just a punk. For that reason it holds a special place in my library that may not be appreciated by all. Still, it's corny, violent, artsy Anime at its best with a wonderful soundtrack by Geinoh Yamashirogumi! The original Japanese version is okay too, especially if you understand Japanese and can read the English subtitles together for a great laugh. I don't like the new, re-edited, re-dubbed "American release" at all. They re-cut the movie slightly, rewrote the English dialogue and re-dubbed it with more "normal" American voices to, ostensibly, better explain the movie. It's like taking a beautiful, esoteric, impressionistic painting of a cityscape and turning it into a color glossy photograph of New York City with circles and arrows on the back explaining each scene. BAD FILMMAKERS! BAD DISTRIBUTORS! Just say NO to mucking with things you know nothing about. Anyway, if you can find the original version of Akira enjoy it. It's among my favorite films. :-) --GPL