AKIRA.....THE FILM????? !!! I just heard about this..

[Rainbow_Bright]

Now Admittedly I am not a big anime fan thesedays, but this can't be good. Can it?

[OldRover]

Why not?

[Joe Redifer]

I didn't like it even when it was new about 6,000 years ago.  Highly overrated and made me think that anime was extremely pretentious.  Tetsuo!  Testuo!  Shut the fuck up already, asshole!  What a dumb movie.

[Digi.k]

I didn't like it even when it was new about 6,000 years ago.  Highly overrated and made me think that anime was extremely pretentious.  Tetsuo!  Testuo!  Shut the fuck up already, asshole!  What a dumb movie.

Was this the english dubbed one?.. the early one where all the characters sounded like T.M.Ninja Turtles cause that was baddddd...

Storyline is a bit weak considering the original size of the manga and how they had to shave off lots of the storyline for the movie but when it came out it got a lotta people into anime..it got me into anime!

considering it came out in 1988 I still love it I think its a classic and ageless mostly because I was wowed by the visuals.. ^_o

[guyjin]

Akira is overrated. Not the worst 124 minutes of my life, but not a classic.

[albinoMithos]

Yeah really it was OK at best.  I'm not sure why it's highly acclaimed.

[Keranu]

Akira is one of the few animes I enjoy (and one of the first I've seen).

A live action film would probably be as good as a live action Street Fighter. ;)

[Rainbow_Bright]

It was the first anime I watched, and one of only two I now own.

[Turbo D]

I enjoyed Akira a lot. I don't know how good a live action version could be, but I'd watch it anyways. 

[TurboXray]

Yeah really it was OK at best.  I'm not sure why it's highly acclaimed.

Highly overrated and made me think that anime was extremely pretentious.

Maybe 'cause you guys didn't see it bank in '89? It was a big deal then.  Also, "anime" wasn't around back then.

Was this the english dubbed one?.. the early one where all the characters sounded like T.M.Ninja Turtles cause that was baddddd... Surprised

There is a new English dub version.

[albinoMithos]

Maybe 'cause you guys didn't see it bank in '89? It was a big deal then.  Also, "anime" wasn't around back then.

You're kidding right?  1989?  Anime was around then.  Was it in America, not the large volumes of it we get today, but it was around.

[Joe Redifer]

Was this the english dubbed one?

It likely had English dubbing, but it was the LaserDisc and it probably had both soundtracks... can't recall if it had subtitles.  But it was also one of the first animes I had seen, though I probably didn't watch it until 1991 or so. 

The first true anime I saw was at some convention in 87 or 88 maybe of a girl in a sailor suit jumping around kicking holes in giant robots.  It was playing at some dealer's booth and when he saw that I was just standing there watching it, he turned it off.  I have no idea what it was, but for a long time after that I would look at LaserDiscs to see if I could rent it.  Imagine my surprise that nearly ALL animes have some chick in a sailor suit.  I rented one and I'm not sure if it was it or not.  One of the other girls in the video I rented was very interested in making the main sailor suit girl hers.  It had great dialog like "I must make her mine!".  No further explanation was offered.  Japanese with English subtitles.  I maybe have a clip of it on S-VHS somewhere.  It sucked.

[termis]

Akira is also the only anime DVD that I cared enough to buy.  It can't be labeled overrated by some if majority didn't think it was great.  It was a neat film where all those little attention to the details made it cool -- things like those light streaks, the look of the neon glow, shattered glass sparking, the guy getting shredded up by bullets, etc, etc.

I remember an anime-fan buddie of mine hating on Akira, saying how overrated it was, and how the general laymen think that's how all anime are supposed to be and shit like that.  And yeah, I can give him that, but then this guy goes off and watches little girlie sailor-suit-type anime.  Hm.. so shit like that is supposed to be the real-deal anime? 

Anyway, back on topic, I can't really see how this thing is going to look half-decent as a live action film.  I can already imagine that it'd rely heavily on CGI, which is a bit off-putting IMO.

[Keranu]

Yeah really it was OK at best.  I'm not sure why it's highly acclaimed.

Highly overrated and made me think that anime was extremely pretentious.

Maybe 'cause you guys didn't see it bank in '89? It was a big deal then.  Also, "anime" wasn't around back then.

Back when I was a kid, we used to always call it "Japanese animation". This then evolved into "Japanime" and eventually became "anime" once it was really getting mainstreamed out here.

[TurboXray]

Hah - Keranu understood what I meant 

[ParanoiaDragon]

Was this the english dubbed one?

It likely had English dubbing, but it was the LaserDisc and it probably had both soundtracks... can't recall if it had subtitles.  But it was also one of the first animes I had seen, though I probably didn't watch it until 1991 or so. 

The first true anime I saw was at some convention in 87 or 88 maybe of a girl in a sailor suit jumping around kicking holes in giant robots.  It was playing at some dealer's booth and when he saw that I was just standing there watching it, he turned it off.  I have no idea what it was, but for a long time after that I would look at LaserDiscs to see if I could rent it.  Imagine my surprise that nearly ALL animes have some chick in a sailor suit.  I rented one and I'm not sure if it was it or not.  One of the other girls in the video I rented was very interested in making the main sailor suit girl hers.  It had great dialog like "I must make her mine!".  No further explanation was offered.  Japanese with English subtitles.  I maybe have a clip of it on S-VHS somewhere.  It sucked.

If you're still wondering what that anime was that you saw years ago, it deffinitly sounds like Project A-ko.  I have the collection, though, I haven't watched them all.  I just recall watching the first one eons ago, & enjoying it.

[albinoMithos]

Hah - Keranu understood what I meant 

Ha......I totally misread your post Bonknuts.  Many apologies>  

[Digi.k]

There is a new English dub version.

I sure as hell bought it as soon as it came out on Pioneer's anime DVD range.. on Import of course!

Maybe 'cause you guys didn't see it bank in '89? It was a big deal then.  Also, "anime" wasn't around back then.

You're kidding right?  1989?  Anime was around then.  Was it in America, not the large volumes of it we get today, but it was around.

Akira is what brought anime into the mainstream so yea its kinda a very big deal.. I along with a lot of my friends watched anime long before Akira came out, but until akira arrived we just called them "cartoons" like most of the stuff being shown on saturdays/sundays/after school hours with very little knowledge that they were made in japan etc.. 

Only after Akira debuted in the west did anime explode into western mainstream and things like Transformers, Ulysses 31, Mysterious Cities of gold and other stuff that they showed on TV did people began to be informed that it was coming/associated from Japan..

I'm also pretty certain that if you visited chinatown or went to japanese stores or joined a fan club (where people shared their tapes and newsletters) could you get some exposure to anime parafinalia.  Anime/manga was rarely sold in comic shops back then.. it was mostly Marvel, DC comics and a few smaller independant ones.

Plus internet was hardly around then..and importing stuff like pc engines were in its infancy when it was mostly Atari, colecovison, Intellivison, Commodore, Spectrum, and  Nintendo started world domination

This is especially true to English residential folk like myself.. but even going to hong kong and watching loads of japanese animated shows (and i can only seem to remember stuff like Candy Candy, Magical Angel Creamy mami, Doraemon to name a few)  I still didn't know it was called anime till Akira movie arrived.. Although I can't quite remember when the Akira manga was translated and released officially in Western shores.. but it was in colour and released either by Dark Horse Comics or Epic comics...  bah i was an idiot to sell them back then .. poor student blah blah blah

sorry about all these pics but I just had to load up AKIRA again because of this thread!

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[TurboXray]

I had tons of anime back then ('90). Lots of it wasn't even subtitled. There was no mention of anime anywhere though. I remember seeing the term japanimation quite often. It wasn't until later that I saw japanime and finally anime.

[RR1980]

this may be completely out of topic but has any of you guys played the Akira game on the Famicom? I don't understand Japanese so I didn't get beyond the begining when they were at the police station but I thought for a famicom game the graphics looked pretty awesome and it really did the source material justice. I am surprised with so many Akira fans out there there still hasn't been fan translated! :-S

[Rainbow_Bright]

Haven't played it, but oddly enough, there is an Akira game for the Amiga cd-32!

[Ceti Alpha]

I had tons of anime back then ('90). Lots of it wasn't even subtitled. There was no mention of anime anywhere though. I remember seeing the term japanimation quite often. It wasn't until later that I saw japanime and finally anime.

I also was more familiar with the term "Japanimation".

[Joe Redifer]

So, what is the appeal of Akira?  It seems pretentious to me.  Or at least its fans do.

[Ninja Spirit]

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AKA the first level of "Last Resort" on Neo Geo

[TurboXray]

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AKA the first level of "Last Resort" on Neo Geo

Haha. It does. I originally thought Snatcher when I first saw that posted pic.

[TR0N]

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AKA the first level of "Last Resort" on Neo Geo

I thought that as well when i frist played last resort on the neogeo.

[Joe Redifer]

No, Snatcher unabashedly rips off Blade Runner.  Last Resort unabashedly rips off Akira.  The Japanese sure are not shy about ripping off styles.

[Ninja Spirit]

Try this on for size. Randam Hajile and Feyd Rautha



gamehall.uol.com.br/galerias/qdig-files/converted-
images/_segacd_snatcher/med_random.jpg
85.17.225.49/209650001-209700000/209660801-209660900/209660851_5_AErY.jpeg

[Ceti Alpha]

lol I always knew Sting was a ripoff artist.

[Nazi NecroPhile]

lol I always knew Sting was a ripoff artist.

Did Sting borrow Muad'Dib's prescience?  Dune came out four years before Snatcher. 

[Joe Redifer]

It doesn't matter which one came first, Dune ripped off Snatcher.

[Ninja Spirit]

Before I end this tangent, here's some more rips the Japanese got away with....


Goonies 2 Box Cover / Jewel of the Nile movie poster (despite the obvious difference of the number of people on the rope


Metal Gear Box Cover / Kyle Reese freeze frame from The Terminator


Contra Spirits (Contra III JPN) / Raw Deal


Full Metal Jacket / NAM-1975, Dr. R. Muckly's "opening act" boss

[Ceti Alpha]

holy shit!! lol. That's awesome NJ. 

[Joe Redifer]

Japan-o-philes everywhere suddenly break down in tears.

[Turbo D]

ahhh, hahaha. Gotta love those Japanese!

[Tatsujin]

holy shit!! lol. That's awesome NJ. 

yeah..and there are a lot more of those examples around. altough the contra spirits and metal gear are the greatest of 'em


(lol that bill rizer on the contra pack looks like dave gilmour on steroids )