fausti

News here:

http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news....s-in-february

Ok, AKIRA is definitely one of the anime classic titles that should help kick off Blu-Ray interest in anime fans.

Now, if Disney can just get off its arse and release the Studio Ghibli films (ie. Miyazaki), then I'll be one ultra-happy fan.

naitram

hell.yes.

Giles

hooray

clckworang

I'm not a huge anime fan or anything, but this is one that I know I'll pick up.

kms_md

this will increase my double dip (HD:SD) ratio.

Josh Z

This is a title in desperate need of a remaster. The DVD is Edge Enhanced to hell.

Sweet Baby James

The price might turn some of the casual anime fans off-


The Japanese release will cost 8,190 yen (about US$77.90), while the American version will cost US$49.98 (without sales tax).

fausti

In the forum thread on animeondvd...er...mania forums (or whatever you want to call it now), it was mentioned that the Japanese article states that AKIRA will use a a new HD telecine. Hopefully, it's all that it can be.

The only thing I'm disappointed by is the rather lacking extras. At least put the old Akira Production Report with the title!

Gizmo

Ouch

clckworang

That is mighty expensive. Definitely not one that I'll be buying without a pretty massive sale. Just a question, but why are so many anime titles priced so high? Is the answer just because a core select group will still buy them regardless of price? I've always found it interesting how much pricier many anime titles are.

Giles

I thought anime titles were expensive so parallel importing would roughly be the same price.

Supermallet

Anime titles are always expensive. That price is no shock to me.

Zen Peckinpah

Tetsuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!

dx23

There is an update in the original link which says that the distribution will be done in the US by Bandai and the the price is now lower because is going to be a blu ray disc as opposed to the original plans of releasing a combo BD/DVD. I imagine that the extras from the previous release done by Pioneer will not be included, right?

Geddlo

Maybe we'll get a new dub as well? I for one really disliked the new dub they had for the dvd release. Maybe I just like the original dub too much.
The original Japanese dialogue is great also (didn't not want to mention that).

tonymontana313

Akira is well worth that price and then some. If Wings of Honnemaise can be sold for 80 dollars, getting Akira for 50 is a bargain.

TRC

The cost of licensing anime can be really expensive. Japan has quite a different viewpoint about what things should cost. You'd be surprised what they pay for certain items.

Also anime has a niche audience in North America. Anime DVDs are distributed in relatively low amounts and they have to charge more to make a profit. Few anime receive a TV broadcast over here and in fact a lot of shows have aired on North American television for the sole purpose of promoting the DVD release.

Actually in recent months the prices have been coming way down. The market is being flooded with inexpensive boxsets.The major exception seems to be the Hommenaise label and their hi-def releases.

Still we're getting Akira on Blu-Ray just four days after the Japanese and for $28 less. I can't complain too much.

Eric F

Going to have to break out my Dark Horse US graphic novel series. Quite possibly the best graphic novel of all time (too bad it wasn't all in color). Yes, I think it's even better than Watchmen and Dark Knight Returns.

candyrocket786

I don't think we'll see the "Streamline" dub on this one. I need to pick-up the R4 DVD for that. I believe a lot of us grew up watching the original.

I actually like the new dub with John Bosch.

rexinnih

It's been so long since I've watched my DVD. Need to watch again to see if this would be in my upgrade queue. Price is a deterrent but this is a seminal piece of anime.

eedoon

about time. My tin DVD needs an upgrade!

mmconhea

I like the Streamline dub just because it was a good localization rather than a straight translation, which killed the new one. a good example of this would be the name CANADA vs KANEDA- something that irked most fans. A good localizer would not go with Canada as it conflicts with an already common name (not to mention already having an established, familiar name in the US). There are a ton of examples of this in the new dub.

HumanMedia

I agree. And the individual comics were in color to the very end, wernt the compiled volumes also?

Also this is the full epic story of Akira. The movie is only the first half of the story, with a couple of later scenes jammed in to conclude it early. And those who have only seen the movie have always wondered why it is so coherent for the first 2/3 and then becomes a little messy story wise, well this is why. Anyone who loves the movie definitely needs to read the graphic novels for the complete story, which increases its scope by an order of magnitude.

Eric F

The movie is not quite like the books at all. The movie was produced when when the manga series weren't even completed. Here's the Wiki page denoting the differences between the manga and the movies.

As for the English compilation. Unfortunately, no, the latest Dark Horse release only had the first few pages in color and the rest in B&W, but it doesn't take away anything from the quality of the story. I suggest you grab this 2000pg story up as you can, it's OOP so some of the volumes on Amazon reseller are expensive while others can be found for

HumanMedia

[QUOTE=Eric F;8972514]The movie is not quite like the books at all. The movie was produced when when the manga series weren't even completed.

As for the English compilation. Unfortunately, no, the latest Dark Horse release only had the first few pages in color and the rest in B&W, but it doesn't take away anything from the quality of the story. I suggest you grab this 2000pg story up as you can, it's OOP so some of the volumes on Amazon reseller are expensive while others can be found for