TETSUUUOOOO!!!....'s creator returns
March 29, 2012 12:35 AM   Subscribe

In 1982 the manga, Akira (previously) , began its run. It would ultimately spawn a film that would lead the way for the growth of the anime medium outside of Japan. An attempted Americanized remake (previouslyer) was in production before being ultimately canceled. The manga’s creator, Katsuhiro Otomo, in the meantime, had taken a 20 year break from long-form manga. It was recently announced that this break was coming to an end and that Otomo would be working on a new long-form shonen series.
posted by sendai sleep master (30 comments total) 14 users marked this as a favorite
 
An attempted Americanized remake (previouslyer) was in production before being ultimately canceled.
Awesome.
posted by delmoi at 12:43 AM on March 29, 2012 [12 favorites]


On a personal Akira note, an ex of mine once said that watching the anime while on some kind of hallucinogen (to this day I don't know what specifically) was one of the best experiences of her life, due in no small part to the soundtrack, but that the come down from this experience was one of the most horrific experiences of her life. Due to my not asking what the substance was at the time I now like to imagine that there is actually a blue and white pill (a la Kaneda's jacket) out there that turns that movie up to eleven and blows your mind.
posted by sendai sleep master at 12:50 AM on March 29, 2012


An attempted Americanized remake (previouslyer) was in production before being ultimately canceled.

Oh thank fuck.
posted by His thoughts were red thoughts at 1:15 AM on March 29, 2012 [4 favorites]


The Terrence Malick of animated body horror. Good to see you again, old friend.
posted by basicchannel at 1:16 AM on March 29, 2012


*Also non-animated body horror.
posted by basicchannel at 1:19 AM on March 29, 2012


TETSUUUUUUUOOOOOO!!!!
posted by thewalrus at 1:38 AM on March 29, 2012 [2 favorites]


I have such a soft spot in my heart for the original english "Streamline" dub, which was so cheesy and goofy, was occasionally utterly opaque, and yet had an impeccable sense of timing and some pretty good voice acting. The later dubs sacrificed too much of the emotion and delivery for accuracy. The Animaze offering was dreadful and utterly butchered all the DVD releases, and it absolutely sucks that it's the one that made it onto the Blu-ray edition.

Has anyone been exposed to the 2005 dub? According to wikipedia it only came out for Sony PSP UMD (???!?!) so I can't imagine it being any good. I'd kill for a new copy with the original Streamline dub, but apparently such a thing only exists in Australia...
posted by mek at 3:01 AM on March 29, 2012 [2 favorites]


I have such a soft spot in my heart for the original english "Streamline" dub, which was so cheesy and goofy...

Is that the one with Leonardo (the turtle) as Kaneda?
posted by knave at 3:16 AM on March 29, 2012


Yep!
posted by mek at 3:52 AM on March 29, 2012


Looks like the new work is going to be serialized in an unnamed magazine. Or perhaps the hints are too subtle for my exhausted brain at the moment.

And it looks like this new long-form work is going to be in a historical setting.

Also looks like his first new manga is an 8-page story in Geijutsu Shincho magazine.

I also am fond of the original Streamline dub. It had soul, and a certain quality about the opacity of some of the language which made it that much more fun because it required a zillion repeat viewings before I knew what things like "Just when my coil is hitting the green line" meant.
posted by hippybear at 4:13 AM on March 29, 2012 [1 favorite]


KANEDA!!!!!!!!!

Also, I had no idea they had cancelled the remake. Best. Day. Ever.
posted by chunking express at 5:54 AM on March 29, 2012


Now if we can just get them to completely and irrevocably give up any and all ideas about making a live action Neon Genesis Evangelion, I would be a happy, happy boy.
posted by THAT William Mize at 6:39 AM on March 29, 2012 [3 favorites]


I too am glad to hear that the live-action movie was cancelled.
posted by gen at 6:55 AM on March 29, 2012


Americanized remake:

"DAAAAAAAVE!"

"KEVIIIIIIIIIIN!"
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 6:59 AM on March 29, 2012 [8 favorites]




it required a zillion repeat viewings before I knew what things like "Just when my coil is hitting the green line" meant.

I was always mystified by Tetsuo's enthusiasm for the super-mundane anti-lock braking system on Kaneda's otherwise OMGfutureawesome bike.
posted by Strange Interlude at 7:34 AM on March 29, 2012


Like mek, I came into the thread to share my affection for the Streamline dub. The voice acting I'm ambivalent about, but the translation I think is really superior. It's often criticized for being opaque and cryptic, but I think this is a natural consequence of the tangled narrative. The Animaze dialogue is just too hamfisted and expository. At least keep lines like "just when my coil's reaching the green line" and "they don't teach tact at the academy".
posted by [expletive deleted] at 7:35 AM on March 29, 2012


An attempted Americanized remake (previouslyer) was in production before being ultimately canceled.

"If it gets BEYOND your CAPABILITIES, then DISPOOOOOSE of it! And DON'T HESITATE."

"Mmyes, Colonel..."
posted by milk white peacock at 7:46 AM on March 29, 2012 [1 favorite]


Also, I will never, ever throw away my VHS copy of Akira, despite being almost positive that it will never be watched again.
posted by [expletive deleted] at 7:57 AM on March 29, 2012 [1 favorite]




Those old kids creeped me out.
posted by Brocktoon at 8:23 AM on March 29, 2012


And it looks like this new long-form work is going to be in a historical setting.

So we could be getting something like Otomo's version of Lone Wolf and Cub? Otomo doing samurai and shogun?

I...approve. Oh yes, I approve.
posted by infinitywaltz at 8:28 AM on March 29, 2012


Also, anyone who complains about the quality of the 1989 Akira dub has clearly not watched any dubbed anime on television in the last five years. Good god they're phoning it in these days, presumably because the target audience is 8-12 year olds, but stilll.
posted by mek at 10:23 AM on March 29, 2012


So we could be getting something like Otomo's version of Lone Wolf and Cub? Otomo doing samurai and shogun?

From my link above: "Update 2: The story will be set in Japan's Meiji period (1868-1912)."
posted by hippybear at 10:58 AM on March 29, 2012


The story will be set in Japan's Meiji period (1868-1912).

Oh boy! I'm just reading a dry scholarly book partly about the Meiji restoration (Shinto and the State: 1868-1988 by Helen Hardacre), so I'll be all ready to understand some of the references.
posted by infinitywaltz at 11:27 AM on March 29, 2012


"they don't teach tact at the academy"
and
"Amoeba don't build motorcycles."
posted by Mister Moofoo at 11:32 AM on March 29, 2012 [1 favorite]


"When you think about it, every life form must have its own kind of energy."
posted by [expletive deleted] at 12:00 PM on March 29, 2012 [1 favorite]


"The passion to build has cooled and the joy of reconstruction forgotten! Now it's
just a garbage heap made up of a bunch of hedonistic fools!"
posted by WPW at 1:16 PM on March 29, 2012


"Neo Tokyo has become an overripe fruit that's begun to stink. But there's a new seed germinating inside. All we have to do is wait for the wind to blow, and the fruit will fall into our hands. Wait for the wind called Akira!"

"Everyone knows Akira's a myth!
-That's blasphemy, you old goat!"

"Men, we're going to the Olympics."
posted by [expletive deleted] at 1:35 PM on March 29, 2012 [1 favorite]


Has anyone been exposed to the 2005 dub? According to wikipedia it only came out for Sony PSP UMD (???!?!) so I can't imagine it being any good.

If you mean the Pioneer/Geneon dub, then it actually dates back to 2001 and has been released DVD a handful of times.

I saw this version in a movie theater prior to its DVD release, and prefer its dub to the Streamline one (the latter always bugged me in that the wrinkled kids didn't sound like real kids, as they do in the original Japanese). Given a choice though, I prefer to watch it subbed.
posted by May Kasahara at 7:01 PM on March 29, 2012


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