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Blu-ray.com Exclusive Report: AKIRA - Behind the Remaster
AKIRA was a groundbreaking film that brought Japanese animation (anime) into the mainstream American consciousness upon its release in 1988. An entire generation who had grown up on "Space Battleship Yamato" ("Starblazers"), or "Macross" ("Robotech") were ready for something new and different. Combined with the newly ubiquitous VCR and video rental store, AKIRA quickly became the cult classic that defined anime fandom for the next decade. AKIRA was so popular, in fact, that even the Japanese making-of documentary special, “AKIRA Production Report,” was given a separate and highly publicized release. It remains the only film that Carl Macek, of Robotech fame, ever released in a subtitled VHS version through his US Based video company, Streamline Pictures.
After Streamline folded, the ill-fated Orion Pictures acquired their catalog
and were subsequently bought by MGM. This resulted in an almost 4 year
period where AKIRA and many other titles were simply not
available for purchase in the United States. Fortunately, Pioneer acquired
the film's rights and partnered with Bandai Visual to restore and re dub
the film for a major re-release in 2001. High definition rights to
AKIRA stayed with the AKIRA Production Committee; for
the film's 20th anniversary, AKIRA has been restored to the
highest level of quality and, subsequently, to Blu-ray Disc by Bandai Visual.
For the uninitiated, AKIRA is, at its heart, a story of the triumph of
the human spirit, and the folly of human stubbornness. As humans, we
insist on flirting with disaster; touching the stove even though we know
it's hot, because maybe, just maybe this time it might not burn us quite as
badly. AKIRA takes that trait to the next level. Thirty years after a
mysterious explosion that set off a third World War, Neo-Tokyo has been
built on the ashes of the old. The rich are richer, the poor poorer, and a
totalitarian government has dominated virtually every aspect of daily life.
Motorcycle gangs and revolutionaries cause daily destruction, leaving the
entire city on the verge of exploding. The fuse is lit when Tetsuo, lifelong
friend of Kaneda and the runt of his motorcycle gang, almost hits a
strange albino boy with his motorcycle. Government agents show up
seconds later, and ship him off to a secret facility where he discovers he
has tremendous untapped power, and a mysterious predecessor named
Akira.
Made for a then-record $10 million US dollars, AKIRA bucked many
of the prevalent cost-saving trends in anime at the time by using an
unprecedented 300+ colors for the film's cel-work and pre-recording the
dialog so that the animation could be tailored to the performances. Two
techniques that would later become standard tools in the animator's
arsenal also made their Japanese-animated feature-film debut with
AKIRA: Computer animation checking and graphics. For the first
time, animators could scan their sketches into the computer and check
them on the spot to see how closely they matched the dialog. In the film,
computer animated spectroscopic graphics that display the character's
psychic power profiles in the government lab, rather than being a mere
gimmick, play an important part of the story, viscerally illustrating the rise
of Tetsuo's power, and the march toward a potential second Armageddon.
Of course, this would not be the first or the last time that the behind-the-
scenes story of AKIRA and new technology would be indelibly
intertwined. As we've seen with many Hollywood titles, Blu-ray gives
content producers the opportunity to produce near-theatrical quality
archival masters of their work; Masters that can stand the test of time. It
was in the planning stages for bringing AKIRA to Blu-ray, that
composer Shoji Yamashiro proposed taking the format to its limits by
including a 192khz/24-bit audio track that would allow viewers to
experience the full warmth and detail of the original recordings. After much
debate, the decision was made to move forward.
Unfortunately, there were no available studios with the ability to master at this level of fidelity, and many of their sound systems could not reliably
reproduce the dynamic range of sound that Shoji Yamashiro wanted to
bring to the front during the re mastering process. As a result, the
soundtrack's re-mastering was done at Mr. Yamashiro's own studio,
equipped with the best equipment available, and the original analog
master tapes were brought out from storage. These tapes were then
transferred and mixed using the 2001 restoration as a reference.
Jun Takei, a producer at Bandai that has been at the helm of many of their
Blu-ray releases, was kind enough to take time out of his busy schedule
and describe his work on restoring the film for Blu-ray. Even though
AKIRA had major restoration work done for the 2001 DVD release,
including a 1080p theatrical quality master, advances in digital restoration
and film transfer technologies have increased to the point where a brand
new transfer was warranted. As with the audio, a new inter-positive was
struck from the original film negative for a new scan into a digital
intermediate (DI); the master computer file upon which all of the
remastering work was performed.
One of the biggest hurdles for any restoration project is budgetary in
nature. Not only do technicians have to be paid, but equipment must be
purchased or time in a facility rented. None of this is cheap, and the
budget for AKIRA was larger than any previous Bandai Visual
production. Traditionally, animation starts life as a series of pencil
drawings that are transferred to a sheet of plastic called a “cel,” which is
then painted and photographed. These days, the artwork is scanned into
a computer and painted digitally. Before each cel is put into place, the
background is wiped, and after the cel is put into place, it is also wiped to
remove dust, hairs and other debris. Unfortunately this is not always as
successful as one would like and Modern re-mastering techniques not only
have to compensate for wear and tear on the negative itself, but have to
deal with artifacts that were actually shot onto the camera negative itself.
After an automated pass, where the computer identifies what it believes
to be print damage or debris and then eliminates it, the real work begins.
Mr. Takei feels it is very important to maintain the character of the original
film and the warmth of hand-painted animation. Even though modern
audiences have grown used to computer painted animation it is very easy
to go overboard during the cleaning process in an attempt to come closer
to that look and feel, as has been the case with some Hollywood films
where processing and noise reduction has been used to excess.
Subsequently, AKIRA was given a thorough color correction and
Mr. Takei believes the restoration team has gotten very close to the luster
of the original animation cels, restoring the picture to a condition that
allows AKIRA to be experienced as its creators had intended.
Both the audio and video teams worked on AKIRA concurrently.
The film's dense aesthetic and cutting edge soundtrack, proved to be a
major challenge for the compression team. Constant communication was
required to make sure that they not only stayed within Blu-ray's 48 mbps
maximum combined bitrate requirement, but that the final product would
actually fit onto a normally spacious BD-50. Even at a running time of only
124 minutes, AKIRA pushes the boundaries of what can be
compressed to a Blu-ray Disc. The root of this challenge lies in the
192khz/24-bit 5.1 track. Uncompressed linear PCM at this resolution needs
an astonishing 28 megabits per second (mbps) of transfer rate. To give a
point of reference, this is 30% greater than the video bitrate on the well-
regarded Pirates of the Carribean: Dead Man's Chest Blu-ray, and
8mbps over the maximum allowable combined audio bitrate in the Blu-ray
spec. This of course, doesn't even account for the original Dolby Surround
mix (linear PCM), the English Dub (48khz/16-bit Dolby TrueHD), or the
Japanese Dolby Digital tracks. For help, Bandai turned to Dolby, whose
TrueHD codec is standard for their releases. The two companies worked
together closely to balance the available space on a BD-50 with the needs
of both the audio and video tracks. In the end, the combined load of all
four audio tracks bump their head against that 20mbps ceiling, never
breaking through, while still leaving plenty of room for a high quality video
presentation.
Naturally, there is a price to be paid for quality, and that comes in the form
of bonus material. The disc is so full with the movie and its soundtrack that neither the “AKIRA Production Report” or the previous restoration documentaries were able to fit on the disc. What does make an appearance are the 4500 storyboards, complete and unabridged, newly rescanned at 1920x1080 resolution, and Japanese teasers, trailers, and TV commercials. Also included is a 32-page booklet detailing the creation of the film and its high-definition mastering, as well as an attractive slipcase. The last two items are limited editions, and are only included with the first pressing of the disc.
In the end, AKIRA is still a stunning artistic and technological
achievement even 20 years after its original release. The existing fans of
this landmark piece of animation will be amazed at all of the new detail
that high-definition brings to the table, while audiophiles will marvel at the
fidelity of the soundtrack. Ultimately, new viewers will have the
opportunity to see what all the fuss is about in a style befitting this
groundbreaking piece of animation.
AKIRA makes its Blu-ray debut On February 24, 2009. Dustin Somner has just reviewed AKIRA on Blu-ray, click here to read the full review: AKIRA Blu-ray review.
Too bad all the bonus material is being left out of this release. Why not make it a 2 disk set with the 2nd being a BD-25 or even a SDVD with the lower grade supplements. Those who own the original DVD have to feel slightly cheated.
A fan, but will wait for the rest of the materials to be released.
I couldn't find any better place to mention this, so I will do it here:
In the Akira review, Dustin Somner expresses puzzlement over a haloing effect that is prominent
around some of the characters during certain scenes. This is typically caused by the painted cell
literally casting a shadow when photographed. This effect is clearly seen during many Simpsons
episodes, and South Park intentionally replicates a similar effect. I hope that clears things up!
Spectacular review Mr. Kleist. Maybe the best one I have ever seen for a Blu-ray considering how in-depth it is on all aspects of the production process.
Definitely going to purchase this one! Disappointed though at the same time because there is no word of 'CowBoy Bebop' coming to HD. To see Spike, Jet, Faye, Ed, Ein and so on in glorious HD with a pukka HD audio track for its soundtrack would make me proper happy
Then again on saying that if Bandai can do this with 'Akira' maybe just maybe we could get the same treatment for 'CowBoy Bebop' (when they eventually decide to do it)
As much as I'd like to see this, if it doesn't have the original English dub from the VHS, then it really isn't worth it. The millions that grew up and loving Akira, did so with this dub. I got the remastered version on DVD with the "new" dub, and it was terrible. I typically watch all movies with different languages with subtitles, with Akira being the ONLY exception. I know I'm not alone because every single friend I have talked to was disappointed with the DVD release as well.
People can go on saying they don't have the rights to use the voices anymore, or some other excuse, but the end result is like watching the remastered original Star Wars movies. They just aren't the same movies I've seen hundreds of time before as a kid. That is all that matters here.
We need a Deluxe DELUXE Akira restoration with the original English dubs from the VHS tapes that we all grew up with.
Um, he's talking about the original english dub of the film, he's not saying the original film was done in english first.
I too would prefer to have the original english dub track that I remember from my Criterion LaserDisc version of this film.
The re-dub done for the DVD release was poor by comparison.
Granted the only time I used the english track was when non-anime fans were watching as they were not so inclined to read subtitles. I've always preferred japanese dialog.
Saying that changing dubbing is no different than changing how a film was cropped or sized is completely wrong. We aren't talking about the same basic picture where 95% of whats on the screen is the same with some extra or cut image, we're talking about the 100% difference in the audio of the film, which can have a huge impact on it.
The original english dub from the Criterion LaserDisc was likely the best dub I'd ever heard of an anime film at the time. The voices of the actors showed true emotion and depth. The DVD re-dub sounded like people getting paid to read lines, very poorly done.
If there were a way to rip my old Criterion LaserDisc of this movie to my PC I'd do it in a heartbeat.
i dont think you get it benes, if he's not listening to it in eng dubs, then what? mute the tv and read the subs?. what they're trying to say is they like original english version (dub) and hope its not re-dub with new voices, get it now?
i dont think you watch too many anime, we shouldnt have to explain this to you,.
watch hellsing eng dub and the sub ver you'll hear what we're talking about
i cannt believe i joined just to explain this to you.
your funny, most people buy/watch anime because they're eng dub, as for and a lot of other anime we dont care but not through a full movie like akira, your nuts guy,.
YOU SHOULD WATCH IT IN JAPANESE AUDIO WITH ENGLISH SUBS, thats just retarded, why do that when they're a eng dub? you still dont get it.
so your only a fan if you only watch the org ver, thats retarded, some people cannt read text on tv but see the pic, what do you say to them, too bad for you, your not a fan, a real fan would be able to see or read like everyone else.. your not a anime fan or fanboy just retarded,.
some people simple dont what to read subs, not that they cannt, they simple dont want to or dont like, this does not mean they are any less a fan than you or I.
No benes, it is YOU who insults and disgraces anime fans everywhere with your elitist attitude.
Sure, anime is best watched in its original Japanese, I agree, but some people don't care about that and just want a dub. Additionally, some dubs are so good that they are on par or superior to the original Japanese. Cowboy Bebop, Princess Mononoke, The first episode of Crying Freeman, Wicked City (another Streamline classic), and the original Manga Entertainment Patlabor 2 are all prime examples. And when I watch these, I only watch the dub.
The original Streamline dub of Akira however, is above them all. Its become a part of pop culture. It's been sampled in music, movies, and television. It brings emotion that the later Pioneer dub does not. Hell, the later Pioneer dub is freaking lifeless, and a prime example of what militant, elitist, anime fanboys like yourself despise.
When it comes to Akira, you know NOTHING. You're probably too young to even know its real influence in the media you think you love.
Then its all the more shameful that you talk like a 14 year old elitist fanboy nerd. Why don't you debate the points of my post instead?
Every time Akira is re-released, people ask for the Streamline dub. Check on any forum, and even many reviews. And the funny thing about it is it already _includes_ an English dub. But that's not what people want. There's no telling how much sales would increase if it was included. I'd buy it right now. But just like so many here, I won't because it doesn't have that iconic part of history.
"Since you wanted to bring up the age thing why not tell me how old you were when Akira came out. And then I can tell you how long my friends and I were watching anime in its original Japanese at that time. You DID know that anime existed before Akira right?"
all we're saying is we like the org eng dub, thats it, if they cannt put it in so be it, we'll cry about something else. people are saying they like watching anime in eng and your telling us no, it should be watch in the org format or your not a fan. not watching anime in the org language does not make us less of a fan then a person having to pause the movie every now and again to read what a character is saying..
i'll what bleach, naruto, gundam wing blaa blaa in subs, they are short and sweet, unless there's no eng sub's for a anime movie thats over 1 1/2hr am not watching it unless am really bored.
my sister reads like crazy fast reader, well educated, her collection of anime is large, she refuse to watch english sub, so do other people.
telling us akira is not the first anime is just childish and dumb. we're talking about watching good eng dub ver crappy eng re-dubs, like i said before hellsing org sounds good the eng dub is crap, i prefer to watch the org. if there was a good eng dub i would go for that.
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By: Jeff Kleist, Contributor to Blu-ray.com
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