Live-Action ‘Akira’ On the Way from Leo DiCaprio

Chris Ullrich

Chris Ullrich is a freelance writer living in Los Angeles. In addition to ComicMix, he is a contributor to some of the most popular entertainment sites on the net, including The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW), Download Squad, Cinematical, Comic Book Resources and LAist, where he has served as Technology Editor.

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7 Responses

  1. Marilee J. Layman says:

    Huh. It was remarkable as anime, I wonder if live action can do that.

  2. Rick Marshall says:

    It's funny, as I think I'm some sort of heretic here: I REALLY disliked Akira. In fact, I remember watching it to see what all the fuss was about and then, midway through, turning to a friend of mine and saying, "This is really disappointing." He was shocked — as if I just shrugged my shoulders at one of the Wonders of the World.I thought Akira was poorly written and paced, with terribly sub-par animation for the time it was made…. but that's just me.

    • Mike Gold says:

      I liked Akira, but I probably saw it quite some time before Rick did. Cartoonist and anime expert Doug Rice turned the Chicago comics scene onto anime back in the late 70s, so I was on the lookout since I first heard of it. At the time, I thought it was quite a remarkable achievement…… but I liked the manga a lot more.

      • Rick Marshall says:

        Yeah, the first anime that really *hit* me and made me feel like I had seen something astonishing was "Ghost in the Shell" — I know, more versed anime fans will probably laugh at that, but I still count "GitS" as one of my favorite films, animated or otherwise.

        • Mike Gold says:

          Grave of the Fireflies.Not only the best anime I've ever seen, but it's one of the best movies I've ever seen. Absolutely brilliant — stop working, run out and get it, watch it, then think up some excuses for why you took the time off.

          • Rick Marshall says:

            Okay, it's been officially added to my Blockbuster queue.

          • Marilee J. Layman says:

            Yes, definitely. Every time I watch it, I put it back at the bottom of my Netflix queue. Have you watched the companion disc? The one with all the interviews? Most people haven't, and so I carefully ask who they think is at fault, and they agree with me, which is not what the writer had in mind. Big culture difference.(I'm also very fond of Kiki's Delivery Service.)