The seminal
‘Akira’ gets an airing in the first batch of UMD titles for the new Sony Playstation Portable – or PSP. This legendary and as yet, arguably, unmatched manga is issued here, according to the packaging, as a ‘wonderful digitally remastered 16:9 anamorphic widescreen transfer and a magnificent 5.1 dolby digital surround audio stream’. So is this disc a worthy addition or first entry to your UMD film collection?
For those of you unaware, UMD – Universal Media Disc – is the proprietary format for the new Sony PSP games console. The discs themselves are very compact; just 6cm in diameter and are enclosed by a thin protective plastic caddy. According to Sony, these discs are capable of storing 1.8Gb of data on its single sided dual layer format. Compare this with around 9Gb for a single sided dual layer DVD and you have to ask yourself just how capable the UMD is for all we have come to expect from our film packages these days?
This landmark anime from 1988 was brought to us by the creative genius of Katsuhiro Otomo and, to the western world, set the standard for the wave of manga that was to follow. To try to summarise this entire film is to do an injustice to a complex, many-layered story (those of you who have read the Manga will perhaps better understand this). Set in a post-apocalyptic Neo-Tokyo we follow Tetsuo, member of a biker gang – who has a seemingly unexplained power awakened within him. This film is a bold, prophetic vision and is as visually stunning, thought provoking and intelligent as much today as it was almost two decades ago.
The often breathtaking visuals, devoid of the CG we have almost grown accustomed to these days, are complemented by a soundtrack that moves effortlessly from set pieces played out alongside stark silence, to scenes reverberating with Japanese drums and percussion. The musical score by Shoji Yamashiro is truly outstanding and can easily be appreciated in its own right.
As a film condensed from 2,000 or so pages of graphic novel, it is often criticised for having a story, which is difficult to follow, makes little sense to the casual viewer or requires more thought than some of the more mainstream anime that is available today. However, it has to be said that once seen, this is a piece that is difficult to forget; and for those of you that perhaps cannot quite get to grips with the story on first viewing – and are not familiar with the manga from which this is derived – then rest assured this film matures very well with repeated screenings.
As for the UMD itself, well, the ‘5.1’ blurb on the back of the box might be a clue to you that something is not quite right here. The stock PSP cannot produce output other than 2-channel stereo from the inbuilt speakers or headphone jack. Well, maybe this is just an oversight in preparing the sleeve notes when using information destined for the DVD release ? In any case, we have a picture to look forward to which has been wonderfully remastered in anamorphic widescreen – right ?
Wrong ! Sorry to say, that’s not the case either !
What we actually have here is the original circa 1989 issue of the film, which comes complete with original English dub, 2-channel stereo sound and a 4:3 formatted picture. Colours are crisp enough from the sharp, well lit PSP screen and you at least have the option to adjust or ‘zoom’ the picture format to fit the 1:78 aspect ratio of the console. However, the image quality is poorly defined in places and lacks sharpness and clarity – reminiscent of watching this film on VHS. <!--page-->
Those of you familiar with the original English voice track will be at home here – but the sound is murky and lacks separation – either using the inbuilt speakers or a headset.
There are no additional features to speak of. No additional language tracks or subtitles and no additional film related material. The menus are not animated in any way and on insertion of the disc, you are presented simply with the option to play the film or select a chapter.
The chapter menu has a textual index – from ‘chapters’ 1 to 36 – but has no indication by way of an animated clip, static image or time mark of where exactly in the film this will take you.
Although it’s undeniably great to have the film available in this format, you cannot help but wonder why the 2001 re-mastered edition of the film was not used for this release instead. The current UK DVD contains both the version included on this UMD and the later 2001 remaster with the extras that are sadly lacking here; widescreen picture, surround sound, original language options and so on.
Had the content of this UMD been accurately described by the wording on the case then it would have been easy enough to judge the UMD on the merits of the film alone. In that case it would be easy to recommend, as you would be aware of what you were buying; the original English language only, dubbed version of the film – and could make a more educated decision about your purchase.
But knowing that an improved version is out there already, makes it difficult to recommend this UMD as a worthwhile acquisition – more so when you realise the film is clearly not what ‘is stated on the tin’. The informed person that buys this particular disc will either be one who is insistent on owning a copy of this incredible film, in any form, to enjoy on their new PSP – or one who feels nostalgic and wonders how their original Akira VHS would look if captured directly onto a UMD.
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