Akira 35th Anniversary Box Set

Product Information

In Akira Kurosawa's first film after the end of World War II, future beloved Ozu regular Setsuko Hara gives an astonishing performance as Yukie, the only female protagonist in Kurosawa's body of work and one of his strongest heroes. Transforming herself from genteel bourgeois daughter to independent social activist, Yukie traverses a tumultuous decade in Japanese history.

On a Technical Note: While I prefer the original right-to-left orientation of the 35th Anniversary box-set, Kodansha is still using the Dark Horse translation that appeared before Japanese formatting surprised the hell out of US publishers by catching on. It's only as big a deal as you make it, in my opinion; but if you can't stand the R-to-L format, and don't give a shit about 'preserving the artist's original vision', or whatever (does that sound right?), you can still find the Western oriented format in print, for a while, anyway. I also like how the movie feels so different, less personal and way more nuanced and political, it really makes both these works unique and worth consuming, over and over. Published just over 40 years ago, it’s nothing short of a masterpiece. I can only think of a handful of manga and anime that have influenced pop culture the same way Akira has. It’s a sprawling sci-fi epic, a watershed moment for the cyberpunk genre and was a pivotal influence in introducing manga to wider Western audiences. The story decides to focus a bit too much on too many characters, making the important moments for the ones who really matter hit way less. The positive and weirdly nationalist ending is also very hard to believe and take serious.

So what makes this box set so special?

Rashomon was restored by the Academy Film Archive, the National Film Center of the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, and Kadokawa Pictures, Inc. Funding provided by Kadokawa Culture Promotion Foundation and The Film Foundation. A handsome, suave Toshiro Mifune lights up the screen as painter Ichiro, whose circumstantial meeting with a famous singer (Yoshiko Yamaguchi) is twisted by the tabloid press into a torrid affair. Ichiro files a lawsuit against the seedy gossip magazine, but his lawyer, Hiruta (Kurosawa stalwart Takashi Shimura), is playing both sides. A portrait of cultural moral decline, Scandal is also a compelling courtroom drama and a moving tale of human redemption. What I found out, ironically enough, is that the film adaptation and the source books are vastly different stories. The manga series is rather large, so one would obviously think that many subplots and miniature story arcs would need to be condensed or altogether scrapped, like many films need to do. But no, this is an entirely different story. Same beginning, similar climax, but virtually every plot beat that happens in the book is completely different than the film. Where the film "ends" is approximately 40% of the way through the story, but it uses the same climax that the series has. Odd. Marvel at the beauty that is Akira. There’s really not much I can say about the series that hasn’t already been said before, but what I will add is that, if you’re a fan of the movie and want to dive deeper into this world, then the manga is a must. Notice I didn’t say that the manga will help you understand what’s going on in this story, because it’s still pretty confusing, but there’s something to be said about a story that barely explains itself, but still manages to engage the reader to such a degree. Akira 35th Anniversary Edition features story and art by Katsuhiro Otomo. This edition contains an all-new, complete 35th anniversary six volume hardcover box set, with the original Japanese art and right-to-left reading format, plus a hardcover Akira Club art book and an exclusive patch with the iconic pill design.

An all-new, complete 35th anniversary hardcover box set of one of the most acclaimed and influential comics of all time, with the original Japanese art and right-to-left reading format for the first time! The science fiction epic that changed anime and manga forever is presented in six beautiful hardcover volumes, plus the hardcover Akira Club art book and an exclusive patch with the iconic pill design. Is long been a fan of the movie but not read the source. My boss lent me Vol 1 recently and I devoured it. The panel work in this is incredible to this day. A must for anyone into graphic art. The families of the victims are baffled. The police investigating the deaths don't know what to make of it all, but as they follow the bizarre trail of clues, they get closer to a killer they're incapable of stopping. But when a little girl moves in with her family, the old man is suddenly confronted by someone determined to stop his malevolent games, a child with powers that might exceed his own. The town-sized apartment complex becomes a battlefield between two psychic juggernauts, and the old man's malicious games unleash a storm of telekinetic fury that threatens to kill hundreds of innocent people.There are plenty of elements in the manga that stand out to me, and it has to do with how much we get to know the characters from the movie on a whole new level. Of course, I wouldn’t have minded if the movie had an extra half hour of material, but I also wouldn’t have minded an extra 2 hours. I’m actually glad we get cut off at 2 hours. What I will argue is that the manga and the movie are the same stories taking place in different universes. They intersect in some areas but are wildly different in others. I love the movie with every fiber of my being, but the manga makes us care about these characters even more and we understand their drive in this story much better. Kei and Lady Miyako are central characters here (maybe more than Kaneda) and only serve to add richness to the conflict with Tetsuo. And that’s just scratching the surface. The stakes are just as high here, but there’s more humanity to the story. The character of Akira itself is much more tragic, even though, again, its not quite clear what Akira is, what the capsules are or what they’re supposed to be doing, how Tetsuo fits into all this, or what even happens when these raptures occur. But that doesn’t matter because the rest of the story is pretty grounded in the sense that everyone is frustrated that they don’t understand what’s going on but that there’s one thing that needs to be done. We’re on board for this madness. Jean Renoir and Akira Kurosawa, two of cinema's greatest directors, transform Maxim Gorky's classic proletariat play The Lower Depths in their own ways for their own times. Renoir, working amidst the rise of Hitler and the Popular Front in France, had need to take license with the dark nature of Gorky's source material, softening its bleak outlook. Kurosawa, firmly situated in the postwar world, found little reason for hope. He remained faithful to the original with its focus on the conflict between illusion and reality—a theme he would return to over and over again. Working with their most celebrated actors (Gabin with Renoir; Mifune with Kurosawa), each film offers a unique look at cinematic adaptation—where social conditions and filmmaking styles converge to create unique masterpieces.

If you’re a big fan of the movie adaption of Akira but have never dipped your toes into the source material, you owe it to yourself to read it. Even though the Akira anime was written and directed by Otomo, it only covers about 30% of the manga, at best. It’s almost like reading a different work that just happens to share the same characters and setting.For his final film, Akira Kurosawa paid tribute to the immensely popular writer and educator Hyakken Uchida, here played by Tatsuo Matsumura. Madadayo is composed of distinct episodes based on Uchida's writings that illustrate the affection and loyalty felt between Uchida and his students. Poignant and elegant, this is an unforgettable farewell from one of the greatest artists the cinema has ever known.

One of the greatest achievements by Akira Kurosawa, Ikiru shows the director at his most compassionate—affirming life through an explora­tion of death. Takashi Shimura beautifully portrays Kanji Watanabe, an aging bureaucrat with stomach cancer who is impelled to find meaning in his final days. Presented in a radically conceived two­part structure and shot with a perceptive, humanistic clarity of vision, Ikiru is a multifaceted look at what it means to be alive. By turns tragic and transcendent, Akira Kurosawa’s film follows the daily lives of a group of people barely scraping by in a slum on the outskirts of Tokyo. Yet as desperate as their circumstances are, each of them—the homeless father and son envisioning their dream house; the young woman abused by her uncle; the boy who imagines himself a trolley conductor—finds reasons to carry on. The unforgettable Dodes’ka-den was made at a tumultuous moment in Kurosawa's life. And all of his hopes, fears, and artistic passion are on fervent display in this, his gloriously shot first color film. This affectionate paean to young love is also a frank examination by Akira Kurosawa of the harsh realities of postwar Japan. During a Sunday trip into war-ravaged Tokyo, Yuzo and Masako look for work and lodging, as well as affordable entertainments to pass the time. Reminiscent of Frank Capra’s social-realist comedies and echoing contemporaneous Italian neorealism, One Wonderful Sunday touchingly offers a sliver of hope in dark times. Donc, je sais qu'Akira est un classique, mais je n'ai pas le bagage pour comprendre en quoi cela a pu être une oeuvre révolutionnaire pour le genre. The series starts with these words: "At 2:17 P.M. December 6th, 1982, a new type of bomb exploded over the metropolitan area of Japan. Nine hours later World War III began." Then the story moves forward to 2019 and ends in 2020.I have to say that it has taken me some time to achieve this with the added delay of travelling with work but I managed it in the end and I have to say that I enjoyed this this time as much if not more so than before. Absolutely incredible! An astounding collection of one of the most important works in comics ever. This anniversary box set is nothing short of beautiful. Every volume in a hardcover edition - I've never seen a set this well done before. The publisher has outdone itself with this set. A testament to the goodness of humankind, Akira Kurosawa's Red Beard ( Akahige) chronicles the tumultuous relationship between an arrogant young doctor and a compassionate clinic director. Toshiro Mifune, in his last role for Kurosawa, gives a powerhouse performance as the dignified yet empathic director who guides his pupil to maturity, teaching the embittered intern to appreciate the lives of his destitute patients. Perfectly capturing the look and feel of 19th-century Japan, Kurosawa weaves a fascinating tapestry of time, place, and emotion. An all-new, complete 35th anniversary hardcover box set of one of the most acclaimed and influential comics of all time, with the original Japanese art and right-to-left reading format for the first time! This article has been updated since its original publication. Wait, what is Akira about? Image: Madman