Pioneer Entertainment is spending over a million dollars to digitize and remaster Katsuhiro Otomo's anime masterpiece Akira (see 'Akira Gets a Facelift').  Although the rejuvenated 80s classic will get a theatrical run in May (see 'Warner Bros. to Distribute Akira?'), the video release is far more important to specialty retailers.  The DVD version should be a real killer since it will include both the subtitled Japanese version as well as the English language dub.  Pioneer has tentatively announced July 3 as the street date for the video versions of the remastered film.

 

Pioneer will be releasing four different Akira skus.  Two VHS versions will be available at a suggested retail of $19.98--a subtitled Japanese language version and a dubbed English version.  A regular DVD edition will include both the English dubbed soundtrack (now upgraded to Dolby 5.1) and an original Japanese language stereo soundtrack with English subtitles.  Pioneer has announced a suggested retail of  $24.98 for the regular DVD edition.  Pioneer has also announced a special Collector's Edition, which will include a second disk containing a 'Making of Akira' documentary, a documentary on the making of the Akira soundtrack, a feature on the restoration of the film, and other unannounced extras.  The Collector's Edition has a MSRP of $34.95.

 

Set in a post-apocalyptic Neo-Tokyo, Akira is a superb example of the way in which animation can be used to tell a complicated science fiction story.  Although it was crucial in establishing a beachhead for anime in the U.S., Akira has been unavailable on video for years.  The combination of a newly remastered version of the film and the switch to DVD (which solves the whole 'dub vs. sub controversy while upgrading video quality) should put the new DVD versions of Akira, among the top-selling DVDs of the year in the specialty market. Both the regular DVD and the Collector's Edition DVD deserve the ICv2.com 'Pick Hit to Click' designation.   And of course retailers can capitalize on the publicity from the theatrical and video releases by continuing to aggressively merchandise the beautifully repackaged Dark Horse trade paperbacks (see 'Dark Horse Retro Manga Boffo') and the McFarlane toys (see 'McFarlane Fields...').