Gold Standard Collection #2: Akira: The Complete Experience (WIP)

Yes, another new project from the king of unfinished projects. This time, I’m going to try to collect everything Akira into a single package. My video source will be the Italian Dynit release.

Audio tracks I’m including for sure:

• Original Japanese
• 1989 English dub
• 2001 English dub
• French dub (2011 revision)
• 2005 German dub
• 1992 Italian dub
• 1992 Brazilian Portuguese dub
• 1999 Brazilian Portuguese dub
• 2002 Brazilian Portuguese dub
• 1992 River Plate Spanish dub
• 1992 Castilian Spanish dub
• 1999 Mexican Spanish dub (VHS)
• 1999 Mexican Spanish dub (Locomotion)
• 2002 Castilian Spanish dub
• 2004 Castilian Spanish dub
• 2019 Mexican Spanish dub
• Catalan dub
• Valencian dub

Audio tracks I’m hoping to include:

• French dub (original)
• 1991 German dub
• 2018 Italian dub

Subtitle tracks I’m including for sure:

• English (Island/Streamline)
• English (BBC2)
• English (Pioneer)
• English (Bandai)
• English (FUNimation)
• English (Streamline dubtitles)
• English (Pioneer dubtitles)
• French
• French (based on Island/Streamline version)
• German
• Italian
• Japanese
• Portuguese (Brazilian)
• Portuguese (European)
• Spanish
• Spanish (based on Island/Streamline version)
• Spanish (based on Pioneer and FUNimation versions)
• Arabic
• Bengali
• Bulgarian
• Chinese
• Croatian
• Czech
• Danish
• Dutch
• Finnish
• Greek
• Hebrew
• Hungarian
• Indonesian
• Korean
• Malay
• Norwegian
• Persian
• Polish A
• Polish B
• Romanian
• Russian
• Serbian
• Slovenian
• Swedish
• Thai
• Turkish
• Vietnamese

Subtitle tracks I’m hoping to include:

• Catalan
• Valencian

I’m also planning to include the Akira Production Report, both dubbed and subtitled, and other known special features, including the trailers and the 2001 restoration documentary. Any help with materials would be well appreciated, especially in regards to the original Japanese closing credits and/or the creditless version of the final animation, which would be useful in recreating the Electric Media version’s closing credits.

Special thanks to SpookyDollhouse for recommending the Dynit Blu-ray as my primary video source and Marc R. Morris for sending me a digital copy of his BBC2 subtitled recording.

This sounds awesome. Will be keen to check out when you have completed it. Especially looking forward to the subtitled version of the production report as I have never seen that before.

Very nice! And much needed!

The 1989 English sub is considered the best. But which subtitle is considered the best one? Is it English (Island/Streamline)

I recommend using the Italian Dybex Bluray for video. The 4k master is heavily filtered. A go-to using the best audio and video would be great, but the 4k isn’t it imo.

If anyone has the Japanese Blu-ray, could they send me an MKV file of the original Japanese closing credits special feature?

The 4K had wider color gamut and increased dynamic range. But the drawback was of course the DVNR. They had to do a qtec restoration just couldn’t leave well enough alone. The same thing was done to Ghost in the Shell.

In some scenes there is clearly more detail in others the DVNR has smeared the detail away.

I’ve been seeing this a lot lately in 4K releases. The desire to degrain films. Reminds me of the bad early days of Blu-Ray.

I’m still waiting for a file of the original Japanese closing credits special feature to possibly use for this restoration.

Please include the original 2.0 Japanese audio track along with remixed 5.1 and latest one on the 4K.