Akira: Original Soundtrack

 (37 customer reviews)

The question is not whether you should own the soundtrack to the film -- the answer to that is a resounding YES. The question is, "Why would you purchase the import?"

I bought both the import and the domestic version to make sure that I wasn't missing out on something; the import - at least the edition that I just got from an Amazon seller - lacks the same booklet that comes with the domestic version. The domestic version includes several pages explaining the music behind the motion:

1) "The movie AKIRA and the background music the AKIRA OS," written by Katsuhiro Otomo, the director of the film.

2) "The path to producing the AKIRA Original Soundtrack."

3) "A few words on the music," which is more than a few words; it explains the culture behind the music of each track, and how this also fits in with the images on the screen.

4) "The Synopsis of Akira"

5) "Profile of the Yamashirogumi" -- about the voices that make...Read more

Hoo boy. How do you review a CD like this? It's the kind of thing that you force every friend you have to listen to, hoping that they'll become just as addicted as you (usually they don't). Here's the review, track by track... Kaneda is a fun little percussion-and-choir piece, somewhat similar to a synthed-up KODO. Battle Against Clown is a mix of some VERY unusual vocal work and the Kaneda theme. Winds Over Neo-Tokyo is probably the worst track... think of a synth version of "landscape" music. Tetsuo is scary, and easily one of the best and most varied tracks. Doll's Polyphony sounds bloody awesome with headphones. Shohmyoh is a personal favorite of mine... it's a choral chanting piece in four movements with some synth thrown in, getting progressively more ominous. Mutation isn't quite as listenable as Tetsuo, but is scarier. EftUF is a fun guitar version of Kaneda. Illusion is a cool (if nearly unlistenable) Noh performance. Requiem is... beautiful. And sad. In...Read more

Geinoh Yamashirogumi apparently have a reputation in their native Japan for being a highly creative musical and artistic force. This soundtrack album they produced for the groundbreaking animated equivalent of "Blade Runner," Katsuhiro Otomo's "AKIRA," is truly in a class by itself. COmbining traditional Japanese musical techniques and instrumentations with modern equipment and technology, Yamashirogumi manages to create a sound that is ethnic in origin, but also mesmerizing and appealing to the foreign ear. This music can not be classified into any genre other than its own.The opening track "Kaneda" is an upbeat opener to the album, the song that both introduced us to the violent cityscape of Neo-Tokyo in the film and gave us the exit to which the world enters into a new surreal destiny. Something to dance to, full of power and emotion, and above all my favorite track on the album."Battle Against Crown" is one of the more...Read more