Symphonic Suite Akira Milan Records / Newbury Comics Exclusive

I loathe this key art already!!

I figured I should start this exercise with what many consider a great soundtrack and a great film. I've seen Akira perhaps a thousand times and nowadays, I think i'd rather listen to the soundtrack than watch the film. I've had the original Symphonic Suite Akira CD issued by JVC since its release but the vinyl always eluded me -- until now. The original vinyl is stuff of legends. There was a 1988 pressing in Japan that went quickly out of print. In the 90s it was virtually impossible to track down. These days, it can be found on occasion in the usual places, but expect to pay at least $100 US for it.


Two years ago Milan Records reissued Symphonic Suite Akira as a '30th Anniversary Edition'. I almost picked it up then and I have to be honest. I'm sick of the overused key art of Kaneda with his laser gun and the red 'Akira' title treatment. That prevented me from picking this up back then. Am I alone in this?  It's just so lazy to stick that image on everything at this stage of where the film stands as a pop culture/anime phenomenon. There's so much incredible promotional art that could have been used and every Akira release either has THIS image or the one of Kaneda walking towards his bike (included here as one of the two inner sleeves. Now you know how I feel. So this edition I picked up recently is the marbled edition exclusive to Newbury Comics. Be quick if you want it as there are only 500 units available.

Another overused image.

Much has already been written already of Geinoh Yamashirogumi's score. Highly unique then -- and now -- the composer Dr. Shoji Yamashiro called it “sonic architecture" because Akira director Katsuhiro Otomo basically built the imagery around the music and not the other way around. There's no question it is the best Japanese score since its release. IMO, Joe Hisaishi's Princess Mononoke score comes a close second. I'll be diving into Ghibli scores later; specially with the release of Kiki and Porco Rosso coming soon.

Back to Akira. This score is a pleasure to listen especially since the music evokes much of the film's visuals, it's easy to get lost in it as you listen. Personally, I'm not an audiophile, but I've heard better audio from other pressings. I feel like this could have been punched up a little more. That said, it isn't terrible. There are some nice directional stereo effects specifically around some of my favorite tracks, "Battle Against Clown" and "Exodus From The Underground Fortress". I'm not sure if I should go more in-depth at what makes up the soundtrack as I think everyone by now is aware that the score is made up of an interesting mix of traditional Japanese and South East Asian influences. Don't expect a John Williams-esque soundscape. This won't be it. As I write this, I am reaching the end of side D, with "Requiem" playing in the background and it sounds fantastic.

We won't be getting another reissue anytime soon, so even if you have a passive interest in Akira, or soundtracks in general, I wholeheartedly recommend this release.