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''Akira'' is a Japanese cyberpunk media franchise based on Katsuhiro Otomo's seminal manga, '' Akira'', published from 1982 to 1990. It was adapted into a 1988 anime film and two video games. A live-action feature film has also been in development since 2000, and a new anime television series by Otomo was also announced in 2019.


Premise

''Akira'' takes place in futurist,
cyberpunk Cyberpunk is a subgenre of science fiction in a dystopian futuristic setting that tends to focus on a "combination of lowlife and high tech", featuring futuristic technological and scientific achievements, such as artificial intelligence and c ...
"Neo-Tokyo", some decades following the destruction of
Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...
years prior by a massive explosion. A city struggling to prevent crime amid political corruption, the story focuses on Kaneda, the leader of a motorcycle gang, and his friend and fellow member Tetsuo, who is mentally unstable. After a near collision with a childlike Esper, the product of government research to imbue humans with powerful psychokinetic energies, Tetsuo becomes similarly afflicted. As Tetsuo struggles with controlling his new abilities, Kaneda, desperate to learn more, joins forces with a resistance group, including Kei, a woman he takes interest in. As Tetsuo's abilities start to go out of control, the military, led by Colonel Shikishima, take ultimate actions to try to contain him, wanting to prevent the same destruction to Neo-Tokyo as happened before with the test subject Akira in Tokyo years earlier. Kaneda, Kei, Shikishima, and the other Espers work together to try to help Tetsuo come to find peace and end his destructive rampage.


Works


Manga

''Akira'' was originally serialized in Japan from 1982 to 1990 in Kodansha's ''
Young Magazine is a Japanese weekly anthology magazine published in Tokyo each Monday by Kodansha. The magazine was started on June 23, 1980 and is targeted at the adult male ( ''seinen'') demographic. It was published bimonthly (under the title ), on the seco ...
'', ending with over 2000 pages of Otomo's art. It was published serially in the United States
Epic Comics Epic Comics (also known as the Epic Comics Group)Shooter, Jim. "Bullpen Bulletins: The Truth About the Epic Comics Group!" Marvel comics cover-dated November 1982. was an imprint of Marvel Comics from 1982 to 1996. A spin-off of the publisher's ...
, an imprint of
Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...
, colorizing the black and white manga. The choice to colorize the work helped to popularize ''Akira'' in the Western world. Six volumes of collected works were published from 2000 to 2002 by
Dark Horse Comics Dark Horse Comics is an American comic book, graphic novel, and manga publisher founded in Milwaukie, Oregon by Mike Richardson in 1986. The company was created using funds earned from Richardson's chain of Portland, Oregon comic book shops know ...
, and in the UK by
Titan Books Titan Publishing Group is the publishing division of Titan Entertainment Group, which was established in 1981. The books division has two main areas of publishing: film and television tie-ins and cinema reference books; and graphic novels and c ...
, with the license later transferring to
Kodansha Comics Kodansha USA Publishing, LLC is a publishing company based in New York, USA, and a subsidiary of Japan's largest publishing company Kodansha. Established in July 2008, Kodansha USA publishes books relating to Japan, Japanese culture, and manga, ...
.


Anime feature film

Otomo did not plan on having an animated adaption of ''Akira'', but when the idea was presented to him, he became intrigued, and agreed to allow it as long as he remained in creative control of the film. The film was produced by
TMS Entertainment , formerly known as the , also known as or , is a Japanese animation studio established on October 22, 1946. TMS is one of the oldest and most famous anime studios in Japan, best known for numerous anime franchises such as '' Lupin the Third' ...
and distributed by
Toho is a Japanese film, theatre production and distribution company. It has its headquarters in Chiyoda, Tokyo, and is one of the core companies of the Osaka-based Hankyu Hanshin Toho Group. Outside of Japan, it is best known as the producer ...
across Japan on 16 July 1988; it had limited released in Western countries. When ''Akira'' hit home media around 1992, the film got a new resurgence, and since has been recognized as one of the best animated and science fiction films of all time, and is considered a landmark anime.


Video games

A companion video game to the film was developed by
TOSE () (also called Tose Software) is a Japanese video game development company based in Kyoto. It is mostly known for developing Nintendo's Game & Watch ports and remakes#Game & Watch Gallery series, ''Game & Watch Gallery'' series, various ''Drago ...
and distributed by
Taito is a Japanese company that specializes in video games, toys, arcade cabinets and game centers, based in Shinjuku, Tokyo. The company was founded by Michael Kogan in 1953 as the importing vodka, vending machines and jukeboxes into Japan. I ...
for personal computers, and released in Japan on 24 December 1988. Titled simply '' Akira'', the game was a text-based adventure game with the text presented over images from the film, with the player decided what action protagonist Kaneda would take. It received average ratings from Japanese reviewers. Black Pearl Studios, a subsidiary of
THQ THQ Inc. was an American video game company based in Agoura Hills, California. It was founded in April 1990 by Jack Friedman, originally in Calabasas, and became a public company the following year through a reverse merger takeover. Initi ...
, obtained permission from Kodansha to develop a game based on the ''Akira'' manga in 1993. Preview footage was shown at the 1994 Consumer Electronics Show. Intended for a 1995 release on the
Super NES The Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES), commonly shortened to Super NES or Super Nintendo, is a 16-bit home video game console developed by Nintendo that was released in 1990 in Japan and South Korea, 1991 in North America, 1992 in ...
,
Game Boy The is an 8-bit fourth generation handheld game console developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan on April 21, 1989, in North America later the same year, and in Europe in late 1990. It was designed by the same t ...
,
Game Gear The is an 8-bit Fourth generation of video game consoles, fourth generation handheld game console released by Sega on October 6, 1990, in Japan, in April 1991 throughout North America and Europe, and during 1992 in Australia. The Game Gear pri ...
, Sega Genesis, and
Sega CD The Sega CD, released as the in most regions outside North America and Brazil, is a CD-ROM accessory for the Sega Genesis produced by Sega as part of the fourth generation of video game consoles. It was released on December 12, 1991, in Japan ...
platforms, the game was never completed due to financial issues at THQ. In 1994, a British-made action game, simply titled ''Akira'', was released for the
Amiga CD32 The Amiga CD32 (stylized as Amiga CD32, code-named "Spellbound") is a 32-bit home video game console developed by Commodore and released in Europe, Australia, Canada, and Brazil. It was first announced at the Science Museum in London on July 16, ...
and is considered one of the console's worst games. '' Akira Psycho Ball'' is a simulated
pinball Pinball games are a family of games in which a ball is propelled into a specially designed table where it bounces off various obstacles, scoring points either en route or when it comes to rest. Historically the board was studded with nails call ...
machine video game, featuring elements from the manga and anime, for the PlayStation 2. It was developed by
KAZe Kaze may refer to: * KAZE, an American radio station located in Texas * KAZe, a Japanese video game developer * Kazé, a French publishing company * Kaze-Forces for the Defense of Democracy, a political party in Burundi Fiction * ''Kaze'' (tel ...
and released by
Bandai is a Japanese multinational toy manufacturer and distributor headquartered in Taitō, Tokyo. Its international branches, Bandai Namco Toys & Collectables America and Bandai UK, are respectively headquartered in Irvine, California and Richmond ...
on 21 February 2001, with limited release in Europe the following year. The game had generally positive reviews from Japanese reviewers.


Future works


Live-action film

Warner Bros. acquired the rights to a live-action ''Akira'' film in 2002, but since then has had difficulty in getting a project started, with it remaining in development hell.Linder, Brian et al. (12 April 2002).
"Akira Hollywood Remake!?"
''IGN.com''. Retrieved 24 October 2006.
At least five different directors and ten different writers have been attached at various times. While Otomo had given scriptwriters the freedom to modify the plot of ''Akira'' as necessary to fit a live-action film, fears remain over whitewashing or racebending in the film's casting as well as trying to relocate the film outside of Japan due to story's ties with Japan's history. Most recently, director
Taika Waititi Taika David Cohen (born 16 August 1975), known professionally as Taika Waititi ( ), is a New Zealand filmmaker, actor, and comedian. He is a recipient of an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, and a Grammy Award, and has received two nominations at ...
had been set to lead the film for a 2021 release, but that has been put on hold indefinitely as Waititi opted to work on '' Thor: Love and Thunder'' first, and it is unclear if the film would still go forward with Waititi's direction due to the delay; in a 2021 interview, fellow filmmaker
James Gunn James Francis Gunn Jr. (born August 5, 1966) is an American filmmaker and executive. He began his career as a screenwriter in the mid-1990s, starting at Troma Entertainment with ''Tromeo and Juliet'' (1997). He then began working as a directo ...
related that Waititi had told him " hemovie fell apart". However, during an interview with ''Wired'', Waititi said that he was not going to give up on making the film happen.


Anime television series

As early as January 2016, a potential television series had been in the planning stages with Otomo's involvement. At the 2019
Anime Expo Anime Expo, abbreviated AX, is an American anime convention held in Los Angeles, California and organized by the non-profit Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation (SPJA). The convention is traditionally held annually on the first w ...
, Otomo announced that he was working with
Sunrise Sunrise (or sunup) is the moment when the upper rim of the Sun appears on the horizon in the morning. The term can also refer to the entire process of the solar disk crossing the horizon and its accompanying atmospheric effects. Terminology A ...
to create a new anime television series based on the manga.


References


External links

* {{Katsuhiro Otomo 1982 manga Comics set in the 2010s Comics set in the 21st century Cyberpunk anime and manga Fiction books about psychic powers Fiction books about telepathy Japan Self-Defense Forces in fiction Katsuhiro Otomo Manga adapted into films Police brutality in fiction Post-apocalyptic anime and manga Prosthetics in fiction Anime and manga about revenge Seinen manga Thriller anime and manga