Akira is a Japanese cyberpunk media franchise based on Katsuhiro Otomo’s original manga, Akira. The series was published during the years 1982 to 1990 and was also adapted into an anime film in 1988.
Funimation announced through its official website that they are set to release Akira film’s remastered version in a limited edition Blu-ray disc on December 22nd, 2020.
The limited-edition will also include a box promoting art from the film and a 40-page booklet.
The Akira film’s plot is set between the years 1988 and 2019. In 1988 the Japanese government destroyed Tokyo with an atomic bomb after ESP experiments conducted on children went wrong.
In 2019, three decades after the city was devastated, a bike gang leader, Kaneda tries to save his friend Tetsuo from a secret government project.
He battles anyone who stands in his way including rebellious activists, corrupt politicians, derelict scientists, and an influential military leader.
As Kaneda fights to save him, Tetsuo suddenly exhibits supernatural powers. With this, a final battle is fought in the Tokyo Olympiad to uncover the experiment’s shocking secrets.
The evident changes in the 4K version of Akira’s film are the clear and crisp images as a result of 4K definition.
The HDR (High Dynamic Range) creates a pop of color enhancing the scenes and especially the amazing with the explosions in the film.
In the United States, both AMC Theatres and Regal Cinemas have set September 24th as the date for the remastered film to screen in select theaters.
Furthermore, Regal Cinemas has scheduled the screening as a Funimation screening with only English subtitles available.
In Japan, the film ranked at number 9 when the 4K remaster opened on April 3rd across 36 IMAX theaters in the country.
The anime for the franchise was initially scheduled to be launched in March at the Tokyo Anime Award Festival (TAAF) 2020 event, but unfortunately, it was canceled due to COVID-19.
The digitally remastered movie shipped in the form of 4K Blu-ray Disc in Japan on April 24th and was also planned to be screened in the United States when the remaster was first announced.
Besides the anime film adaptation in ‘88, Akira’s franchise also produced two video games.
Additionally, a live-action feature film has been in the works since 2000, and a new anime television series by Otomo has also been announced.
Japanese animation studio Sunrise is working with Otomo to revive Akira as a TV series. This brand-new series is said to be more dedicated to the original manga’s storyline.
About Akira
Akira is a 1988 post-apocalyptic cyberpunk anime film directed by Katsuhiro Otomo, produced by Ryōhei Suzuki and Shunzō Katō, and written by Otomo and Izo Hashimoto, based on Otomo’s 1982 manga of the same name.
In the year 1988, a young boy with psychic powers blows off the entirety of Tokyo city that leads to a chain of events ending in World War III. To prevent more explosions, the boy gets taken under custody and is never to be seen again.
Presently, in 2019, Tokyo is rebuilt as Neo Tokyo with violent gangs and terrorists standing against the government.
Shoutarou Kaneda is the leader of a motorcycle gang called “the Capsules,” raging a series of fights against their archnemesis, “the Clowns.”
During one of these fights, Shoutarou’s best friend, Tetsuo Shima, gets caught up in an accident with an esper. The esper is a runaway, escaping from the clutches of the government that imprisoned him.
After this encounter, Tetsuo develops his psychic abilities. He must hide from the government that seeks to quarantine the new psychic to avoid the same destruction that happened years ago.
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