Persons, Dan (February–March 2004). "The Americanization of Anime: 10 Essential Animations". Cinefantastique. 36 (1): 48. Archived from the original on April 28, 2017 . Retrieved April 28, 2017. a b c d "What is cyberpunk?". Polygon. August 30, 2018. Archived from the original on October 14, 2018 . Retrieved October 14, 2018.

Showing the then-future of a corrupt Neo-Tokyo in 2019, prior to the delayed 2020 Olympics (which is a bit too prophetic for my liking). Akira starts with rival biker gangs speeding through the city's neon-filled nights, only to come across government experiments gone awry. Subsequently, one of their own, Tetsuo, is caught in an accident, captured, and then somehow medically modified to unleash latent psychic powers. After Pioneer acquired the rights to the film, a second English dub was commissioned in 2001 for the DVD release to obtain THX certification. [62] [63] The new dub was produced by Animaze and directed by Animaze founder Kevin Seymour. [64] [65] Home media [ edit ] The Cinema Behind Star Wars: Akira". StarWars.com. October 26, 2015. Archived from the original on July 30, 2017 . Retrieved July 23, 2017. In the future, Shotaro Kaneda and his motorcycle gang tear through Neo Tokyo, a city divided by growing tensions. But when caught in an accident, Kaneda's friend Tetsuo Shima discovers a secret government project and receives psychic abilities beyond his control. "Akira" 4K UHD Blu-Ray cover art courtesy of Funimation AKIRA Special Features Includes:Lent, John A. (2001). Animation in Asia and the Pacific. John Libbey. ISBN 978-1-86462-036-8. Archived from the original on June 26, 2018 . Retrieved June 26, 2018. Akira 4K Blu-ray delivers great video and reference-quality audio in this excellent Blu-ray release Akira is - yet again like 'Shell - one of those rare anime masterpieces which has been repeatedly cited as inspiration for a number of modern sci-fi classics, from The Matrix to Inception, with features like Chronicle and Midnight Special also clearly drawing key ideas, as well as the Netflix series Stranger Things. It is brutal, ultra-violent (we're talking Robocop: Director's Cut when it comes to some of the shooting), bursting with the kind of body-horror that would blow even Cronenberg's brain, and wielding some pretty impressive psychic clash sequences, not to mention an epic closing act that is possibly the only part of the movie where you feel that they could have done with a little longer to develop the underlying themes. In the United Kingdom, Akira was first released on VHS by Island World Communications in 1991. [69] By 1993, the film had sold 60,000 tapes in the United Kingdom, [69] 100,000 tapes in Europe, [32] and 100,000 tapes in the United States. [61] The success of this release led to the creation of Manga Entertainment, who later assumed distribution. Manga released a two-disc DVD set in 2004, which featured the restored version with the Japanese audio Pioneer dub on the first disc and a VHS transfer with the Streamline dub on the second. a b c Blanc, Michelle Le; Odell, Colin (2014). Akira. Macmillan International Higher Education. p.49. ISBN 978-1-84457-809-2. Archived from the original on February 5, 2019 . Retrieved May 30, 2018.

Knox, Kelly (September 29, 2021). "Watch Two Full Minutes of the AKIRA Motorcycle Slide Across the Years". Nerdist . Retrieved March 10, 2022.The 500 greatest Movies of All Time". Empire. Archived from the original on December 14, 2013 . Retrieved March 13, 2009. Akira has a number of impressive components. Not only is Akira beautifully animated, the filmmaking benefits from the expert The dub was acquired by the fledgling Streamline for the initial North American release, with co-founder Carl Macek leading the distribution. [60] [61] This version became known as the "Streamline dub", despite Streamline not being involved in its production.

The " Akira slide" refers to a scene where Kaneda slides into view with his motorbike, as he uses a sideways slide to bring his bike to a halt, while the bike gives off a trail of smoke and electric sparks caused by the slide. It is regarded as one of the most iconic anime scenes of all time, widely imitated and referenced in many works of animation, film and television. [128] The Akira slide appears in many dozens of animated works, including Batman: The Animated Series (1993), You're Under Arrest (1994), Gargoyles (1994), Air Master (2003), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2003–2009), Yakitate Japan (2004), Super Robot Monkey Team Hyperforce Go (2005), Teen Titans (2005), Gurren Lagann (2007), Star Wars: Clone Wars (2003), Yu-Gi-Oh (2008–2016), Fresh Pretty Cure (2009), Lupin III vs. Detective Conan (2009), Pokémon: Diamond and Pearl (2009), Durarara (2010), Adventure Time (2011), Clarence (2014), Ready Player One (2018) and Marvel's Spider-Man (2018), Steven Universe: The Movie (2019), among many others. [129] [130] Several live-action films have also paid homage to the Akira slide, notably in X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009) and Nope (2022). [128] [131] Cultural impact [ edit ]a b Barone, Matt (June 8, 2011). "27. Akira (1988)". The 50 Best Sci-Fi Movies. Archived from the original on September 4, 2012 . Retrieved August 4, 2012. TOP 25 Animated Movies of All-Time". IGN. June 25, 2010. Archived from the original on July 31, 2017 . Retrieved July 30, 2017. The most impressive PC mods ever made". TechRadar. June 14, 2018. Archived from the original on June 16, 2018 . Retrieved October 13, 2018. Osmond, Andrew (June 21, 2011). "Akira: The Story Behind The Film". Empire. Archived from the original on September 9, 2018 . Retrieved September 8, 2018. Ashcraft, Brian (September 27, 2013). "The 2020 Tokyo Olympics Were Predicted 30 Years Ago by Akira". Archived from the original on August 3, 2016 . Retrieved July 27, 2016.