There are few anime titles with as much wide-spread appeal as the cyberpunk classic Akira so when the movie suddenly sees a widespread resurgence its impossible not to take notice. A recent 4K remaster of the movie has led to both a theatrical re-release of the movie this fall and a special edition Blu-Ray box set in the winter.
The 4K version of Akira is slated to hit select US theaters on September 24, with tickets going on sale on September 18. The pandemic and COVID-19 makes finding a theater showing the movie difficult, but check availability here. Funimation also plans to release a limited edition 4K version on December 22. The 4k version will include limited edition box art from the film and a 40-page art booklet.
Even though the Akira anime was released way back in 1988, it is still one of the more influential films in anime and science fiction. It follows Shotaro Kaneda and his motorcycle gang in gritty post-apocalyptic Neo Tokyo. When the government discovers his friend Tetsuo Shima has psychic abilities it triggers a harrowing adventure. The 4K remaster edition began its theatrical run in Japan earlier this spring. Its premiere was supposed to be on the first day of the Tokyo Anime Award Festival in 2020, but coronavirus limited its run to 36 theaters across Japan.
Akira originally started as a science fiction action manga by Katsuhiro Otomo that ran from 1982 to 1990. Otomo ended up directing the anime version two years before the comic ended its run. Akira is just the latest classic science fiction anime to receive the 4K treatment after Ghost In The Shell released a remastered edition this fall.
The resurgence of classic anime science fiction titles has been a boon for fans of a genre that hasn’t been popular in recent memory. Both Ghost in the Shell and Akira still hold up to this day and feel even more prescient considering the future depicted in both those movies feels just a bit closer to reality then it had been.
Now that both Akira and Ghost in The Shell have gotten new versions the question is what is next? It would be the perfect time for a 4K special edition version of Cowboy Bebop.
The 4K remaster of Akira releases in theaters September 24, the Blu-Ray Special edition releases December 22
Source: Crunchyroll