Fans of the 1988 Akira movie rejoice as Sunrise announced a new anime adaptation of the beloved sci-fi anime movie! Here’s everything we know so far about the Akira anime’s release date, cast, studio, trailer, and so much more!
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What to Expect From the New Akira Anime
The upcoming Akira TV anime, as previously revealed, will deviate from the 1988 film.
Unlike the original film, which shortened the events of the series, the new Akira TV anime will faithfully adapt the manga from the very beginning.
Sunrise’s new Akira anime will cover Volume 1 of the manga, which will introduce the Neo-Tokyo setting to the audience.
Neo-Tokyo is modern-day Tokyo, the aftermath of a terrible explosion of unknown origin that ignited World War III.
Everyone will also get to know iconic characters such as Tetsuo and Kaneda, whose lives have never been the same after Tetsuo's paranormal abilities began to awaken.
Worse, the government and other obscure agencies will meddle in their lives, causing complete pandemonium.
Fear will grip these individuals, and they will go to any length to prevent another disaster from striking Tokyo, seeing Tetsuo as a huge threat to civilization.
Unbeknownst to everyone, an all-powerful entity named Akira resides deep within the secretive agency's core!
For now, Akira is sleeping and imprisoned in a frozen stasis.
What will Tetsuo’s connection to Akira be? Will a new tragedy strike Tokyo and claim thousands of lives once again?
Akira Anime Release Date Predictions
Back in 2019, the director of the 1988 Akira movie, Katsuhiro Otomo, announced that they were working on an entirely new Akira TV anime.
It was reported during the Anime Expo, and studio Sunrise’s president, Makoto Asanuma, announced and confirmed the good news.
It has been almost four years since the announcement, but Akira TV anime's release date has not yet been confirmed.
Fans are even getting anxious and feeling hopeless about the anime’s release date.
It’s no surprise, as studio Sunrise announced that they would keep fans updated with the development, but to no avail.
In fact, news about the new anime adaptation is scarce, making us fear that the project will never be released.
But we’re still hoping for the best and keeping an eye out for the latest news about the Akira TV anime’s release date.
After all, it's not unusual for an anime to be delayed nowadays due to certain circumstances like budget and production constraints.
Akira Anime Studio
Studio Sunrise is producing the Akira TV anime, taking over the animation from Tokyo Movie Shinsha, which produced the cult classic 1988 movie.
Studio Sunrise is best known for working on anime titles such as Gintama, Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion, Cowboy Bebop, Planetes, and even the Gundam anime franchise.
The studio is also working behind the scenes on up-and-coming shows like Sand Land, Genjitsu no Yohane: Sunshine in the Mirror, and City Hunter The Movie: Angel Dust.
Akira Anime Cast
As of writing, no official cast for the Akira TV anime had been announced.
For the time being, here are the official cast members of the 1988 Akira movie for your information:
- Mitsuo Iwata as Kaneda Shoutarou
- Nozomu Sasaki as Tetsuo Shima
- Mami Koyama as Kei
- Tarou Ishida as Shikishima
- Takeshi Kusao as Kai
- Masaaki Ookura as Yamagata
- Yuriko Fuchizaki as Kaori
- Fukue Itou as Kiyoko
- Kouichi Kitamura as Miyako
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Where to Watch the New Akira Anime
The streaming platform that will distribute the new Akira TV anime in most regions has not yet been announced.
However, there’s a fair chance that Crunchyroll, Hulu, or Netflix will pick up the new anime once everything has been settled, given that these platforms are currently streaming the 1988 movie in select regions.
Akira Anime Trailer
No trailer has been released yet for the new Akira TV anime, but we are expecting to hear and see more updates from the producers soon!
For now, enjoy the short trailer released for the 4K Ultra HD remaster of the 1988 Akira movie!
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