# Akira (1988 film)
**Akira** (アキラ) is a 1988 Japanese animated science-fiction film directed by Katsuhiro Otomo (大友克洋), adapted from his manga of the same name and set in the rebuilt megacity of Neo-Tokyo in 2019, where a bike gang leader's friend is drawn into a secret military project on psychic powers. It was produced by the Akira Committee at Tokyo Movie Shinsha and distributed by Toho, opening in Japan on July 16, 1988.[1](https://eiga.com/movie/34459/) • [2](https://www.crunchyroll.com/th/news/announcements/2026/7/2/akira-4k-imax-theaters-united-states-and-canada)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Director and source | Katsuhiro Otomo, adapting his own manga serialized in Kodansha's Young Magazine from December 1982; the manga ran eight years and filled six volumes[3](https://features.japantimes.co.jp/akira-new/) |
| Japanese release | July 16, 1988, distributed by Toho; production period of three years[1](https://eiga.com/movie/34459/) |
| Budget | About 1 billion yen, described at the time as the most expensive animated feature ever made in Japan[4](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/akira/critic-reviews/) |
| Setting | Neo-Tokyo in 2019, 31 years after an explosion destroyed Tokyo and started World War III[5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/akira) |
| Main cast | Mitsuo Iwata as Shōtarō Kaneda, Nozomu Sasaki as Tetsuo Shima, Mami Koyama as Kei[6](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/akira) |
| Music | Shoji Yamashiro, of the group Geinoh Yamashirogumi[7](https://www.sonypictures.ca/movies/akira) |
| Reception | 88% on Rotten Tomatoes from 103 reviews; Metascore 68 from 22 critic reviews; 8.0/10 on IMDb from about 232,000 ratings[5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/akira) • [8](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/akira/) • [9](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0094625/ratings/) |
| US release | Premiered December 25, 1989, distributed by Streamline Pictures; grossed $4.3 million in the United States[5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/akira) |
## Spoilers
### Story
The film opens on July 16, 1988, when an explosion destroys Tokyo and marks the beginning of [World War III](https://www.edgepedia.org/world-war-iii).[8](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/akira/) The story then jumps to 2019, when Neo-Tokyo, built on [Tokyo Bay](https://www.edgepedia.org/tokyo-bay), is recovering its prosperity while preparing to host the Olympics the following year.[1](https://eiga.com/movie/34459/)
Shōtarō Kaneda leads a biker gang whose life changes when his friend Tetsuo Shima encounters a strange boy during a ride on a closed expressway and is injured in the ensuing crash. A military squadron takes both the boy and Tetsuo to an army research facility, where experimental procedures awaken a psychic power in Tetsuo that grows dangerously close to that once wielded by Akira, the child connected to the original destruction of the city.[3](https://features.japantimes.co.jp/akira-new/) • [7](https://www.sonypictures.ca/movies/akira) Kaneda battles anti-government activists, politicians, scientists, and the military as Tetsuo's power manifests, and a final battle is fought at the Olympic site that exposes the experiment's secrets.[5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/akira)
## Origin and adaptation
Otomo began *Akira* as a serialized manga in December 1982 in Kodansha's Young Magazine. It became his magnum opus, running for eight years and filling six phone book-sized volumes, and drew on themes from his earlier works *Fireball* and *Domu*, which featured dystopian cities, revolutionaries, motorcycle punks, and psychic powers.[3](https://features.japantimes.co.jp/akira-new/) Otomo, a native of Tome in [Miyagi Prefecture](https://www.edgepedia.org/miyagi-prefecture) who debuted as a manga artist in 1973, directed the film himself and co-wrote the screenplay with Izo Hashimoto.[3](https://features.japantimes.co.jp/akira-new/) • [1](https://eiga.com/movie/34459/)
The film condenses the manga's story rather than adapting it whole. Otomo said before completing the manga's serialization that in the film he had brought the story to a proper conclusion, and he later remarked that being bound to the manga would not have made sense as a movie.[10](https://natalie.mu/comic/pp/shortpeace/page/5) The manga continued to 1993, so the film covers only part of the full story.[11](https://central.bac-lac.canada.ca/.item?app=Library&id=TC-BVAU-32065&oclc_number=1032960752&op=pdf)
## Production and technique
The production spent three years and an unprecedented budget, about 1 billion yen, on the film.[1](https://eiga.com/movie/34459/) • [4](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/akira/critic-reviews/) The Washington Post's review at the time called it the most expensive animated feature ever made in Japan.[4](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/akira/critic-reviews/) The money afforded the crew methods rarely used in Japanese animation, including pre-recorded voice acting for syllable-perfect lip synchronization, early use of basic computer-generated imagery, and a large frame count that gave the film its fluid motion.[3](https://features.japantimes.co.jp/akira-new/) As a prescored production, the recorded voice performances preceded and guided the animation.[12](https://sightlines.media/film/149/akira-1988)
The music was composed and conducted by Shoji Yamashiro, performed by Geinoh Yamashirogumi, and its percussive, Indonesian-influenced score has been noted as an original element alongside the film's detailed animation.[7](https://www.sonypictures.ca/movies/akira) • [13](https://natalie.mu/music/pp/akiraremix) A 5.1-channel remix supervised by Yamashiro accompanied the 4K remaster released on Blu-ray in April 2020.[1](https://eiga.com/movie/34459/)
## Release and reception
Akira premiered in Japan on July 16, 1988, and earned a record-breaking 800 million yen for its distributor Toho.[1](https://eiga.com/movie/34459/) • [14](https://www.sciencespo.fr/ceri/sites/sciencespo.fr.ceri/files/critique_add/artjmb.pdf) It began its cult ascent outside Japan after a positive reception at the 1988 Cannes Film Festival.[15](https://researchers-admin.westernsydney.edu.au/ws/portalfiles/portal/94778815/uws_2417.pdf) In the United States it officially premiered on Christmas Day in 1989, distributed by Streamline Pictures.[3](https://features.japantimes.co.jp/akira-new/) Island Records' licensing of the film for home video in the United Kingdom, a decision credited with kick-starting the anime boom there, led to the spin-off of Manga Entertainment, which later co-produced *Ghost in the Shell* (1995).[3](https://features.japantimes.co.jp/akira-new/)
Critical response was largely favorable. Rotten Tomatoes records 88% from 103 reviews, and Metacritic a Metascore of 68 from 22 critic reviews, with 77% positive and none negative.[5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/akira) • [8](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/akira/) Janet Maslin of The New York Times called it a phenomenal work of animation with the hallmarks of an instant cult classic, while Variety praised it as a remarkable technical achievement, noting slight stiffness in the drawing of human movement as its only drawback.[4](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/akira/critic-reviews/) Some critics dissented: Jonathan Rosenbaum of the Chicago Reader called it interminable and the equivalent of the dullest of all possible computer games.[3](https://features.japantimes.co.jp/akira-new/) The film won the Silver Scream Award at the Amsterdam Fantastic Film Festival in 1992 and was an official selection at the 1989 Annecy Film Festival.[16](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0094625/awards/) • [17](https://www.filmaffinity.com/us/film144113.html)
## Influence and later releases
The film is widely credited with changing the perception of Japanese animation in the West and helping set the standard for modern anime; Rotten Tomatoes' critics consensus states that its phenomenal animation and kinetic energy helped set that standard.[18](https://www.gamesradar.com/entertainment/anime-movies/as-akira-heads-back-to-the-big-screen-the-anime-masterpiece-hasnt-lost-any-impact-almost-40-years-later/) • [5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/akira) Along with *Blade Runner* and *Neuromancer*, it established parameters for cyberpunk worlds that are still followed, and it became the template against which later cyberpunk anime such as *Ghost in the Shell* were measured.[18](https://www.gamesradar.com/entertainment/anime-movies/as-akira-heads-back-to-the-big-screen-the-anime-masterpiece-hasnt-lost-any-impact-almost-40-years-later/) • [12](https://sightlines.media/film/149/akira-1988) Its manga translations reached English readers beginning in 1988, French, Italian, and Spanish readers beginning in 1990, and German readers beginning in 1991.[19](https://mdpi-res.com/bookfiles/book/1497/Cyberpunk_in_a_Transnational_Context.pdf?v=1738461695)
The film has returned to theaters repeatedly. A 4K remaster with a remixed soundtrack opened in Japanese IMAX theaters on April 3, 2020, and [Crunchyroll](https://www.edgepedia.org/crunchyroll) and [Sony Pictures](https://www.edgepedia.org/sony-pictures) re-released the film in 4K and IMAX in the United States and Canada on September 4, 2026, in both subtitled and dubbed versions.[1](https://eiga.com/movie/34459/) • [2](https://www.crunchyroll.com/th/news/announcements/2026/7/2/akira-4k-imax-theaters-united-states-and-canada) Hollywood has attempted a live-action adaptation for decades, with directors including Steven Norrington, Jaume Collet-Serra, and [Taika Waititi](https://www.edgepedia.org/taika-waititi) attached at various stages; in June 2025, Warner Bros. declined to renew the rights.[18](https://www.gamesradar.com/entertainment/anime-movies/as-akira-heads-back-to-the-big-screen-the-anime-masterpiece-hasnt-lost-any-impact-almost-40-years-later/)
## References
1. [AKIRA : 作品情報・キャスト・あらすじ, 映画.com](https://eiga.com/movie/34459/)
2. [Crunchyroll to Re-Release AKIRA in 4K and IMAX in the United States and Canada, Crunchyroll News](https://www.crunchyroll.com/th/news/announcements/2026/7/2/akira-4k-imax-theaters-united-states-and-canada)
3. ['Akira': Looking back at the future, The Japan Times Special Features](https://features.japantimes.co.jp/akira-new/)
4. [Akira critic reviews, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/akira/critic-reviews/)
5. [Akira, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/akira)
6. [Akira streaming: where to watch movie online?, JustWatch](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/akira)
7. [Akira, Sony Pictures Canada](https://www.sonypictures.ca/movies/akira)
8. [Akira Reviews, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/akira/)
9. [Akira (1988) - Ratings, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0094625/ratings/)
10. [大友克洋「武器よさらば」復刊記念1万字インタビュー, コミックナタリー](https://natalie.mu/comic/pp/shortpeace/page/5)
11. [Apocalypticism in Postwar Japanese Fiction, Library and Archives Canada](https://central.bac-lac.canada.ca/.item?app=Library&id=TC-BVAU-32065&oclc_number=1032960752&op=pdf)
12. [Akira (1988), dir. Katsuhiro Otomo — analysis, influences and similar films, Sightlines](https://sightlines.media/film/149/akira-1988)
13. [大友克洋全面プロデュース「AKIRA REMIX」, 音楽ナタリー](https://natalie.mu/music/pp/akiraremix)
14. [AKIRA: The Ultimate Global Manga, Sciences Po CERI](https://www.sciencespo.fr/ceri/sites/sciencespo.fr.ceri/files/critique_add/artjmb.pdf)
15. [Akira appeared in 1988, Western Sydney University research repository](https://researchers-admin.westernsydney.edu.au/ws/portalfiles/portal/94778815/uws_2417.pdf)
16. [Akira (1988) - Awards, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0094625/awards/)
17. [Akira (1988), Filmaffinity](https://www.filmaffinity.com/us/film144113.html)
18. [As Akira heads back to the big screen, the anime masterpiece hasn't lost any impact almost 40 years later, GamesRadar](https://www.gamesradar.com/entertainment/anime-movies/as-akira-heads-back-to-the-big-screen-the-anime-masterpiece-hasnt-lost-any-impact-almost-40-years-later/)
19. [Has Akira Always Been a Cyberpunk Comic?, Cyberpunk in a Transnational Context (MDPI Books)](https://mdpi-res.com/bookfiles/book/1497/Cyberpunk_in_a_Transnational_Context.pdf?v=1738461695)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Films by genre, form, and subject › Animated and short films › Japanese anime features › Released 1932 to 1998*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 18, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 18, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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