When was Akira (1988 film) released in Japan?
Akira was released in Japan on the 16th of July 1988, by Toho. It was the sixth highest-grossing Japanese film of that year and topped the box office on its opening weekend.
Questions about Akira (1988 film)
Short answers, pulled from the story.
Who directed Akira (1988) and what was it based on?
Akira was directed by Katsuhiro Otomo and is based on his own manga series, which began publication in 1982. Otomo co-wrote the screenplay with Izo Hashimoto and retained creative control of the production as a condition of agreeing to the adaptation.
How much did Akira (1988) earn in home video sales worldwide?
Akira earned over $80 million in worldwide home video sales. In the United States it was the seventh best-selling DVD anime film of all time and grossed $2,086,180 in Blu-ray sales.
What is the Akira slide?
The Akira slide refers to a scene in Akira where the character Kaneda slides his motorbike sideways to a halt, producing a trail of smoke and electric sparks. The term was first recorded in 2009 according to the Historical Dictionary of Science Fiction, and the move has been widely imitated in animation, film, television, and video games.
What kind of music is on the Akira (1988) soundtrack?
The Akira soundtrack was composed by Shoji Yamashiro and performed by the collective Geinoh Yamashirogumi. It draws heavily from traditional Indonesian gamelan music and Japanese noh music, and was recorded before animation began as part of the film's pre-scored production process.
What films and games did Akira (1988) influence?
Akira is cited as a direct influence on The Matrix, Ghost in the Shell, Cowboy Bebop, Final Fantasy VII, Metal Gear Solid, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Stranger Things, and many other works. John Gaeta credited Akira as artistic inspiration for the bullet time effect in The Matrix films, and Kanye West paid homage to it in the 2007 music video for "Stronger."