Based on the post-apocalyptic world, Akira is a Japanese animated film released in 1988 while being considered the most expensive anime film of the era. With a mind-boggling budget of 9 million dollars, Akira was able to make around 47 million dollars at the box office which was something to be appreciated and to be talked about.
The massive success shaking the box office boosted up the Akira franchise allowing it to expand and work on various other projects concerning the highly successful series. Set in the year 2019, the film follows the events that occurred in the life of Shotaro Kaneda, the uncrowned leader of a biker gang, and his closest friend Tetsuo Shima whose unimaginable psychic powers become the reason, Shikishima, the Japanese military colonel gets after him.
Since Tokyo is already destroyed by a massively powerful event in 1988, the rebuilding process takes three decades to make the city appear on the map of Japan. Attracting corrupt figures and war-mongers, the utterly marvelous city of Neo-Tokyo is finally built in the year 2019.
The story follows through the life events concerning Kaneda and his allies who do whatever it takes to save rescue Tetsuo while bringing his life to normality. The struggle gets real when colonel’s men confront Kaneda’s gang in a purely aggressive manner to force them to withdraw from their mission to save their closest friend.
Despite things start getting hard and odds are getting against Kaneda and his allies, they don’t give up until Tetsuo is finally rescued and brought back to the old life.
Basically orbiting around the concept of singularity, the film features a power struggle and a friend’s love towards another. The series also focuses on the number of attempts made by the primary protagonist to fight for the life of his closest friend and his well-wishers in any undesirable and unfavorable condition.
When the series’ first appeared decades ago, it impacted the growth of anime culture in Japan which was going through harsh times. With doubt in mind, the Akira series shifted the focus of Japanese anime readers from the books to the cinema making them habitual of the cinematic visuals and allowing them to get rid of the anime books.
While books were still among the best options and cheapest options to know about the anime characters, a hugely different alternative provided by the Akira series changed the way anime readers looked at the books. Their reliance on the big screen increased, hence, enabling the production companies to jump in and make some money while entertaining the audience.
Soon more and more animated films based on anime were released which significantly skyrocketed the Japanese film industry and allowed it an opportunity to benefit from the growing demand for more anime films.
Not only that, but soon, the stores updated their anime collection with the Akira Kaneda Capsule Jacket and more of the same stuff to cash the best opportunity. Thus, the Akira series revolutionized a number of sectors including the film industry, the costume makers and the anime publishers who found the film to be of great importance for the emergence of the popular anime culture in the eastern Asian states.
In other words, the Akira series could be called the ” Godfather ” of the anime which introduced the meta-human characters’ stories to the Western world. The concept was soon picked up by the Western players who saw it as a bright opportunity to
A New Anime Series to Continue the Legacy of Akira
All the anime lovers couldn’t be happier more than hearing the news claiming a new anime series based on Akira will be released soon. The news came out a few months ago last year when there were rumors Akira will be receiving 4K remastered. While the rumors proved to be correct, there were still doubts among the fans regarding the continuation of the Akira series.
It wasn’t until Sunrise International, the driving force behind the new series, released the official premise of the upcoming film Orbital Era which is based on the Akira manga. The film’s premise reads, ”The plot takes place in the near future on a space colony under construction. It is an action-adventure story following the lives of some young boys surviving in this peculiar environment and society as they are tossed around by fate. “The reality found in mankind’s future” will be depicted through their perspective.”
Written and directed by Katsuhiro Otomo, the film is believed to be the third of the director of the 1988 Akira film whose outstanding masterpiece is still remembered till date. Unsure whether or not the film will prove to be similar to Akira, it is clearly going to feature a bit from the popular series giving Otomo another chance to serve the audience after years of break.
This could be a piece of great news for Akira lovers who had been waiting for a sequel, or at least for a continuation to the series, for quite a long time. While the news is exceptionally positive from the perspective of an anime lover, it could also be a big one for those who love collecting the items used in the making of a character’s costume.
To be specific, the fans would now wait for a great replacement to the decades-old Red Capsule Women Akira Leather Jacket in order to make sure their collection welcomes a change and experience the unstoppable expansion.
Once you head to YouTube in search of the official trailer of Ortibal Era, you could find an animated character with a spacesuit featuring Soviet Union insignia with a state board. In Otomo’s words, the main character in the upcoming animated film will be of American origin which would mean the anime makers like Otomo and the rest may have now started working on shifting their focus from the Japanese characters to western ones.
If endorsed by the American audience and appreciated by the critics, the anime industry would be able to shift its presence from Japan to the western countries where it’s actual worth would be recognized and its expansion would be no big problem.
Otomo’s masterpieces in the past have already set up various trends with the extremely famous Mens Akira Kaneda Leather Jacket with Red Capsule Patch being on the top. Deeply appreciated by the fashionistas, the years-old accessory had easily invaded the collections of anime lovers who welcomed the strikingly inspiring piece into their closets with an open heart.
Hoping Otomo’s new project would be better than his masterpiece from the year 1988, one thing is for sure, if it worked, it will open a new door of success for the Japanese anime makers who have greatly served the entertainment-related needs of both the western and eastern readers.
