History Manga / Akira

''Akira'' (sometimes spelled ''AKIRA'' to differentiate between the work and the title character) is a post-apocalyptic [[ScienceFiction sci-fi]] {{manga}} serialized from December 1982 to June 1990. The most recognizable of Creator/KatsuhiroOtomo's works, it maintains a sizable influence on pop culture around the world, largely owing to the success and acclaim of its [[AdaptationDisplacement far better-known]] 1988 film adaptation.

** Kaneda and Kai borrow a couple of motorcycles from Joker; then, [[spoiler: Tetsuo blows up a big chunk of the moon]] and a tidal wave floods the underground where Kaneda and his scouting party are. Kaneda has to return the motorcycles to Joker with a severe case of saltwater damage. Joker, predictably is not to happy about the state of his machines.

* RRatedOpening: Within the first ten minutes, we get cursing, drug references, a bloody gang war between rival biker gangs made up of ''teenagers'', and a rebel gunned down into '''bloody, chunky swiss-cheese''' by [[MultipleGunshotDeath concentrated machine gun fire]]. In fact, Tokyo explodes before the credits are even finished.

* ExtraordinarilyEmpoweredGirl: Sakaki, Mozu and Miki. [[spoiler: Later, Kei.]]

* NeoclassicalPunkZydecoRockabilly: The film's soundtrack combines ancient Buddhist chants and instrumentals, Indonesian gamelan percussion, and futuristic techno.

* ActuallyPrettyFunny: Kei's reaction to Kaneda and Kai's banter about the latter's bike being on fire.

[[caption-width-right:320:Neo-Tokyo is about to '''E.X.P.L.O.D.E.''']]

->''Heh, heh... what's happened to me? I must be dreaming. I feel like I can take out the world.''
-->--'''Tetsuo'''

As mentioned before, the manga received a highly acclaimed {{anime}} movie adaptation in 1988, directed and co-written by Otomo himself. It's widely different outside the above-mentioned premise[[note]]mainly focusing on events from the first third of the manga, while simultaneously removing or incorporating plotlines from later in the manga as well as rewriting a few plot points[[/note]], retooling certain areas of the manga into a thoroughly MindScrew plot, and it's primarily known for its unusually lavish animation (even by modern standards) as well as for its [[AwesomeMusic/{{Akira}} groundbreaking soundtrack]] and its runtime being on the heftier end for an animated film[[note]]At 124 minutes, it was ranked as the 13th longest animated film ever made[[/note]]. The film proved invaluable in disproving the AnimationAgeGhetto, at least for anime in the West, and is still considered a landmark production in animation and science fiction both at home and abroad. It has been dubbed twice into English, first in 1989 by Kondansha and distributed by Creator/StreamlinePictures (which lead to a misconception that Streamline produced it themselves) and then in 2001 by Animaze via Pioneer (later known as Creator/{{Geneon}}). A 4K remaster of the movie will be released in 2020.

* MohsScaleOfScienceFictionHardness: Mohs/WorldOfPhlebotinum
* MohsScaleOfViolenceHardness: Solid Level 9.

* TheGreatPoliticsMessUp: The Soviet Union apparently exists into the 2030's in the manga's time-line. Given that the story was written before the Soviet Union collapsed, this is to be expected.

* RealityEnsues: When Tetsuo falls off his bike trying to curve in the opening scene, he has a noticeably hard time trying to get back on. Motorbikes ''are'' heavy machinery, after all, even if they just look like, and are about the same size as, thicker bicycles. Joker, despite being bulkier, has only a slightly easier time picking his own, much bulkier, bike up a bit later on.

* DefaceOfTheMoon: To impress his empire, Tetsuo blows a hole in the moon. Unlike most examples of this trope, [[RealityEnsues this immediately begins screwing with the tides]].

''Akira'' (sometimes spelled ''AKIRA'' to differentiate between the work and the title character) is the name of a post-apocalyptic [[ScienceFiction sci-fi]] {{manga}} serialized from December 1982 to June 1990. The most recognizable of Creator/KatsuhiroOtomo's works, it maintains a sizable niche in pop culture around the world, largely owing to the success and acclaim of its far better-known 1988 film adaptation.

During a night of civil unrest, as people take to the streets to protest the government, a turf war between two biker gangs rages, only to be halted when a hideously aged escapee from the government is nearly run over by one of the gangsters, using mysterious powers to defend himself and severely injuring the gangster-- a young, nervous kid named Tetsuo from the Capsule gang. Moments later, the escapee is taken back into custody by the army; however, they also decide to take Tetsuo with them. He then becomes the newest test subject for the "Akira Project", an initiative to imbue capable subjects with telekinetic powers. But when Tetsuo's powers awaken, the combination of an inferiority complex harbored since childhood and power beyond Tetsuo's wildest dreams [[WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity wastes no time in driving him insane]]. He escapes the lab and goes on a super-powered rampage through Neo-Tokyo, killing and destroying everything in his path. It falls to a handful of people, including Capsule leader and Tetsuo's friend Kaneda, to put a stop to the destruction.

As mentioned before, the manga received a highly-acclaimed {{anime}} movie adaptation in 1988, directed and co-written by Otomo himself. It's widely different outside the above-mentioned premise. It is primarily known for its unusually lavish animation (even by modern standards) as well as for its [[AwesomeMusic/{{Akira}} groundbreaking soundtrack]] and MindScrew plot, since it primarily focuses on events from the first third of the manga, while simultaneously removing or incorporating plot lines from later in the manga as well as rewriting a few plot points. It's also far longer than most other animated films, ranking among the 20 longest movies in the medium ever made (specifically placing at No. 13). The film was one of the things that helped disprove the AnimationAgeGhetto, at least for anime in the West, and is still considered a landmark production both at home and abroad. To this day, it is widely considered one of the greatest animated and science fiction movies ever made, if not one of the greatest movies ''period''. It has been dubbed twice into English, first in 1989 by Kondansha and distributed by Creator/StreamlinePictures (which lead to a misconception that Streamline produced it themselves) and then in 2001 by Animaze via Pioneer (later known as Creator/{{Geneon}}). A 4K remaster of the movie will be released in 2020.

An Americanized LiveActionAdaptation[=/=]ForeignRemake had been proposed in 2002, but it spent much of that time in DevelopmentHell with little progress made -- a lot of fans were furious that the movie was even ''considered'' to be set in America. The project seemed to be officially cancelled in 2014... Until it was announced in 2015 that Marco Ramirez (who has written for ''Series/{{Daredevil 2015}}'', ''Series/SonsOfAnarchy'', ''Series/DaVincisDemons'', and ''Series/OrangeIsTheNewBlack'') was signed on to write a screenplay for a potential trilogy of films based on the manga. In 2019, Creator/TaikaWaititi was signed on to direct the adaptation. Waititi has previously stated that he wants to retain the original setting and hire a cast primarily made up of actors of Asian (preferably Japanese) descent, and casting called on the production reflect this, as does a synopsis confirming that the movie will take place in Neo-Tokyo. Unfortunately, it was put into limbo yet again when Waititi left production to work on ''Thor: Love and Thunder'' instead, resulting in the film losing its May 2021 release date. However, Warner Bros. are still reportedly interested in keeping Waititi involved.

Oh, and it's [[ItIsPronouncedTroPAY pronounced "AH-kee-rah", not "uh-KAI-ruh" or "uh-KEE-ruh."]] Don't mess it up, [[FandomEnragingMisconception or else]].

* SlidingBikeStop ''AKIRA'' is the obvious TropeMaker and [[TropeCodifier Codifier]] of this trope with TheMovie, but this was [[OlderThanYouThink made way before this]], being part of the same scene in the [[https://shambrookblog.files.wordpress.com/2018/03/akira_1_p128.jpg 1982 manga]], which is a part of a panel instead a complete shot as seen in the anime.

As mentioned before, the manga received a highly-acclaimed {{anime}} movie adaptation in 1988, directed and co-written by Otomo himself. It's widely different outside the above-mentioned premise. It is primarily known for its unusually lavish animation (even by modern standards) as well as for its groundbreaking soundtrack by Geinō Yamashirogumi and MindScrew plot, since it primarily focuses on events from the first third of the manga, while simultaneously removing or incorporating plot lines from later in the manga as well as rewriting a few plot points. It's also far longer than most other animated films, ranking among the 20 longest movies in the medium ever made (specifically placing at No. 13). The film was one of the things that helped disprove the AnimationAgeGhetto, at least for anime in the West, and is still considered a landmark production both at home and abroad. To this day, it is widely considered one of the greatest animated and science fiction movies ever made, if not one of the greatest movies ''period''. It has been dubbed twice into English, first in 1989 by Kondansha and distributed by Creator/StreamlinePictures (which lead to a misconception that Streamline produced it themselves) and then in 2001 by Animaze via Pioneer (later known as Creator/{{Geneon}}). A 4K remaster of the movie will be released in 2020.

As mentioned before, the manga received a highly-acclaimed {{anime}} movie adaptation in 1988, directed and co-written by Otomo himself. It's widely different outside the above-mentioned premise. It is primarily known for its unusually lavish animation (even by modern standards) as well as for its MindScrew plot, since it primarily focuses on events from the first third of the manga, while simultaneously removing or incorporating plot lines from later in the manga as well as rewriting a few plot points. It's also far longer than most other animated films, ranking among the 20 longest movies in the medium ever made (specifically placing at No. 13). The film was one of the things that helped disprove the AnimationAgeGhetto, at least for anime in the West, and is still considered a landmark production both at home and abroad. To this day, it is widely considered one of the greatest animated and science fiction movies ever made, if not one of the greatest movies ''period''. It has been dubbed twice into English, first in 1989 by Kondansha and distributed by Creator/StreamlinePictures (which lead to a misconception that Streamline produced it themselves) and then in 2001 by Animaze via Pioneer (later known as Creator/{{Geneon}}). A 4K remaster of the movie will be released in 2020.

Oh, and it's [[NoPronunciationGuide pronounced]] "AH-kee-rah", not "uh-KAI-ruh" or "uh-KEE-ruh." Don't mess it up, [[FandomEnragingMisconception or else]].

[-[[caption-width-right:320:''"Heh, heh... what's happened to me? I must be dreaming. I feel like I can take out the world."'']]-]

->'''''"NEO-TOKYO IS ABOUT TO EXPLODE"'''''

* GettingCrapPastTheRadar: The film is able to show you a prolonged shot of Tetsuo's genitals. [[spoiler:Being as it happens while his body is rapidly mutating, turning into this seemingly massive glob of ''slime'' that's dripping and oozing everywhere, they tend not to look any different from the rest of him.]]

* NeoclassicalPunkZydecoRockabilly: The film's soundtrack combines ancient Buddhist chants and instrumentals with futuristic techno.

''Akira'' (sometimes spelled ''AKIRA'' to differentiate between the work and the title character) is the name of a post apocalyptic [[ScienceFiction sci-fi]] {{manga}} serialized from December 1982 to June 1990. The most recognizable of Creator/KatsuhiroOtomo's works, it maintains a sizable niche in pop culture around the world, largely owing to the success and acclaim of its far better-known 1988 film adaptation.

During a night of civil unrest, as people take to the streets to protest the government, a turf war between two biker gangs rages, only to be halted when a hideously aged escapee from the government is nearly run over by one of the gangsters, using mysterious powers to defend himself and severely injuring the gangster-- a young, nervous kid named Tetsuo from the Capsule gang. Moments later, the escapee is taken back into custody by the army; however, they also decide to take Tetsuo with them. He then becomes the newest test subject for the "Akira Project", an initiative to imbue capable subjects with telekinetic powers. But when Tetsuo's powers awaken, the combination of an inferiority complex harbored since childhood with power beyond Tetsuo's wildest dreams [[WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity waste no time in driving him insane]]. He escapes the lab and goes on a super-powered rampage through Neo-Tokyo, killing and destroying everything in his path. It falls to a handful of people, including Capsule leader and Tetsuo's friend Kaneda, to put a stop to the destruction.

As mentioned before, the manga received a highly-acclaimed {{anime}} movie adaptation in 1988, directed and co-written by Otomo himself. It's widely different outside the above mentioned premise. It is primarily known for its unusually lavish animation (by both contemporary and modern standards) as well as for its MindScrew plot, since it primarily focuses on events from the first third of the manga, while simultaneously removing or incorporating plot lines from later in the manga as well as rewriting a few plot points. It's also far longer than most other animated films, ranking among the 20 longest movies in the medium ever made (specifically placing at No. 13). The film was one of the things that helped disprove the AnimationAgeGhetto, at least for anime in the West, and is still considered a landmark production both at home and abroad. To this day, it is widely considered one of the greatest animated and science fiction movies ever made, if not one of the greatest movies ''period''. It has been dubbed twice into English, first in 1989 by Kondansha and distributed by Creator/StreamlinePictures (which lead to a misconception that Streamline produced it themselves) and then in 2001 by Animaze via Pioneer (later known as Creator/{{Geneon}}). A 4K remaster of the movie will be released in 2020.

* ClippedWingAngel: [[spoiler:Once Tetsuo's [[SuperPowerMeltdown powers run out of control and beyond his own abilities,]] he mutates into a hideous, deformed, ever-expanding blob of flesh that causes him insane pain and turns him into nothing more than an amoeba who can only consume. In this state, he can't even deflect weaponry like he used to.]]

* FrickinLaserBeams: The SOL and Kaneda's laser cannon. The SOL is more WaveMotionGun, though.