Referenced By / AKIRA

And that's how you save a Pikachu with style!

Anime & Manga

• Black Clover: Episode 153 has the king incorrectly recall how Sekke saved him during the elves' invasion, with Sekke sliding his motorcycle.
• Franken Fran: Chapter 2 has a half-human half-fly hybrid named Kaneda that gives birth to an entirely human baby.
• GTO: The Early Years: In Chapter 108, Kamata says Moro has been "reading too much AKIRA", after they found out Kiyoma only had very limited Psychic Powers.
• Kill la Kill: Red text shows up whenever a character's name is introduced (or sometimes for the sake of it).
• Pictured to the right is episode 115 of Pokémon the Series: Diamond and Pearl, where Officer Jenny pulls the bike slide.
• Pui Pui Molcar: Episode 8 has Teddy performing the slide after getting blown back by one of the Giant Flying Shark Robot's lasers.
• Little Witch Academia (2017): They have fun with Shout Outs in episode 8 when Akko ventures into Sucy's subconscious and meets many aspects of her personality, including 'The Sucy who desires plastic surgery' (whose face changes into that of a Transformers, complete with sound effect), 'Easily influenced Sucy', who is dressed as a Jedi and has a Lightsaber (Probably as a dig on Anakin being manipulated by Sidious), 'Monster obsessed Sucy' who is roaring with lasers coming out of her back, and the Executioner Sucys, who are both dressed as Pyramid Head. The same episode later makes references to Sleeping Beauty, Neon Genesis Evangelion, and AKIRA, albeit a subtle one for the latter. And extended Shout-Out to Dexter's Laboratory, Steamboat Willie, and Looney Tunes. This barely scratches the surface, as the episode is filled with references, often on the screen for just a few frames.
• Yohane the Parhelion -SUNSHINE in the MIRROR-: Both episode 3 of the anime and chapter 11 of the manga features Dia as Scarlet Delta riding her very own motorcycle as she slides sideways to stop it.

Comic Books

• BARTKIRA is a collaborative project by hundreds of artists to recreate the entire AKIRA manga using characters from The Simpsons. Bart is Kaneda, Milhouse is Tetsuo, Krusty is Joker and Ralph is Akira. Neo-Springfield is about to E.X.P.L.O.D.E.
• Edge of Spider-Verse #5 features the story of Peni Parker, a Japanese girl with a Mini-Mecha who acts as her reality's version of Spider-Man. The anime nods are numerous, such as Peni's classmates being Shinji, Rei, Asuka, Kaworu, and Simon, or the Major, Batou and Kaneda appearing as gangsters and she and Daredevil beat up.
• The trade paperback cover of Evil Ernie Lives has Ernie reenacting the bike slide.

Fanfics

• Danganronpa: Paradise Lost: Chapter 1's execution culminates in a rather blatant homage to Tetsuo's mutation, with both Daisuke and Monokuma additionally alluding to Tetsuo. The latter even throws in an insult towards K9999 in the Monokuma Theater segment closing the chapter.

Films — Animated

• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem: Donnie is stated to own collector’s editions of the AKIRA manga.

Films — Live-Action

• Nope has a live-action recreation of the famous motorcycle slide.

Music

• The end of the Denki Groove music video, "Cafe De Oni", is a direct shout-out to the explosion seen at the end of the film.
• The iconic "Akira Slide" features in the cyberpunk portion of the aesthetic pileup that is the music video for Bouncy (K-Hot Chilli Peppers) by K-pop group ATEEZ. The reference is fitting given the dystopian themes of the album for which it serves as a single.

Tabletop Games

• Infinity: Many of the motorcycle designs are influenced by Tetsuo's bike.

Video Games

• Asura's Wrath: Asura having a giant arm coming out of one his stumps in episode 11.5 is similar to the way stuff comes out of Naota's forehead in FLCL. It helps that the director of the episode was a key animation director for the series. The arm itself also acts like a giant glowing vector from Elfen Lied and also eventually becomes uncontrollable by Asura, a lot like Tetsuo not being able to stop mutating and explodes just like the final scene from the movie version.
• Borderlands 2: The sliding elevator up the the Varkid Ramparts. There are several similar elevators in other locations as well - one at the end of the Fridge, and one leading up to the spectator area of the Bandit Arena of Slaughter.
• Cyberpunk 2077: The Yaiba Kusanagi motorcycle is named after Major Motoko Kusanagi from Ghost in the Shell (or the ancient sword that forms part of the Imperial Regalia of Japan, which Motoko named herself after, since Yaiba literally means "blade"). The Kusanagi's design somewhat resembles Kaneda's bike.
• Darkest Dungeon: Some of the secret backer trinkets reference many other media such as the Black Swordsman's Gauntlet and Behelit. Among the trinkets includes one referencing Tetsuo.
• Deus Ex: Nihilum: Yakedo's boat, bright red in color, reads CITIZEN on its side, just like Kaneda's motorbike.
• Dirty Bomb: Kira's name and special ability are love letters to this.
• Fallout 4: The sheer number of voiced player names contain hidden shout-outs, including, but not limited to: Akira, Kaneda and Tetsuo.
• Ghostrunner: You can find a sleek red motorcycle with decals leaning against a wall which looks a lot like Kaneda's bike.
• Grand Theft Auto V: In Grand Theft Auto Online, the TRON style bike, the "Shotaro", is modeled after Kaneda's bike and even named after him.
• Heroes of the Storm: Stukov wants to crush someone named Kaneda for some reason.
• Horizon Forbidden West: Proving this isn't limited to just bikes, the Burning Shores DLC does this during a cutscene when Seyka ungraciously lands Aloy's Waterwing on the beach, recreating the bike shot.
• The King of Fighters 2001: Newcomer K9999 is Tetsuo in all but name and color scheme. Same powers, same clothes, same voice actor... it's probably easier to list what K9999 doesn't borrow from Tetsuo. The sheer blatant Tetsuo-ness of K9999 was widely presumed to be the reason why SNK went out of their way to make it look like he never existed until eventually revamping him in The King of Fighters XV.
• Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name: Nishitani tries to run Kiryu over with a bike and does the slide when stopping.
• Marvel's Spider-Man 2 has Mary Jane attempting to do the bike slide, only to instead wipe out and total her bike.
• Minecraft: Two of the random splash quotes on the main menu are "Kanedaaaaaa!" and "Tetsuoooooo!"
• Pokémon Scarlet and Violet makes it possible to perform the signature sliding stop while riding the games' box legendaries Koraidon and Miraidon.
• Rocket League: The Esper is essentially Tetsuo's famous bike as a car. The reference is driven home thanks to it coming alongside the free Neo Tokyo map, and the official artwork showing it in red.
• Saints Row 2 has two Japanese motorcycles named the "Tetsuo" and the "Kaneda."
• Sonic Adventure: The flooded ruins of Station Square are virtually identical to the ruins of Neo-Tokyo.
• Sonic Adventure 2 has Eggman breaking into an underground military base with several funicular tunnels to release Shadow: an experimental "weapon" sealed away in stasis. Sound familiar?
• Street Fighter 6: Meeting Juri in World Tour mode has her perform Kaneda's bike slide while confronting Bosch and the Avatar.
• Tekken 8: The reveal trailer for Hwoarang introduces him by having him slide sideways on his bike akin to Kaneda.

Webcomic

• Batman: Wayne Family Adventures: One of the final shots of the "Win or Lose" two-parter is Red Hood walking towards his motorcycle, with the panel's framing being an almost exact duplicate of the film's iconic poster.
• Culture Shock All Shafts Fall: In Chapter 10, Davis and Josiah perform the iconic Akira slide while on motorbike.

Web Original

• Critical Role: The Water Sphere explosion in episode 7 is described as done "AKIRA-style".
• Gunnerkrigg Court: Chapter 56, "New Data": Robot's "description" of his new Organic Technology had a lot of commenters saying TETSUOOOOOOO!.
• Homestar Runner: The Animesque version of Strong Bad, Stinkoman, makes quite a few references to AKIRA. His voice is deliberately based on Cam Clarke's performance as Kaneda in the movie's English dub, his very first line is him telling 1-Up that he's "just a kid" in a similar way to how Kaneda says the same thing to Tetsuo, and he even owns a tractor with the same stickers and paint scheme as Kaneda's bike.
• Mortasheen: The horrible thing that Tetsuo turns into is homaged with Ectozyme.
• To Boldly Flee has a scene where Bennett the Sage dresses up as Tetsuo.

Western Animation

• Adventure Time:
  • In "Go With Me", Marceline imitates the famous bike slide (only without the bike) while running with a pack of wild wolves.
  • In "Escape from the Citadel", the Grass Sword grows into a giant, monstrous, twisted arm in the style of Tetsuo when Finn tries to prevent his father from escaping.
  • A fanmade animation by Victor Courtright depictions Finn riding Jake as a motorcycle.
• Batman: The Animated Series: "Robin's Reckoning: Part 2" has a shout-out when Dick strikes a similar pose to Kaneda on his bike.
• Batman Beyond: The Jokerz gang emulate the original Joker as well as being a reference to the Clowns.
• Carmen Sandiego: In "The Need for Speed Caper", Carmen pulls off the iconic bike slide during one scene.
• Clarence: In one episode, Clarence does the bike slide with a toy motorcycle.
• DuckTales (2017): The male robber in "Astro B.O.Y.D.!" has a clown motif on his bike helmet as a reference to the Clowns.
• Gargoyles: "Temptation" has Brookyln performing the signature "Akira Slide" on his motorcycle.
• The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy has Mandy returning from her trip to Japan on Kaneda's bike.
• Inside Job (2021): In "Clone Gunman", several clones of John F. Kennedy combine into a huge, hideous blob monster that's clearly meant to resemble Tetsuo's monstrous final form. Brett even tries to break the bad news about it to Reagan by asking her if she's ever seen the movie.
  Reagan: Of course I've seen AKIRA! Anime is very mainstream right now!
• Invincible (2021): The Hammer is a Kill Sat that is designed in the same way as that of SOL, and it is taken out by Omni-Man the same way as SOL when it proved ineffective.
• Mao Mao: Heroes of Pure Heart: In "Trading Day", Mao Mao gets a cybernetic right arm that causes him great pain while wearing it. Combined with his volatile personality and billowing red cape, he may as well be Tetsuo's fursona.
• Rick and Morty: In "Edge of Tomorty: Rick Die Rickpeat", Morty is repeatedly referred to as an "AKIRA", in a case of Cowboy BeBop at His Computer (since it's Tetsuo who gets superpowers and starts killing everyone, not the titular Akira).
• Robot Chicken: Tetsuo's transformation scene is referenced in an episode in which Mrs. Claus turns into a big octopus-like Blob Monster. Even the Gainax Ending is parodied by Santa shouting "My wife! What the Hell just happened to my wife?!"
• South Park: In "Trapper Keeper", Cartman is fused with his trapper keeper a la Tetsuo.
• Star Wars: Clone Wars: In Season 1, Obi-Wan Kenobi faces off against Durge, an alien bounty hunter based on Tetsuo. Obi-Wan does the side with his speeder bike.
• Steven Universe:
  • In "Cat Fingers", Steven's cat tumors growing out of control is a reference to Tetsuo losing control of his powers.
  • In "Onion Trade", Steven screaming Onion's name and Onion flinging around cars while wearing a red "cape" is reminiscent of Kaneda confronting a newly empowered Tetsuo.
  • In "House Guest", Stevdad saying "You messed with my head!" can be seen as a reference to the English dub of AKIRA. The geode also looks eerily similar to the explosion of Neo Tokyo.
• In Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2003), Raphael does the "Akira Slide" twice. Once in the intro and again in "Meet Casey Jones".
• What If…? (2021): The Hulk's death in Episode 3 involves his size-shifting abilities suddenly going out of control, resulting in him horrifically ballooning in size before exploding. Sounds rather similar to what happened to a certain Mr. Tetsuo Shima, doesn't it?
• Work It Out Wombats!: The episode "The Mighty Zeke" has Zadie pulling off the bike slide.

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