This is a very good time to be a fan of Akira, the seminal manga and anime from Katsuhiro Otomo. Not only is Warner Bros.’ live-action movie finally getting off the ground with Thor: Ragnarok‘s Taika Waititi directing, but Otomo himself has confirmed that he’ll be returning to his most revered work in a brand new project. And yet that’s not all of the Akira news that emerged out of last weekend’s Anime Expo.
First up, Otomo will be directing a new Akira anime series based on the original manga. This is explicitly NOT a sequel, and will be an attempt to adapt the entirety of the manga series, which was published from 1982 to 1990. The classic 1988 anime movie could only cover a fraction of Otomo’s massive story, which follows a gang member in Neo-Tokyo who reveals vast telekinetic abilities as part of a top secret government project.
Also, for the first time ever the original Akira film will be given a 4K remastering to hit Japan on April 24th 2020, with a U.S. date to come later. Don’t be surprised if it’s timed to drop stateside around the same time as Waititi’s movie in May 2021. You can check out a tease for the newest version below:
Not exactly Akira related, but Otomo has even more stuff he’s working on. He also has an original animated movie titled Orbital Era, that he’s working on alongside the folks at Sunrise. The sci-fi film takes place in the near-future and follows a group of young boys on an under-construction space colony. Otomo wrote the script and will direct, making this his first animated feature since 2004’s Steamboy.
You can watch a teaser for Orbital Era below.
