We learned during Anime Expo about Bandai Visual’s plans to bring out the Akira film with a 4K release next year and it didn’t take long for the company to slide out the actual details of it that I don’t think were covered at the panel itself. The release comes with a Blu-ray and the 4K edition on April 24th, 2020 priced at 9,800 yen. It’ll include the English language dub and English subtitles as with past editions. It also saw a 5.1 audio remaster by the sound director, Shoji Yamashiro.
The on disc special features have not been confirmed yet but almost every edition around the world seems to have this slate:
- Original Trailers and Commercials
- Storyboards
Check out our review of the Otomo: A Global Tribute To The Mind Behind Akira Art Book or our review of the Blu-ray release.
Based on the manga by Katsuhiro Otomo, Otomo directed it and co-write the screenplay with Izo Hashimoto. Character designs were done by Takashi Nakamura with TMS overseeing the animation production. The Japanese cast includes Mami Koyama as Kei, Mitsuo Iwata as Shôtarô Kaneda, Nozomu Sasaki as Tetsuo Shima, Kazuhiro Kandô as Masaru (No. 27), Masaaki Ohkura as Yamagata, Mizuho Suzuki as Doctor Ônishi, Sachie Itô as Kiyoko (No. 25), Takeshi Kusao as Kai, Tarô Ishida as Colonel Shikishima, Tatsuhiko Nakamura as Takashi (No. 26), Tesshō Genda as Ryûsaku and Yuriko Fuchizaki as Kaori.
Plot concept: 1988: It is World War III. Tokyo is decimated by a mysterious black explosion, unmatched in magnitude.
2019: Fast forward 31 years. Neo-Tokyo, hastily built on the ruins of old Tokyo, is a sprawling cityscape of neon extravaganza. It is a fusion of towering skyscrapers and cutting-edge technology that is permeated through and through with an explosive, hyper-violent cocktail of biker gangs, poverty, and revolutionaries. In this derelict metropolis live Tetsuo Shima and Shoutarou Kaneda, two bikers who are the best of friends and the fiercest of rivals, despite being affiliated with the same gang. Desperate to prove himself as Kaneda’s equal, Tetsuo unwittingly pulls a stunt that culminates in the awakening of a cryptic existence that threatens to change both the face of Neo Tokyo and the lives of those who call the city their home—the awakening of a government secret simply known as Akira.
