Akira (manga) - Adaptations

Adaptations

See also: Akira (film), Akira (video game), and Akira (film)#Live action film

While most of the character designs and basic settings were directly adapted from the original 2,182-page manga, the restructured plot of the movie differs considerably from the print version, pruning much of the last half of the book. The film Akira is regarded by many critics as a landmark anime film, one that influenced much of the art in the anime world that followed its release.

In 2003, Tokyopop published a reverse adaption of sorts in the form of an Akira "cine-manga." The format consists of animation cels from the film version cut up and arranged with word balloons in order to resemble comic book panels.

A graphic adventure game based on the animated movie adaptation was released in 1988 by Taito for the Famicom console. The video game version has the player in the role of Kaneda, with the storyline starting with Kaneda and his motorcycle gang in police custody. In 1994, a British-made action game was released for the Amiga CD32, and in 2002 Bandai released a pinball simulation, Akira Psycho Ball for the PlayStation 2.

In 2002, talks that Warner Bros. had acquired rights to create an American live action film of Akira surfaced.Since the initial announcement, a number of directors, producers and writers have been reported to be attached to the film, starting with Stephen Norrington (writer/director) and Jon Peters (producer). In 2008, Anime News Network reported that Ruairi Robinson would direct, Gary Whitta would write, and Andrew Lazar, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Jennifer Davisson would produce the film. In late 2009, Gary Whitta stated he was no longer attached to the film, and Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby were rumored to be taking over the script writing. In February 2010, Deadline.com reported that Warner Bros. were in talks with Allen and Albert Hughes to direct the film. On June 17, 2010, Lazar said that a new writer had been hired and that the movie was being fast tracked. He also stated that only Albert Hughes would direct the film, and that the first movie would be based on volumes 1–3 and the second on volumes 4–6. In April 2011, Chris Weston stated he was working on concept art and storyboards for the live action Akira, but the film had not been approved for production yet. On May 26, 2011 it was reported that Albert Hughes had left the project due to creative differences. As of January 6, 2012, production has been "shut down" for the fourth time.