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Akira Volume 1 Is 1st Kodansha Manga to Get 100th Printing

posted on by Rafael Antonio Pineda
Iconic sci-fi manga shipped 36 years ago

Kodansha announced on Thursday that it is issuing the 100th printing of Katsuhiro Ōtomo's first Akira manga volume on Friday. It is the first manga volume in Kodansha's history to reach this milestone. The volume shipped 36 years ago in 1984, and Otomo thanked readers for their support throughout the years.

The science-fiction action manga is set in Neo-Tokyo, a city rebuilt after being destroyed in a mysterious explosion. The manga ran in Kodansha's Weekly Young Magazine from 1982 to 1990. Otomo directed his own animated film adaptation that premiered on July 16, 1988 — the same day that the story has the fictional Tokyo being destroyed.

The anime film has a 4K remaster that opened in Japanese theatrers on April 3 on 36 IMAX theaters. The film ranked at #9 when it opened. Funimation is screening the remaster in select theaters in the United States on September 24, and will also release it on a limited-edition 4K Blu-ray Disc and DVD on December 22.

Manga creator and anime director Otomo announced at Anime Expo panel in July 2019 that a new anime project for Akira is in the works. Sunrise president and CEO Makoto Asanuma said at the same panel that the staff wants to incorporate the entirety of the manga's story.

Warner Bros. announced a live-action film adaptation of the manga in 2008, with Taika Waititi (Thor: Ragnarok, Boy, Hunt for the Wilderpeople) directing the film. Entertainment news website Deadline reported last December that Warner Bros. moved its planned film off its release schedule. Entertainment news website Variety reported in July 2019 that Warner Bros. has delayed the film indefinitely. The film was previously slated to begin production in fall 2019, and its release was scheduled for May 21, 2021.

Source: The Mainichi Shimbun's Mantan Web


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