Soundtrack[edit]

Akira: Original Soundtrack

Soundtrack album by Gein

Yamashirogumi()
Released 1990
Recorded 1988
Genre

Anime, film, gamelan, noh

Length

69:36

Label

Victor Music
Industries, Demon
Records/JVC Records

Producer Shoji Yamashiro

AKIRA: Original Soundtrack was recorded

by Gein Yamashirogumi (). The
music was composed and conducted by

musical director Shoji Yamashiro (pseudonym

of Tsutomu hashi). It features music which
was additionally rerecorded for release.
"Kaneda", "Battle Against Clown" and "Exodus
From the Underground Fortress" are really part
of the same song cycle elements of "Battle
Against Clown" can be heard during the
opening bike sequence, for example. The score
is generally sequenced in the same order that
the music occurs in the film. The North
American version featured extensive production
notes by David Keith Riddick and Robert
Napton.
A second soundtrack was released featuring
the original music without rerecording, but it
was made into character study collages with
sound effects and dialogue from the film; the
recording was probably a direct transfer from
the film.

Symphonic Suite AKIRA is the same version

as AKIRA: Original Soundtrack, but without
the voices and sound effects.
Symphonic Suite AKIRA LP track listing
1."Kaneda"
2."Tetsuo"
3."Ohjifuchi"
4."Exodus From the Underground Fortress"
5."Requiem"
Symphonic Suite AKIRA & AKIRA: Original
Soundtrack CD track listing
1."Kaneda" 3:10
2."Battle Against Clown" 3:36
3."Winds Over Neo-Tokyo" 2:48
4."Tetsuo" 10:18
5."Doll's Polyphony" 2:55
6."Shohmyoh" 10:10
7."Mutation" 4:50

8."Exodus From the Underground Fortress"

3:18

9."Illusion" 13:56
10.

"Requiem" 14:20

AKIRA: The Original Japanese Soundtrack

track listing
1."Kaneda" 9:56
2."Tetsuo 1" 12:36
3."Tetsuo 2" 12:33
4."Akira" 7:56
Video games[edit]

In 1988, Taito released an Akira adventure

game for the Famicom exclusively in Japan.
[42]

Another Akira game for the Super Nintendo

Entertainment System andSega

Genesis and Sega CD was being developed,
but cancelled along with prospects of
another Akira title for the Game Boy and Game
Gear handheld consoles.[43]International

Computer Entertainment produced a video

game based on Akira for the Amiga and Amiga
CD32 in 1994.[44] To coincide with the DVD
release in 2002,Bandai released Akira Psycho
Ball, a pinball simulator for the PlayStation 2.[45]
Live action film[edit]

In 2002, talks that Warner Bros. had acquired

rights to create an American live
action remake of Akira surfaced.[46] 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).[46][47] In 2008, Anime News
Network reported that Ruair Robinson would
direct, Gary Whitta would write, and Andrew
Lazar, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Jennifer
Davisson would produce the film.[48] In late 2009,
Whitta stated he was no longer attached to the
film,[49] and Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby were
rumored to be taking over the script writing.[50] In

February 2010, Deadline.com reported that

Warner Bros. were in talks with Allen and Albert
Hughes to direct the film.[51] On 17 June 2010,
Lazar said that a new writer had been hired and
that the film was being fast tracked.[52] He also
stated that only Albert Hughes would direct the
film, and that the first movie would be based on
volumes 13 and the second on volumes 46.
[52]

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.[53] On 26 May 2011
it was reported that Albert Hughes had left the
project due to creative differences.[54] On 14 July
2011, Jaume Collet-Serra has been announced
as the new director.[citation needed]
Another changing source of speculation has
been casting. In 2009 Leonardo DiCaprio
and Joseph Gordon-Levitt were the rumored
stars in the film.[49][55] In November 2010, it was
reported that Zac Efron was in talks for the

leading role,[56] and Morgan Freeman would take

the role of Colonel Shikishima.[57]
In February 2011, it was reported that James
Franco was in talks for the role of Shotaro
Kaneda.[58] That same month, Vulture reported
that Mila Kunis was offered the role of Kei, but
turned it down in favor of portraying the Wicked
Witch of the West in Oz: The Great and
Powerful.[59] Deadline reported that Garrett
Hedlund,Michael Fassbender, Justin
Timberlake, Joaquin Phoenix, and Chris
Pine are in the running to play Kaneda,
while Andrew Garfield and James McAvoy are
rumored to be in talks for the role of Tetsuo
Shima in March 2011.[60] Deadline also
reported Steve Kloves was hired to rewrite the
movie and Robert Pattinson was in talks for a
role, but he has denied any involvement with
the franchise.[60][61] On 6 May 2011 Keanu
Reeves was reported to have been offered the

role of Kaneda, but 11 days later on 17 May, he

was reported as having turned it down.[62][63]
George Takei spoke with The Advocate in April
2011 about the casting rumors at that time,
stating that any decision to cast white actors
in Akira would offend both Asians and the fans
of the original manga or animated film.[64]
On 24 October 2011, a new casting call for the
live-action remake of Akira was posted on
Actors Access, only a few days after Warner
Bros. gave production approval once again
after years of trying. For Tetsuo, the production
team is looking for a male of "any ethnicity" who
is 2025 years old and "strung out, intense, a
street rat." For Kei, the casting call was looking
for a female between 2030 years old, also of
"any ethnicity", who is "tough, sexy, strong
willed, and street savvy." According to Variety,
Garrett Hedlund is the frontrunner for the other
lead role of Shotaro Kaneda.[65]

As of 3 November 2011, Hedlund was in talks

to portray Kaneda, Helena Bonham Carter has
been offered the role of Lady Miyako, Keira
Knightley has been approached for a role
and Gary Oldman was cast as the Colonel,
although Ken Watanabe has instead been
offered the part.[66][67][68][69] Actors Alden
Ehrenreich,Michael Pitt, Paul Dano, D.J.
Cotrona, Logan Marshall-Green, Toby
Kebbell, Richard Madden, Rami
Malek and Dane DeHaan are the frontrunners
to portray Tetsuo.Ezra Miller was a frontrunner
for the part of Tetsuo but denied about audition
for the film.[70][71][72][73] Kristen Stewart was offered
to play the female role of Kei but was never
publicly secured or confirmed.[74]
On 6 January 2012, production on the film was
"shut down" for the fourth time.[75]
On 28 May 2013, Whitta's script of the film
shows that Manhattan is owned by the
Japanese.[76] On 1 August 2013, Collet-Serra

has spoken that he is in talks again to make the

film when he finishes with his next movies, Non
Stop and Run All Night, hoping that Akira will
start filming in 2014, but it is unclear if Hedlund
is still attached to star.[77]
On 10 February 2014, Serra spoke
to ComingSoon.net and stated that the project
was still underway.[78] During the interview he
claimed that the main characters in the original
were not protagonists. He offered his opinions
towards the source material, stating that
"nobody's interesting. Tetsuo's interesting
because weird shit happens to him, and
Kaneda is so two-dimensional". On the subject
of Japanese fiction as a whole, he went on to
say that "[it's] part of the Japanese culture, they
never have strong characters. They're used as
a way to move the other philosophy forward".
These comments were viewed as ethnocentric
by several journalist publications. Comics
Alliance called them "confusing and unfairly

harsh", and questioned why "a filmmaker

[would] dedicate several years of his life to a
project... based on a cultural literature he does
not respect, featuring characters he doesnt
like".[79] Susana Polo of The Mary Sue similarly
criticized the director's comments, calling them
"low-hanging fruit" for angered fans.[80] On July
14, 2014, the studio has hired Dante
Harper (Edge of Tomorrow) to write the film.[81]