Akira Returns to Theaters in IMAX and 4K for One-Day Re-Release

Katsuhiro Otomo’s groundbreaking anime film Akira is returning to the big screen. The 4K remaster of Akira, which first arrived in theaters in 2020, will return for a one-day theatrical run in 4K and IMAX formats on Sept. 4.

Crunchyroll and Sony Pictures Entertainment are handling the rerelease across theaters in the United States and Canada. Screenings will be available in the original Japanese audio with English subtitles and in an English dubbed version.

Akira remains a landmark anime classic

Originally released in 1988, Akira is set in 2019, 31 years after a massive explosion destroyed Tokyo. The animated feature adapts Otomo’s manga of the same name, following a biker gang leader named Kaneda whose close friend, Tetsuo Shima, develops dangerous telekinetic abilities after a collision.

Crunchyroll describes the story:

As the leader of a group of young robust delinquents, Kaneda spent his nights tearing through the urban wastes, racing his motorbike against rival groups. One night while riding with his gang, his friend Tetsuo suddenly encounters a strange boy― the product of human experimentation— and is injured in the ensuing crash. Shortly thereafter, a military squadron appears on the scene to take the boy and Tetsuo away to an army research facility. Determined to free Tetsuo from capture, Kaneda sneaks into the army research lab. However, a regimen of extreme experimental procedures has awakened a new power in his friend, and now he is consumed by madness…

Tickets for the event are available through the IMAX website and Fandango. Meanwhile, fans continue to wait for further developments on the previously announced Akira TV series.

Source: Polygon