This upcoming September 4th, Akira drives back into theatres in the United States and Canada for any and all fans rewatching or witnessing for the first time the cult classic and wildly beloved film. For the first time ever, Akira can be experienced in 4k and IMAX. Distributed by Crunchyroll and Sony Pictures Entertainment, the film will be available in both dub and sub, with a runtime of a little over 2 hours at 124 minutes total.

Akira isn’t just a classic, the film was directed by the original manga creator himself, Katsuhiro Otomo. Shōji Yamashiro composed the unique soundtrack that Geinoh Yamashirogumi performed, as the debut of Akira paved the way for many films in the cyberpunk and science fiction genres with its pull away from the traditional approach.

Synopsis

In the “far future” of 2019, motorcycle gang leader Kaneda races rival gangs and tears up the urban wastes at night, encountering a strange boy with psychic powers that one of Kaneda’s gang members, Tetsuo, crashes into. The military the boy had seemingly escaped from shows up and takes not only their quarry back, but also Tetsuo, inciting Kaneda to sneak into their research lab and bring him back. As experimental superpowers are thrown amok in the research lab, Tetsuo finds himself an unwilling subject, and his mental state begins to deteriorate.