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Akira remains one of the defining works of anime, a film whose influence still shows up in cyberpunk stories, action cinema, and modern animation today. More than three decades after its debut, it continues to feel fresh because of its bold visuals, restless energy, and apocalyptic scale. Now that legacy is getting a special new cinematic life.
A brand new 35mm print of Katsuhiro Otomo’s Akira is being launched in the U.K. and Ireland, and it is notable because it is the first such print made anywhere in decades. The new version will premiere at BFI Southbank in London from August 14 to 19 before touring selected cinemas across the region for the rest of the year.
It has been struck from a 4K master and presented in the film’s original 1.85:1 format with Japanese stereo audio and English subtitles. The release is being handled by Anime Limited in partnership with The Cinema Printing Company and ORWO Studios, giving the project a strong preservation angle as well as a theatrical one.
The timing also follows a major theatrical revival earlier this year, when the film earned more than £1 million in the U.K. and Ireland after an IMAX rerelease. For a movie that helped introduce anime to wider audiences in the region, the new 35mm tour, courtesy of Anime Limited, feels both like a celebration and a restoration of its cinematic power.
While Akira returns to theaters in its purest form, its influence continues to shape artists far beyond the world of anime.
Kanye West’s creative world keeps circling back to Akira
Kanye West has long treated Akira as more than just an anime he likes. For him, it has functioned like a creative blueprint. Over the years, its neon futurism, emotional intensity, and sense of collapse have shown up repeatedly in the way he builds visuals, stages performances, and shapes his music’s atmosphere.
One of the clearest examples is the video for ‘Stronger,’ which drew heavily from Akira’s bike chases, riot imagery, and futuristic city design. The homage was not subtle, and that is part of why it stuck. It helped give West’s work a sleek, cyberpunk edge at a time when he was pushing toward bigger, more experimental production.
That same energy has kept resurfacing in later projects, including his ‘Bully’ rollout and live performances. The near-bare but dramatic staging, along with militaristic styling and high-contrast design choices, echoes the world of Akira without needing to repeat it directly. In his case, the anime has become a visual language he returns to whenever he wants his work to feel futuristic, tense, and larger than life.
What do you think about Akira getting a new 35mm print and its lasting influence on pop culture? Let us know in the comments.
