Crunchyroll re-releases the legendary cyberpunk anime thriller Akira in 4K and IMAX movie theaters in the United States and Canada. The 4K version of the film premiered in Japan in May 2020.

The anime film Akira is adapted from Katsuhiro Otomo’s manga of the same name and was originally released in Japan in 1988. Directed by Otomo himself at Tokyo Movie Shinsha Col. Limited (called TMS Entertainment as of 2026) and distributed by Toho, Akira went on to set a gold standard for the sci-fi and cyberpunk genres, influencing actors, directors and artists around the world.

Iconic and game-changing, AKIRA is the definitive anime masterpiece. Katsuhiro Otomo’s landmark cyberpunk classic obliterated the boundaries of Japanese animation and forced the world to look into the future. The film’s arrival shattered traditional thinking, creating space for future generations of ground-breaking movies.

Akira begins in July of 1988 — World War III breaks out. Then, in 2019, in megalopolis Tokyo…

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