A new TikTok video shows an Akira fan create a shocking stop motion animated action sequence from the comfort of his very own home. Since its release in 1988, the animated Japanese dystopian cyberpunk action film, Akira, has continued to grow its fan base and thrill new generations of anime fans. The movie, directed by Katsuhiro Otomo and based on Otomo’s 1982 manga of the same name, recounts the story of a psychopathic biker gang member who threatens the presence of neo-Tokyo and the group of former friends and colleagues who attempt to stop him.
In a recent TikTok video, Kenta Shinohara, a stop motion animator, created his very own Akira action sequence, which has gone on to amass more than 1.3 million perspectives. The sequence features Kenada, Akira’s main character, in his signature red biker outfit driving his iconic cutting edge motorcycle and slipping to a stop along the creator’s hardwood floor. The quick action sequence closes on a humorous note with Kenada gripping his stomach and entering a bathroom before leisurely shutting the door behind him. The video also offers a behind-the-scenes look at how Kenta carefully constructs and movies his stop motion animations.
While the base animation work Kenta does is impressive without anyone else, his creativity with regards to recreating special impacts from the film is significantly more notable. Working with an almost non-existent financial plan, Kenta appears to utilize cheap cotton balls to create the motorcycle’s smoke trails. He also appears to utilize a small colored penlight with a lethargic camera shutter speed to create the electricity impacts found in the actual film.
Stop motion animation has largely been replaced by CGI as the dominant form of animation in modern film, yet Kenta’s collection of work proposes that there may in any case be room for stop motion work in cinema. With 1.2 million followers on his TikTok and over 15.2 million preferences across all of his videos, there appears to in any case be a healthy fan base for stop motion animation. Considering Kenta made his Akira video from home in his pajamas with basically no spending plan, it begs the question: what sort of film could Kenta achieve with a real financial plan and voice actors and a studio? With the live-action remake still uncertain, Akira fans should look at Kenta’s work if they’re looking to take a quick trip back into neo-Tokyo.
