AKIRA Gets First New 35mm Print in Decades

Anime Limited has struck a new 35mm print of AKIRA, the 1988 cyberpunk landmark, from a 4K master—the first new theatrical print of the film created anywhere in the world in decades. The print premieres at BFI Southbank from August 14–19, then tours selected cinemas across the UK and Ireland.

This is the kind of news that matters to people who still believe film stock has something to say. AKIRA defined the cyberpunk aesthetic for an entire generation and remains the gold standard for what anime could do on a theatrical canvas. Katsuhiro Ôtomo's vision of Kaneda and Tetsuo, two members of a biker gang caught in a secret government conspiracy, landed in UK and Ireland cinemas in 1991 and has never stopped resonating.

The new print will be presented in the original 1.85:1 aspect ratio with stereo Japanese audio and English subtitles—the closest you can get to experiencing what audiences saw in theaters three decades ago, minus the decay that comes with age. The Cinema Printing Company and ORWO Studios handled the technical work.

What makes this significant: theatrical 35mm prints of older anime are rare enough that their absence is almost invisible. Most films of AKIRA's era exist now only as digital files or degraded stock. A fresh print struck from a proper restoration isn't nostalgia—it's preservation, and it's a statement that some works deserve to be seen as their creators intended them to be seen. On a big screen. In the dark. On film.

If you've only encountered AKIRA on a home setup, this tour is worth the trip.

Source: Anime UK News