There are two things non-anime fans remember about the movie Akira: people yelling “Tetsuo!” and “Kaneda!”, and the sweetest bike ever. And this one right here is such a great, incredible replica of the bike we saw in the movie that even Katsushiro Otomo couldn’t do anything but recognize it as absolutely awesome, and the greatest reproduction he’s ever seen.
This incredible machine over here was built by Masashi Teshima, who worked on this project for over 7 years. Because he has a good heart, now the bike is traveling between cities in Japan, raising funds for autistic children (young Akira and the other kids with psychic powers could have really used this). The tour ends in Japan’s capital, Tokyo, where it will be show in an expo and people will be able to get on it and take pictures. The funds from this event are going to the victims of the earthquake and tsunami from 2011. All in all, Masashi Teshima is not only an incredible artist, as we can tell, but also extremely kind hearted, so props to him.
Akira was first serialized as a manga for adults in 1982, but became a movie in 1988. It’s success is due to its adult themes, complex characters and storytelling, and above all, incredible aesthetic values and crisp animation for its time, that looks pretty damn good even by today’s standards. Some years later, it made its way to the other side of the world, where it was one of the first japanese animation films to officially reach North American markets, starting the snowball that eventually became the anime craze we know today.
If you want to see the bike working, scroll down and see the videos below.
Also, we want to thank our friends at Nerdgasmo for this lead. Thank you guys! If you still feel like you need more Sci-Fi in your life after this, check out The 10 Geekiest Sidekicks in Video Game History and 21 Weird Motorcycle Mods and Designs.
