Kaneda’s Iconic Red Biker Jacket From AKIRA Will Hit Shelves Soon

By Ammar Haziq  •  24 Jun 2021 in Design

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Like the iconic red bike that swiftly zooms through the streets of Neo-Tokyo, Kaneda’s red jacket in 1988’s AKIRA is arguably the coolest piece of fashion in anime. Now, fans can finally get their hands on the legendary garment.

Funimation has revealed Kaneda’s hot red racer jacket that’s directly modelled on the design by AKIRA’s manga creator/film director Katsuhiro Otomo and brought to life by Carlo Levy, Alessandro Trombetta, and Stefan Henzgen.

“I have been a fan of AKIRA since 1989 when Epic Comics first released it, and imports arrived in Europe,” said Levy. “I always dreamed of having a replica of the jacket and was surprised it hadn’t been done outside of Japan yet, so I did what any super fan would do… I went after the license and had our team design it!”

Getting it to look right in real life is the tricky part and according to GQ, Levy, the creative director behind the jacket, and his team kept a few core elements while making sure the silhouette looks great on non-animated people.

Hardcore fans of the film might scream that there’s no capsule on the back of the jacket like in the anime (though it’s not in the manga either). Levy explains that Otoma wanted to go for the original version, plus, putting a capsule that looks like a pill on a collectable seemed inappropriate to him.

AKIRA’s influence on the fashion world and pop culture, in general, has given fans AKIRA-themed or AKIRA-inspired fashion collections in the past, like Supreme’s 2017 AKIRA collection and Comme des Garcon’s 2013 AKIRA-themed catalogue. Even Kanye West said it is “his greatest inspiration”.

The jacket will go on sale on 13 July exclusively through Funimation and is priced at USD450 (RM1,873). Unfortunately, the jacket will be limited to 300 pieces and is only available in North America.