THOR: RAGNAROK's Taika Waititi Reiterates That He Wants To Tackle The AKIRA Manga, Not The Anime Film

THOR: RAGNAROK's Taika Waititi Reiterates That He Wants To Tackle The AKIRA Manga, Not The Anime Film

There are several notable differences between the anime film adaptation Katsuhiro Otomo created for Akira and his original manga and that's what Taika Waititi wants to explore.

By MarkJulian - Apr 10, 2018 12:04 PM EST
Filed Under: Akira
Source: Dazed Digital Magazine
Interviewed in the Dazed Digital Magazine alongside Unknown Mortal Orchestra’s Ruban Nielson, director Taika Waititi briefly touched on his planned Western adaptation of Akira, reiterating that he wants to adapt Otomo's manga, not his anime film. 

"“I haven’t really started to get my head around it yet. What I wanted to do was an adaptation of the books, ‘cos a lot of people are like, ‘Don’t touch that film!’ and I’m like, ‘I’m not remaking the film, I want to go back to the book.’ A lot of the people freaking out haven’t even read the books, and there are six gigantic books to go through. It’s so rich. But (the anime) Akira is one of my favorite films; my mum took me to see it when I was 13 and it changed my life."

The above statement actually echoes what Waititi previously stated back in October 2017, just a month after his name first surfaced as a potential director for Warner Bros.' troublesome adaptation.  Waititi became a candidate after Get Out helmer Jordan Peele passed on the project.

In terms of the differnces between the Akira manga and anime film, the biggest changes are in regards to the titular characters final fate and the greater role for Number 19. The anime film genreally remains faithful to the beginning of the manga before sacrificing several character development moments and side stories in order to advance the plot.
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