VOTD: 'Akira' Gets A Stylish Computer Animated Makeover

Even those who aren't all that familiar with manga or anime have heard about Akira. Either they've seen some of the iconic shots from the movie or they've heard about Warner Bros. Pictures trying desperately to turn it into a live-action movie. Now two Akira fans have given the beloved story by Katsuhiro Otomo a computer animated makeover by taking excerpts from the film and recreating them in 3D. The result is a movie that looks like the Wachowskis' Speed Racer, albeit in a much less polished form.

Watch the computer animated Akira video after the jump.

Thanks to io9 for bringing this video by Brad Kremer and Dean Fowler to our attention. Even though the video could stand to be a little less cleancut and choppy, it's not bad for a passion project from two fans who worked on it for years. The description of the video explains:

"This project started many years ago when both Dean and I lived on Tybee Island. I came to Dean with the idea to do a tribute "trailer" to Akira. As a long time fan of the original film he of course loved the idea! As we brainstormed the story that we wanted to explore from the film we settled on focusing primarily on the bike. The Akira bike is one of those iconic symbols that still remains relevant today similar to the Millennium Falcon or Marty McFly's beat up DeLorean."

Indeed, the bike from Akira is one of the most iconic vehicles in pop culture, and it looks absolutely gorgeous in this format. Honestly, as someone who isn't the biggest fan of anime or manga, if someone directed a movie like this with some more influence from Speed Racer, then I would watch the hell out of it.