AKIRA Character Breakdowns Seemingly Confirm That Taika Waititi Is Looking For Race-Appropriate Actors

AKIRA Character Breakdowns Seemingly Confirm That Taika Waititi Is Looking For Race-Appropriate Actors

Thor: Ragnarok director Taika Waititi previously promised that he would cast race-appropriate actors to play the leads in his big-screen adaptation of Akira, and it looks like he's keeping his word...

By MarkCassidy - Jul 04, 2019 06:07 AM EST
Filed Under: Akira
A casting call for Warner Bros.' live-action adaptation of classic manga/anime Akira has found its way online (via Backstage.com), and it looks like director Taika Waititi is being true to his word and seeking out Japanese and Asian actors to portray the main characters.

There have been several previous attempts to get this project off the ground, but all of them relocated the action from Neo Tokyo to "New Manhattan" and had the likes of Garret Hedlund and Gary Oldman in line to star.

The casting call is for “untitled Warner Bros. live-action film” and all of the characters' names have been changed, but this is clearly Akira and we have a pretty good idea who each of these individuals are supposed to be!

Simply click on the VIEW LIST (ONE PAGE) button below!

Jun/Kaneda

Image result for akira kaneda


Jun (Lead): Male, 18-24 Male, to play Japanese, English speaking. Must be legal 18-20’s to play 18:

Sharp-eyed, sinewy, tough, handsome, cool. He is the leader of a street gang of teenagers & knows how to have a good time. JUN should not be too cool or too tough. He’s a scrappy, ragtag kid who’s not worried about anything. Your weird, natural authentic self is encouraged! LEAD.


The first side is for "Jun," but based on the description it has to be Kaneda. We had been led to believe that the latest script draft had aged-up the main players significantly, but it looks like they'll be portrayed as being just a couple of years older than they were in the original manga.

Kochi/Tetsuo

Image result for akira tetsuo


KOICHI (Lead): Male, 18-24 Male, to play Japanese, English speaking. Must be legal 18-20’s to play 17:

Constantly forced to punch up in order to survive. He’s fearless to the point of recklessness. He is haunted by the loss of a loved one. LEAD.


This is almost certainly Kaneda's best friend Tetsuo, who emerges as the main antagonist of the story. Earlier incarnations of the film changed their relationship to make them brothers, so it's nice to see that's been dropped here.

Misa/Kei

Related image

MISA (Lead): Female, 18-30 Female, to play Japanese, English speaking. Must be legal 18-30:

Beautiful, intelligent, strong-willed. She is a member of an anti-government organization trying to save her city. LEAD.


This has got to be Kei; resistance fighter and eventual love interest to Kaneda. She also has some untapped psychic abilities in the original manga.

Reina/Kaoiri

Image result for akira kaori


REINA (Supporting): Female, 18-24 Female, to play Asian, English speaking (Japanese a plus). Must be legal 18-20’s to play 17:

Gentle, kind, cute, compassionate. She is a member of a biker gang & cares deeply for Koichi. SUPPORTING LEAD.


The characters' true identities start to get a bit less obvious from here, but we're pretty sure this is Tetsuo's love-interest and ultimately the only person that can control him, Kaori.

Yakamatsu/Yamagata

Image result for akira yamagata


YAKAMATSU (Supporting): Male, 18-24 Male, to play Asian, English speaking (Japanese a plus). Must be legal 18-20’s to play 18:

Large, tough, loyal, short-fused. A member of Jun’s gang & a close friend. SUPPORTING LEAD.


We assume this is supposed to be Yamagata, who is Kaneda's muscle in the manga/anime and harbors a deep distrust of Tetsuo.

Yuki/Kai

Related image

YUKI (Supporting): Male, 18-24 Male, to play Asian, English speaking (Japanese a plus). Must be legal 18-20’s to play 16:

A small, clever, brainy technical wiz, he is the youngest member of Jun’s street gang. SUPPORTING LEAD.


Again, just a guess here, but based on the description we reckon this is Kaisuke, who is the most technically minded of the gang in the original story.

Gen/Takashi

Image result for takashi akira


GEN (Supporting): Male, 10-12 Male, to play Asian, English speaking (Japanese a plus), age 10:

A small, mysterious boy on an urgent mission; he is humble, shy, compassionate & wise beyond his years. SUPPORTING LEAD.


This is either Takashi or Masaru, but the "urgent mission" part has us leaning towards the former. Takashi is an esper: a young child with vast physic powers who is being experimented on and used as a weapon by the government.

Aimi/Kiyoko

Image result for akira kiyoko


AIMI (Supporting): Female, 10-12 Female, to play Asian, English speaking (Japanese a plus), age 10:

A mysterious girl on an urgent mission; she is kind, gentle, compassionate & wise beyond her years. SUPPORTING LEAD.


Another esper, this is almost certainly Kiyoko. There are three of these physic kids in the manga/anime, but it looks like they may have decided to drop the wheelchair-bound Masaru for the movie.
THOR: LOVE AND THUNDER Director Taika Waititi's AKIRA Adaptation Is Reportedly Moving Forward
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THOR: LOVE AND THUNDER Director Taika Waititi's AKIRA Adaptation Is Reportedly Moving Forward

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Canary
Canary - 7/4/2019, 6:04 AM
I thought this production had been shut down?
EskimoJ
EskimoJ - 7/4/2019, 6:12 AM
@Canary - You thought wrong.
TheLight
TheLight - 7/4/2019, 6:12 AM
@Canary - Wishful thinking, my friend. But Hollywood's like that one person at a party no one invited. You want them to go, you tell them to leave all they'll do is just hide somewhere else and think they can just blend in and disappear and everyone will be cool about it.
TheLight
TheLight - 7/4/2019, 6:14 AM
Still don't like that Hollywood's doing this given their history of crap adaptations, but if I see that we're getting actors that fit both the physical and characteristics of their roles, then that's a plus I guess.
dragon316
dragon316 - 7/4/2019, 7:46 AM
@TheLight - best anime to live action is battle angel, ghost in shell, dragon ball, speed racer in that order Japanese version live action dragon ball is worse I have not saw death note live action japan and American versions of it yet
KingGrimlock
KingGrimlock - 7/4/2019, 9:06 AM
@dragon316 - none of those were good.
TheLight
TheLight - 7/4/2019, 10:34 AM
@dragon316 -
dracula
dracula - 7/4/2019, 11:56 PM
@TheLight - Detective Pikachu was good, and seriously its not like Japan has a great track record of adapting anime into live action either. Also seriously that Full Metal Alchemist movie, and anime where the main characters are european, and they introduce asian characters later, but they had a full japanese cast.
lawndart
lawndart - 7/8/2019, 4:03 AM
@dragon316 - Imagine Ninja Scroll adapted to live action.
Canary
Canary - 7/4/2019, 7:05 AM
Looks like I'm about 6 years behind the times..
bobevanz
bobevanz - 7/4/2019, 7:20 AM
He's been dying to make this movie for awhile, I have faith that he'll knock it out of the park! Question is.. I'm wondering who will came from his indie films this time, maybe Tupac! Lol
bobevanz
bobevanz - 7/4/2019, 7:20 AM
@bobevanz - *cameo, still waiting on that edit button lmao
BritishMonkey
BritishMonkey - 7/4/2019, 7:22 AM
Good. That's how you do it right and properly.
Webheaded225
Webheaded225 - 7/4/2019, 7:23 AM
How about the emperor?



MexCowboyNation
MexCowboyNation - 7/4/2019, 7:44 AM
I hope they keep it in Japan. Some of the themes of the series deal with Japans fears of nukes.
MexCowboyNation
MexCowboyNation - 7/4/2019, 7:46 AM
I still don't think Akira fits his style. I hope he downplays his wackyness.
GhostDog
GhostDog - 7/4/2019, 8:12 AM
@MexCowboyNation - yea there's not too much humor but the little that there is, Taika should easily handle

d3m01iti0n
d3m01iti0n - 7/4/2019, 8:06 AM
I can't stand anime but damn Akira was good. If you slept on it, check it out.
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