Akudama Drive
Akudama Drive (Japanese: アクダマドライブ, Hepburn: Akudama Doraibu) is a 2020 Japanese cyberpunk anime television series produced by Pierrot and Too Kyo Games. Set in a dystopian future in Kansai, the story follows criminals known as Akudama who are pursued by the government though one of them is an ordinary citizen who decides to take a fake identity to survive. The series aired from October to December 2020. Their stated influences include Quentin Tarantino's works as well as the 1982 film Blade Runner. The director was also impressed by Kazutaka Kodaka's work on the Danganronpa visual novel series and thus wanted him to revise the anime. A manga adaptation is also being written. A total of six DVD and Blu-ray are set to collect the twelve episode series in Japan. Critical response to the series was positive based on the cyberpunk setting as well as the handling of the main cast, most notably the lead Swindler.
Akudama Drive | |
アクダマドライブ (Akudama Doraibu) | |
---|---|
Genre | Action, adventure, science fiction[1][2] |
Created by | |
Manga | |
Written by | Rokurou Oogaki |
Magazine | Renta! |
Demographic | Shōnen |
Original run | July 7, 2020 – December 24, 2020 |
Anime television series | |
Directed by | Tomohisa Taguchi |
Written by |
|
Music by |
|
Studio | Pierrot |
Licensed by | Funimation |
Original network | BS NTV, SUN, Tokyo MX, KBS, AT-X |
Original run | October 8, 2020 – December 24, 2020 |
Episodes | 12 |
Plot
In a dystopian future where Kansai became a vassal state of Kantō, multiple highly skilled criminals, called Akudama, are sent a message from an anonymous client to free a death row prisoner named Cutthroat before he is executed. Four Akudama respond to the challenge and descend into Kansai Police Headquarters to earn a big payday. However, once inside, they discover the job was part of a larger scheme by their client to make them work together on a bigger job: to infiltrate the Shinkansen and steal precious cargo from a vault at the front of the train. Roped into the job are an ordinary girl arrested on a minor charge but forced to keep up the appearance of a Swindler, and a low-level Hoodlum who was accidentally broken out of jail during the initial heist. The team must work together to finish the job and earn their large payday, all while keeping ahead of the Executioners from the Kansai Police on their tail.
Characters
Akudama
- Ordinary Person (一般人, Ippanjin) / Swindler (詐欺師, Sagi-shi)
- Voiced by: Tomoyo Kurosawa[3] (Japanese); Macy Anne Johnson[4] (English)
- An ordinary woman working at the Kansai Seal Office who was arrested for not paying for her food, despite having a coin to pay for it though she insists on returning it to Courier after he dropped it. After saving what she thought was a black cat, the girl pretended to be a criminal named "Swindler" to avoid being killed by the other Akudama, and soon finds herself dragged into their scheme. Swindler serves as the audience surrogate character. The staff was careful when creating this character and selecting Kurosawa in order to make the viewers see themselves as her.[5]
- Courier (運び屋, Hakobi-ya)
- Voiced by: Yūichirō Umehara[3] (Japanese); Jonah Scott[4] (English)
- A terse man who is extremely skilled at delivering any package to any recipient as long as he's paid. Courier is a decent shot with his long pistol, but he can also fight with the use of his customized motorbike, which contains a small railgun built into the front. Umehara was found as the fitting voice actor for Courier with the staff finding that if he talked too much, he would be out of character.[5]
- Brawler (喧嘩屋, Kenka-ya)
- Voiced by: Shunsuke Takeuchi[3] (Japanese); Zeno Robinson[4] (English)
- A dumb yet incredibly strong fist-fighter who can literally punch his way through almost anything, and take multiple hits that would cripple normal people. The staff described him as a bishonen yet muscular character. Takeuchi's pitch was carefully done to fit the idea of Brawler.[5]
- Hacker (ハッカー, Hakkā)
- Voiced by: Shun Horie[3] (Japanese); Yungi Chang[4] (English)
- As his name implies, Hacker is a master hacker who can infiltrate nearly any system that is remotely accessible. He controls a pair of drones that can also act as weapons or turn into a makeshift hoverboard. Originally a child, Hacker was transformed into an more mature person in the making of the series to fit the demographic. Horie was told by the staff to give him a cold personality.[5]
- Doctor (医者, Isha)
- Voiced by: Megumi Ogata[3] (Japanese); Brittany Lauda[4] (English)
- A sexy master surgeon, chemist, and all-around medical doctor who can heal herself almost instantly from injuries that would normally prove fatal. Doctor gets a thrill from holding lives in her hands, and kills more people than she saves. Ogata's voice acting was done to create a sexually appealing woman in contrast to her previous works which included young males.[5]
- Hoodlum (チンピラ, Chinpira)
- Voiced by: Subaru Kimura[3] (Japanese); Kellen Goff[4] (English)
- A chinpira who was serving a four year sentence in a Kansai prison when he was accidentally freed during the Cutthroat heist. Hoodlum tries to sell himself to the other Akudama as a bigger criminal than he really is, and becomes friends with Brawler, who is the only one dumb enough to believe his boasting. Kimura's portrayal was noted to fit the director's original approach.[5]
- Cutthroat (殺人鬼, Satsujinki)
- Voiced by: Takahiro Sakurai[3] (Japanese); Matt Shipman[4] (English)
- An insane man who was on Death Row for beheading 999 victims until he was freed by the other Akudama (making the police chief in charge of his execution his 1,000th beheading). Cutthroat is obsessed with the color red, especially with blood involved. The team found him as the most difficult character to write.[5]
Execution Division
- Execution Division Master (処刑課師匠, Shokei-ka Shishō)
- Voiced by: Akio Ōtsuka[6] (Japanese); D. C. Douglas[4] (English)
- A ninja-like Executioner for the Kansai Police Department, trained to eliminate highly-dangerous Akudama.
- Execution Division Pupil (処刑課弟子, Shokei-ka Deshi)
- Voiced by: Yumiri Hanamori[6] (Japanese); Jenny Yokobori[4] (English)
- As their namesake implies, the student of the Executioner Master who is incredibly skilled in close-quarters combat, including the use of an electric jutte.
- Execution Division Junior (処刑課後輩, Shokei-ka Kouhai)
- Voiced by: Taiko Katono[7]
- A novice Executioner who is assigned to work with Pupil.
- Boss (ボス, Bosu)
- Voiced by: Yoshiko Sakakibara[6] (Japanese); Veronica Taylor[8] (English)
- An old woman who oversees the Executioners out of Kansai Police Headquarters.
Other characters
- Black Cat (黒猫, Kuro Neko) / Brother (兄, Ani)
- Voiced by: Maaya Uchida[6] (Japanese); Daisy Guevara[4] (English)
- A robot taking the form of its namesake, Black Cat is a robotic animal controlled by a mysterious young boy who recruits the Akudama to break him and his sister out of a bank vault.
- Sister (妹, Imōto)
- Voiced by: Kana Ichinose[9] (Japanese); Laura Stahl[10] (English)
- A mysterious young girl and the younger sister of Brother whom the Akudama encounter during the Shinkansen heist.
- Bunny (ウサギ, Usagi)
- Voiced by: Kurumi Mamiya[11] (Japanese); Michael Kovach[8] (English)
- A bunny who serves as one of the mascots of Kansai.
- Shark (サメ, Same)
- Voiced by: Chō[11] (Japanese); SungWon Cho[8] (English)
- A shark who serves as one of the mascots of Kansai.
Production
Pierrot and Too Kyo Games are credited with the original work. Both studios revealed it in March 2020.[12] Kazutaka Kodaka is credited with the original story draft. Tomohisa Taguchi directed the anime at Pierrot, and Yoshifumi Sasahara was the assistant director. Norimitsu Kaihō and Taguchi oversaw the series scripts. Cindy H. Yamauchi adapted Rui Komatsuzaki's original character designs for animation. Aida Shigekazu composed the music.[13] The opening theme is "STEAL!!" by SPARK!!SOUND!!SHOW!!, while the ending theme is "Ready" by Urashimasakatasen.[14] A collection of image songs was released on December 23, 2020.[15]
The anime was delayed from July 2020 to October 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[13] The series aired from October 8 to December 24, 2020. Funimation licensed the series and streamed it on its website in North America, the British Isles, Mexico, and Brazil,[16] in Europe through Wakanim,[17] and in Australia and New Zealand through AnimeLab.[18] On December 2, 2020, Funimation announced that the series would receive an English dub.[4] A manga adaptation debuted on Renta! with its first two chapters on July 7 with 48 pages, with 24 new pages per chapter every month thereafter.[19]
Taguchi was impressed with Kodaka's work on Danganronpa and it inspired him to make a new work together. Both were fans of Reservoir Dogs (1992), Pulp Fiction (1994), and The Usual Suspects (1995), and their fascination with these films went into their desire to make a story set in a cyberpunk world with a Quentin Tarantino-inspired plot. Due to the cast being composed of seven protagonists, the team originally meant to call it Akudama Seven. The appeal of Reservoir Dogs led to the team to develop a unique cast with different features, all being referred by pseudonyms rather than personal names.[20] Kaihō commented that the cast is meant to be rebellious in contrast to similar series where the cast relies on each other.[21] Other influences include Ridley Scott's Blade Runner (1980) and Mamoru Oshii's film Ghost in the Shell (1995). Taguchi wanted to entertain Western audience besides the Japanese which is why the anime takes place in Kansai, as Taguchi believed the Kansai city of Osaka felt more Japanese to overseas tourists than Tokyo. The artistic direction was hence based on the Osaka streetscape from the 1960s and 1970s.[22]
Art director Yoshio Tanioka received aid from the directors of each episodes in regards to storyboards. The lighting was done by Saori Goda to generate a balance between the multiple colors while photography director Kazuhiro Yamada finished combining all their work. Tanioka denied a cyberpunk comparison and instead referenced "Japan, Kansai, and Showa". The Tsūtenkaku and Osaka Castle were carefully designed to give the setting the feeling the series was set in Osaka.[23]
Episode list
No. | Title [24][lower-alpha 1] | Directed by | Written by | Original air date [25] | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | "Se7en"[lower-alpha 2] | Tomohisa Taguchi[26] | Norimitsu Kaihō, Tomohisa Taguchi[26] | October 8, 2020 | |
As criminals known as Akudama terrorize Kansai, an ordinary citizen gets dragged into danger when her good intentions steer her wrong after an encounter with Courier. The two meet Brawler, Doctor, Hacker, and Hoodlum. The ordinary citizen ends up helping Courier in destroying a tank drone. Together, they rescue Cutthroat from being executed who then places explosive collars on all of them. After this, it is revealed that a black cat Swindler rescued earlier is the mastermind behind bringing the Akudama together. | |||||
2 | "Reservoir Dogs"[lower-alpha 3] | Yoshifumi Sasahara[27] | Norimitsu Kaihō, Yoshifumi Sasahara, Tomohisa Taguchi[27] | October 15, 2020 | |
Black Cat informs the Akudama that it has brought them together to attack the Shinkansen and steal a vault from its front carriage. While discussing the details, the group is attacked by Execution Division Master and Pupil, members of a police force specialized to deal with Akudama. The group narrowly escapes the assault. | |||||
3 | "Mission: Impossible"[lower-alpha 4] | Hikaru Murata[28] | Ryō Morise, Yoshifumi Sasahara, Tomohisa Taguchi[28] | October 22, 2020 | |
The Akudama rendezvous at an abandoned warehouse where they go over the finer details of the Shinkansen heist. They put their plan into motion and barely manage to make it to the loading dock in time, but a premature power cut forces Swindler to enter the train instead Hacker, and the emergency reset it triggers sets the Shinkansen in motion earlier than anticipated, with the group still on board. | |||||
4 | "Speed"[lower-alpha 5] | Yoshinori Odaka[29] | Norimitsu Kaihō, Tomohisa Taguchi[29] | October 29, 2020 | |
On their way to complete their mission, the Akudama are attacked by the two Executioners again. Courier and Brawler face them but are overpowered. Doctor, Cutthroat and Hoodlum assist them while Ordinary Person and Hacker alongside Black Cat follow their objective. Once they finally reached the last carriage, Black Cat disintegrates into ash, leaving behind a special seal required to unlock the vault. After opening the vault, the Akudama find two children inside with the boy revealed to be the one controlling Black Cat and the orchestrator of the mission. | |||||
5 | "Dead Man Walking"[lower-alpha 6] | Takumi Dōyama[30] | Norimitsu Kaihō, Ryō Morise, Yoshifumi Sasahara, Tomohisa Taguchi[30] | November 5, 2020 | |
The two children reveal themselves as the masterminds behind Black Cat and request the Akudama another mission: go back to Kansai, promising to double the amount of money they promised. While Hacker decides to leave the group having removed the explosive collar from his neck, the rest of the Akudama decide to continue working with Ordinary Person stopping Doctor from bothering the children. Meanwhile, Master decides to continue his job despite his wounds. | |||||
6 | "Brother"[lower-alpha 7] | Yoshifumi Sasahara[31] | Yoshifumi Sasahara, Tomohisa Taguchi[31] | November 12, 2020 | |
When Master catches up with the Akudama, Brawler fights him willingly, while the others are forced to do so as they try to make their escape. Later, Cutthroat uses Brother as a shield in order to stab Master. It is later revealed that Brother has a healing factor. After the battle between Brawler and Master, which leaves both of them dead, Hoodlum encounters Pupil and attacks her. | |||||
7 | "The City of Lost Children" Transcription: "Rosuto・Chirudoren" (Japanese: ロスト・チルドレン) | Hikaru Murata[32] | Hikaru Murata, Tomohisa Taguchi[32] | November 19, 2020 | |
After Brawler's death, Hoodlum returns to the Akudama who learn of the children's origins. Originally test subjects that were sacrified, the two survivors wanted to escape to the Moon. With their job completed, the children grant the Akudama their money, but Doctor betrays them and reveals their location to the Executioners, whose Boss reveals to the children that the Moon was also destroyed in the war and thus they have nowhere to escape to. In the ensuing chaos, Brother forces Swindler and Sister aboard the rocket to protect them, leaving himself behind as the rocket launches. | |||||
8 | "Black Rain"[lower-alpha 8] | Yūta Suzuki, Tomohisa Taguchi, Yoshifumi Sasahara[33] | Tomohisa Taguchi[33] | November 26, 2020 | |
Swindler and Sister escape from the rocket after crash-landing and return to Kansai. However, while attempting to buy a meal, Swindler is recognized as an Akudama and escapes with Sister. Meanwhile, Doctor and Hoodlum search for Brother and Pupil is revealed to be alive, now wearing an eyepatch, and assigned to a new partner by Boss. After arriving at a seemingly abandoned garbage plant, Swindler and Sister indulge in the food stored inside and clean themselves up with Swindler cutting her hair short. Shortly, thugs find the two and aim to violate them. Swindler is able to fight back with enough time to be saved by Courier. He later gives Sister a bag Brother wanted to return to her. When asked to fight alongside her to reunite the siblings, Courier allies with Swindler. Elsewhere, Cutthroat finds the rocket's crash site and promises to find Swindler. | |||||
9 | "The Shining"[lower-alpha 9] | Tomohisa Taguchi[34] | Tomohisa Taguchi[34] | December 3, 2020 | |
Courier and Swindler devise a plan to reach Brother. When they head to the Executioners' headquarters, they are confronted by Cutthroat, who reveals that he has been waiting for the right opportunity to kill Swindler. Following a long chase, Swindler ultimately kills Cutthroat. Later, the Executioners escape with Brother just as Courier, Swindler, and Sister reach the roof. | |||||
10 | "Babel"[lower-alpha 10] | Hikaru Murata[35] | Tomohisa Taguchi[35] | December 10, 2020 | |
Courier, Swindler, Sister, Hoodlum, and Doctor all follow the Executioners to the Kansai Station. Meanwhile, in order to quell the riots, Boss has the Chief of Police declare the insurgents Akudama. At the station, just as Brother is about to be shipped inside the Shinkansen, everyone arrives with Doctor putting a needle through Junior's heart while Hoodlum holds a scalpel to Swindler's throat. When Swindler gets through to Hoodlum, Doctor reveals that she manipulated him after she orchestrated Brawler's death. While she is distracted by a crowd entering the station, Hoodlum slits Doctor's throat. However, he dies when she slits his throat as well. Doctor is then trampled to death by the crowd. Afterwards, Brother, Courier, Swindler, and Sister goes inside the Shinkansen, while Pupil stays behind with Junior. | |||||
11 | "War Games"[lower-alpha 11] | Yoshifumi Sasahara[36] | Tomohisa Taguchi[36] | December 17, 2020 | |
Swindler and Courier are trapped in their past memories in a digital world until they are both saved by Hacker. Hacker explains Kanto has been using Brother and Sister to continue existing. Hacker sacrifices himself to save the children who reunite with Swindler. After Hacker passes to the afterlife, Swindler and Courier discuss their next move. | |||||
12 | "Akudama Drive"[lower-alpha 12] Transcription: "Akudama Doraibu" (Japanese: アクダマドライブ) | Tomohisa Taguchi[37] | Tomohisa Taguchi[37] | December 24, 2020 | |
Due to having a broken leg, Swindler requests Courier her last will of taking Brother and Sister to a safe area, returning the 500 yen as a price. Courier accepts and when taking the children, Swindler tries confusing the Executioners until she is killed. Courier is cornered by more Executioners, but people's protest against Swindler's murder allows him to escape with the children. Following multiple battles, Courier tells the children to leave him and move to their destiny with Swindler's 500 yen as he has suffered major wounds in his chest. As he continues fighting against drones, Courier dies peacefully with Brother and Sister reaching their destiny. |
Reception
Lauren Orsini from Anime News Network and D. M. Moore from Polygon regarded Akudama Drive as their most anticipated series from Fall 2020.[44][45] On its premiere, the series attracted multiple positive reactions from fans and reviews, citing similarities between Kodaka's Danganronpa series and the 1982 film Blade Runner. One reviewer was more skeptical of the premiere, calling the series "edgy".[46] The Fandom Post gave the first episode a "B", finding the large cast fun but at the same time hilarious when they are introduced.[47] The following episode earned an "A" with praise focused on the cast's interaction and fight scenes.[48] Richard Eisbens from Biggest In Japan found Swindler intriguing due to how she interacts with the rest of the cast despite her codename giving her the idea of an ordinary person, leading to conspiracy whether or not there was something missing to reveal in the narrative especially based on the writing previously made by the series' staff.[49]
The series finale was acclaimed by Anime News Network and The Fandom Post for the focus given on Swindler's actions to generate chaos in the society to the point the law is attacked as well as Courier's last job he was given by his ally to protect both Brother and Sister.[50][51] Multiple writers from the former site also listed Akudama Drive as one of their favorite series from 2020,[52][53] while readers from the same site also voted it as the 9th best anime of the year.[54]
Notes
- Each episode, aside from Episode 12, is named after a film title.
- Stylized as SE7EN
- Stylized as RESERVOIR DOGS
- Stylized as MISSION:IMPOSSIBLE
- Stylized as SPEED
- Stylized as DEAD MAN WALKING
- Stylized as BROTHER
- Stylized as BLACK RAIN
- Stylized as THE SHINING
- Stylized as BABEL
- Stylized as WAR GAMES
- Stylized as AKUDAMA DRIVE
References
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- "The Worst Anime of 2020 & Mega Poll Results". Anime News Network. January 2, 2021. Retrieved January 2, 2021.
External links
- Official website (in Japanese)
- Akudama Drive (anime) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia
- Akudama Drive at IMDb