Akudama Drive stage play is headed to Tokyo and Osaka in March 2022. The official Twitter account announced the information on Friday, after a 7-day countdown, which started on December 17. The play will be held in Tokyo from March 10th to March 21st and in Osaka on the 26th and 27th.
A website and an official Twitter account, as well as a teaser video, for the state play are now up:
Promotional pictures of the stage play were also released. It’s easy to say that they hit a home run with the costume designs because they look incredible. The details on the costumes, makeup, and hair are spot on and look like exact replicas of the anime.
The countdown to the announcement included photos of the main characters from the original anime series. After the season finale back in Fall 2020, many didn’t anticipate anything more from the series given its relatively closed ending that didn’t give much hope for a sequel.
In an interview with ACN back in March, the creator of the series, Kazutaka Kodaka, stated that he would “love to do something like that” in regards to creating something that would portray the characters and their pasts before the events in Akudama Drive took place–in other words, a prequel. But it looks like fans will be receiving a stage play instead.
Akudama Drive Manga
After the series finished, Akudama Drive’s manga adaptation debuted on the digital manga site Renta! back in 2020. The manga adaptation, written by Rokurou Oogaki, is currently ongoing and has 22 chapters out right now. You can read all of the current chapters on Renta!’s website here.
“In the manga version, we’ve explored more of the story,” said Kodaka. “We picked up a lot of things that weren’t depicted in the anime, so if I were to talk about the story alone, I’d say that it’s become a more fascinating Akudama Drive.”
Blu-Ray/DVD
Funimation announced back in August that Akudama Drive would be receiving a limited edition DVD/Blu-ray/Digital set. The set was released in November and also comes with a 60-page art book, seven art cards of the main characters, and acrylic standees of Bunny and Shark.
The limited-edition Blu-ray set also includes the final director’s cut that includes new ending scenes. Director Tomohisa Taguchi mentioned, “The director’s cut version, which was quite different from the broadcast version when I noticed it… It was a perfect result.” The set is currently on sale on Funimation’s website.
Anime’s Success
Akudama Drive took home the “Anime Corner Best Anime of the Fall 2020” anime award. The hit series beat out big-name series such as Wandering Witch: The Journey of Elaina, Haikyuu Season 2, Jujutsu Kaisen, and Tonikawa. The series also ended up securing fifth place for our 2020 Anime of the Year poll as well. The series was originally supposed to air during Summer 2020. However, due to the worldwide pandemic happening at the time, it was ultimately pushed back to the Fall.
Synopsis (Funimation):
Many years ago, a Great Civil War ravaged Japan, leaving the country fragmented between two regions: Kansai and Kanto. In Kansai, a group of six Akudama carry out missions given to them by a mysterious black cat, while evading the police. But a dangerous journey is about to unfold when a civilian girl becomes twisted into the Akudama’s way of life and witnesses their criminal drives.
Source: Official Website
© Pierrot / TooKyoGames / Akudama Drive Production Committee
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