AKIRA cut no. 2211, the final cityscape
Cut no. 2211 is the last “realistic” background for AKIRA. It is not the last cut of the feature but the last view of the ruins of Neo Tokyo.
Here are pictures and information on some details of this shot.
The artwork
Hiroshi Ohno
The final production background was painted by Hiroshi Ohno. Here he is in his studio with some of his work for AKIRA in 2021.
Photo taken by Yasuyuki Takagi for Riekeles Gallery in 2021.
Layout
The layout specifies the animation, the camera work (pan up) and the layers of the “book”.
Book 1 is colored yellow, book 2 is orange, book 3 is blue.
The layout drawing was drawn on several sheets of layout paper which has the camera field imprinted. The sheets had been sticked with tape and fell apart when we looked at it 33 years after production.
Photo taken at the studio of Hiroshi Ohno by Stefan Riekeles in 2021.
Image board and final production background
Image board by Hiroshi Ohno. After the story board this is the first color study of the shot.
The “book” was painted with poster color on paper and transparent foil (cels). This a picture of the complete piece which I took during the preparation for our exhibition AKIRA - The Architecture of Neo Tokyo in 2022.
Individual layers of the “book”
The following video presents more insights into the layered structure of the work.
Video by Annika Paetsch, courtesy of Tchoban Foundation. Museum for Architectural Drawing, 2022.
Our reproductions
We’re proud to offer this artwork in a limited high-grade edition signed by Hiroshi Ohno as well as a poster version.
