Ask John: Will There Ever Be More Akira or Vampire Hunter D Anime?

Question:
Do you think that there will ever be a series made of either Akira or Vampire Hunter D at some point?

Answer:
Considering the age of both Akira and Vampire Hunter D, I think that if either was likely to be adapted into a multi-episode anime television or video series, it would have happened by now. Akira and Vampire Hunter D are both landmark titles, but they’re also both arguably more popular outside of Japan than in. After all, the Akira movie was released in Japan in 1988, and in the near 20 years since then, there’s never been a sequel produced. Similarly, in nearly 22 years Vampire Hunter D has only been popular enough in Japan to get two movies.

There have been numerous cases of American popularity influencing the revival of Japanese franchises, such as the Hellsing and Rurouni Kenshin OAV series. There are also many examples of older anime being unexpectedly revived, such as Dancougar, Reideen, Giant Robo, Dirty Pair, Dororon Enma-kun, and even word of a Megazone 23 revival. So there is certainly precedent for the possibility of either Akira, Vampire Hunter D, or both being revived in serial form, either as a remake or sequel. But I personally see no sign on the horizon of either Akira or Vampire Hunter D getting any new animation.