Funimation teams up with professional designers to bring the famous red coat of Akira from Shotaro Kaneda but in a limited official release. The jacket was thoughtfully designed by Carlo Levy, DYBEX S.A. managing director, designer Alessandro Tombetta and Stefan Henzgen, the managing director of Van Doornum GmbH & Co. The new jacket resembles Kaneda’s iconic look from both Katsuhiro Otomo’s original manga and the film adaption of the same director.
According to Funimation, the leather jacket’s idea has surfaced for years and was carefully designed to offer a piece of real-world apparel that is not only fashionable but true to the source material, too.
The design of the jacket is based on the manga’s original. As noted by Funimation’s store listing, it won’t feature the classic pill capsule from the one in the movie. The jacket was designed in Italy and made of genuine leather with high-quality lining and functional clasps in Germany.
“I have been a fan of Akira since 1989 and always dreamed of having a replica of the iconic jacket,” said Levy. “So, I did what any superfan would do…I went after the license and had our team design it.”
However, only 300 of the jackets will be on market in North America with the price of $450 each. Fans will have to move fast upon the release on the 13th of July.
Sources: CBR.com, Funimation