Underplayed Gems

Akudama Drive (2020)

Akudama Drive poster
Original title
アクダマドライブ
Directed by
Tomohisa Taguchi
Genre
cyberpunk, science fiction anime and manga, action anime and manga, Action, Drama, Sci-Fi
Country
Japan
Length
1 season, 12 episodes
Rated
TV-MA
Rating
7.5 of 10 from 177 voters
Elsewhere
IMDb
The 3D catalogue: film cases on wooden shelves, with the cat sitting at the counter next to its greeting.

The catalogue in 3D

The film shelves have a room of their own that you can walk around in. The cat behind the counter is the AI Catbot, and they pick real films from the same catalogue when you tell them what you feel like watching. Nothing is for sale, here or in there. Go in from here and this series is already out on the counter, with more like it waiting on the shelf next to it.

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How it feels

In a dystopian Kansai, a young woman gets caught up with a group of wanted criminals called Akudama. To survive, she pretends to be a swindler while the government hunts them down.

fast-pacedstylizedviolenttensedystopianchaoticdarkly comicvisceralquirky

What happens

Akudama Drive (Japanese: アクダマドライブ, Hepburn: Akudama Doraibu) is a 2020 Japanese cyberpunk anime television series conceptualized by Kazutaka Kodaka and produced by Pierrot and Too Kyo Games. It was written by Norimitsu Kaihō and directed by Tomohisa Taguchi. Set in a dystopian future in Kansai, the story follows a young woman who accidentally finds herself in a situation where she is forced to keep up the appearance of a Swindler to ensure she does not get killed by a group of Akudama, criminals who are pursued by the government. The series aired from October to December 2020. A total of six DVD and Blu-ray box sets collected the twelve-episode series in Japan. Taguchi was inspired after seeing Kodaka's work in the Danganronpa series and both agreed to work together. Inspired by Quentin Tarantino's 1992 film Reservoir Dogs, Kodaka wrote the original draft of similar villains who acts as the protagonists. After showing his ideas to Too Kyo Games, the project was greenlit and Pierrot was brought in to create appealing action scenes. A manga adaptation has also been serialized, while a character CD soundtrack was released 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. It is widely considered to be one of the best anime of 2020. Reviewers noted that the series primarily centered around the ideals of justice. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

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