After Akira hit theaters in 1988, creators, artists, and producers around the world knew that animation in film and television would never be the same. The hit Japanese, animated film was a masterpiece of technicality and detail, and should be on any animation fan’s must-see list (disclosure: Akira is not for young audiences).
Despite this outstanding performance in numerous aspects of film creativity and execution, over the years, writers and animators have referenced one particular scene from Akira more than the rest – the Akira Bike Slide. In this sequence, protagonist Shotaro Kaneda, engaged in a game of chicken with a rival gang, sleekly maneuvers his motorcycle to prevent crashing and slides across the pavement in iconic style.
Today, as mentioned, this scene is mimicked by countless others, and not just niche cartoons. The following is a list of 10 such television series that paid homage to the classic clip and referenced the Akira bike slide.
10 Batman: The Animated Series (1992)
A wildly influential television series in its own right, Batman: The Animated Series gave the honor of its motorcycle slide to Robin, the Boy Wonder. Canonically, this makes total sense, as Robin is a fellow teenager (counter to Akira’s Kaneda) often at the helm of a sleek motorbike (although in Batman: TAS, Robin is actually college-aged due to child protection laws at the time of release). Known for its revolutionary style of drawing on black paper and using colored inks to fill in the rest, it is awesome to see Batman: TAS pay homage to another inspirational work of art. In fact, for Western audiences, this may have been the first time for many to have seen the “bike slide” on-screen.
9 Adventure Time (2010)
Adventure Time is the first of two items on this list to reference the Akira slide without actually using a motor-vehicle. Instead, the series creators chose to have the vampire-rockstar, Marceline, rock the slide on all fours! Decades after Batman: The Animated Series and Akira each contributed their own series of style and tone influences to the world of animation, during its eight-year run, Adventure Time also pushed the envelope for children’s animation with its story-telling, themes, and characterizations of complex protagonists. Marceline is no exception to this rule, as she is the slayer of the Vampire-King with a dark backstory (similar to that of pretty much any other Adventure Time character).
8 Star Wars: Clone Wars (2003)
Genndy Tartakovsky’s Star Wars: Clone Wars was (and still may be) the most epic thing to ever happen to Star Wars in its near 50-year history. The show runner (and creator of Samurai Jack, Dexter’s Laboratory, and so much more) put his best foot forward when developing this series of shorts for Lucasfilm from 2003 to 2005. Showcasing his signature “heightened character animation,” Star Wars: Clone Wars offered action pack battles, lightsaber duels, dogfights, and, of course, the Akira bike slide.
Obi-Wan Kenobi holds the honor of actioning the slide in the series, and does so on a speeder bike that he uses to confront the deadly bounty hunter, Durge. Kenobi’s speeder, technically still a “bike” even though it has no wheels, probably makes the most logical sense of all the bike slides on the list, if one counts a gravity-defying speeder as logical.
7 Pokémon: Diamond and Pearl (2006)
While many Western audience members may not yet be familiar with Akira (a crime), most are certainly familiar with the Pokémon franchise. In this iteration of the Akira Bike Slide, Officer Jenny (one of several dozen Officer Jennys in the Pokémon anime) holds the obvious choice for inclusion and the only Pokémon worthy of being a part of the slide – Pikachu. While Pikachu being the only worthy Pocket Monster may be a bit sarcastic, it is fitting that the electric mouse was featured in such a scene, as it has been the series mascot for over 25 years and is one of the most recognizable figures in pop culture. Unfortunately for Pikachu’s friend and partner, Ash Ketchum, being ten years old for all eternity doesn’t exactly make it easy to get your motorcycle’s license.
6 Teen Titans (2003)
Another iconic DC Comics television series, and one of many from the early 2000s, Teen Titans put respect on the names of Cyborg, Beast Boy, Raven, Starfire, and Robin for those who had never read, seen, or heard of them before. Working as the first major iteration of a DC animation outside the Batman: The Animated Series universe since 1992, Teen Titans had tremendous pressure placed on it upon its release.
Fortunately, for audiences and showrunners, alike, the show garnered such respect and a sizable cult following that a movie and spin-off series were eventually released (not to mention the spin-off’s own movies, and the mobile games that go with the show). Unlike the previous DC cartoon to showcase the slide, however, Robin was not chosen to partake. Instead, Johnny Rancid, a largely obscure character and low-level villain, was selected.
5 Gargoyles (1994)
Children from the 1990s (and some from the 1980s) will remember Gargoyles well. The show followed Goliath and his clan of gargoyles while they attempted to thwart the many threats that reach New York City at night, be it supernatural or of human origin. The show was known for having some darker tones and elements to it that rivaled the previously mentioned Batman: The Animated Series. The appropriately named New York Gargoyle, Brooklyn, dons the motorcycle in this show’s version of the slide (along with a biker jacket but without the pants to match). Brooklyn’s bike sequence may well be the second time the Akira slide ever appeared in Western television, and may also have been the last time for another five years.
4 Yu-Gi-Oh: 5D’s (2008)
Casual fans of Yu-Gi-Oh! may be a bit confused upon watching an episode of the spin-off series Yu-Gi-Oh!: 5D’s, as it does not feature original series protagonist Yugi Muto at all. What it does feature, however, are three iterations of the Akira Bike Slide, each performed by a character upon their individual Duel Runner, the motorcycle device used as a connection to their dueling cards. The main hero in Yu-Gi-Oh!: 5D’s, Yusei Fudo, uses his Duel Runner, Yusei Go, to perform the stunt in yet another homage from Japanese animation. He also repeats this act while riding his trusty Yusei Go in the movie, Yu-Gi-Oh!: Bonds Beyond Time. Other Yu-Gi-Oh! spinoffs would feature the slide after the conclusion of 5D’s.
3 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2003)
Another example of the slide being utilized in what is one of the most profitable intellectual properties of all time, the Akira bike slide actually appears twice in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2003). Each of the instances is even performed by the same character, Raphael, upon the same motorbike. In the first instance, Raphael is actually shown to be bike-sliding in the opening theme song of the series. Interestingly, in the second version of the show’s bike slide, Raphael is actually wearing a helmet, contrary to his appearance in the first sequence.
This would indicate that the show runners actually decided to use two separate versions of the shot in their show, as opposed to re-using footage from the first as inclusion in the second. Perhaps the animators became more safety conscious between the two?
2 Marvel’s Spider-Man (2017)
Marvel’s Spider-Man was by no means the first animated superhero show to replicate the Akira Bike Slide, but it certainly did it in style. In fact, the showrunners decided to place the bike slide not once, but twice, within one episode! When the bounty hunter Overdrive is trying to capture Spider-Man, he performs the slide himself. What makes his slide special is the timing of it, as Overdrive slides almost immediately after another driver-less motorbike has just performed the exact same slide on the exact same street. Overdrive’s bike and body cover the failed first attempt, and his status as a bad guy that audiences (and Spider-Man) need to look out for is sealed.
1 Digimon Adventure (2020)
Digimon Adventure 2020 is actually a remake of the iconic Digimon Adventure series from 1999. The show featured many, if not all, of the same cast of characters and Digimon as the original, but with a different spin on certain events and storylines (as well as different English voice actors). It was received with mixed reviews, as many wondered why an entirely new series could not be created in the first place.
Digimon, unlike its commonly referred to counterpart Pokémon, does not boast many like-named police officers riding around on motorcycles in the Digital World. It does, however, feature characters that are not legally able to drive, bringing audiences to its own Digital version of the Akira Bike Slide, where Taichi “Tai” Kamiya performs it himself, sliding on his shoes as he is thrust backward in the dirt. Hopefully, he had his socks on.
