The cultural consciousness loves the ‘Akira Slide’; a single moment in the 1988 anime movie Akira where Shōtarō Kaneda, following a bike race, skids across the tarmac to slow himself down, facing the screen, his bike side-on, trails of smoke billowing up from the road. Of course, he could use his brakes, but it wouldn’t be as flashy now, would it? Distributors Toho knew what they were doing when they slapped Kaneda and the bike on the movie poster.
Even if you’ve never seen the movie, you’ve almost definitely seen the physics-defying Akira Slide. 37 years later, TV showrunners, animators, and directors can’t get enough of that effortless skid. It’s featured in everything from Batman: The Animated Series to Adventure Time to Jordan Peele’s 2022 sci-fi horror Nope to even adorable shows like Doraemon and the Pokémon anime.
And of course, Shadow the Hedgehog even got his own chance to do it in the Sonic the Hedgehog 3 movie last year.
It’s natural, then, that video games equally fell in love with this seconds-spanning moment. The latest example sees space bounty hunter and all-around badass Samus Aran in Metroid Prime 4: Beyond, riding Vi-O-La and braking in the exact same motion as Kaneda nearly four decades ago (actually more than that if you count the 1982 manga, where it’s a lot more low-key).
Somehow, I’d convinced myself that Samus had already done the Akira Slide; Vi-O-La was revealed way back in September, and she’s never had a motorbike before. What better way to introduce her fancy new gear than by doing something flashy with it? Yet this week’s ‘Survive’ trailer (below) is the first time she’s done this.
From what we know about Prime 4, Samus is on a planet called Viewros, and she’s trying to escape. This trailer pits her against many unfamiliar creatures, aliens, and hulking foes, many of which are new to the Metroid series. And she’s ‘surviving’.
Actually, she looks like she’s kicking butt. Her Akira Slide towards the end, right before Sylux makes an appearance, establishes that. Samus is powerful. And while she might be caught out by Sylux’s entrance (at least, the reaction appears to be part of the same scene), she’s still largely in control. The shot frames her as ready to take action.
It’s impossible to deny that Samus is cool; she’s an icon in Nintendo’s storied history and an important female character and role model for girls, women, anyone. But Metroid is a series that I don’t define for its ‘coolness’. Yes, the power-ups and the upgrades offer a power fantasy that builds over the course of the game. But Metroid is the atmosphere, first and foremost. Even the Prime games.
They’re also pretty damn scary at times. Metroid Dread has some unsettling moments even outside of the stressful E.M.M.I. sequences. Super Metroid will forever be one of my favourite games because of the creepy hallways of Brinstar and Norfair, of watching Crocomire’s skin melt off in the lava and then getting jumpscared by the skeleton as it attempts to take your life one last time. Or Mother Brain not just being a brain, but some cybernetic alien dinosaur that very almost does kill you. And don’t even get me started on the Chozo Ghosts in Prime. Samus needs those moments of cool.
Akira scared me as a kid; it’s still unsettling today.
Metroid’s Akira Slide is actually the perfect comparison point to the original. Because, like Metroid, Akira’s ‘coolness’ isn’t the thing that sticks with me. The Akira Slide is simply one cool moment that takes place in the first five minutes of the movie, a film full of grotesque imagery, horrifying corruption, and child experiments, and (admittedly) a lot of cool moments.
What I remember is the cyberpunk scenery and atmosphere soaked in rust and neon and petrol, the biker gangs and violence, and the quite-honestly-terrifying body horror sequences towards the end. Akira scared me as a kid; it’s still unsettling today.
But the slide is important, because Kaneda is establishing himself in the movie; he is the one to beat, he is the ‘hero’, he is the character we’ll see the world through.
It also sets up tonal expectations that are later dashed. Is this a cool action movie? Sometimes! Will there be body horror? At this point, you have no idea. It pairs perfectly with Samus’ own power-versus-the-unknown.
Most of the time, though, the slide isn’t used in that way. Suda51’s No More Heroes isn’t exactly known for subtlety, so when it slapped an Akira Slide at the end of a trailer for a fake TV show promoting No More Heroes III, I wasn’t surprised. The whole point of these games is the ultraviolence, the silliness, the meta and pop culture references, the ‘coolness’ of them. Travis Touchdown also does the Akira Slide at the end of every Bike Mission.
But the world of No More Heroes is pretty messed up; in the third game, mega corporations build entire islands and murderous aliens create fake, murderous competitions based around becoming a superhero. We need that goofiness, that silliness, and those moments of coolness.
Square Enix also couldn’t help (be careful of spoilers here) putting the slide in Final Fantasy VII Remake, too, another game where light relief is always welcome. I won’t talk about it here, but the bike sequence from the original is a little more fleshed-out here with higher stakes. Cloud also thinks he’s cool, but my favourite defining trait of his? He’s actually a bit of a doofus, and that’s emphasised in Rebirth more. We’ll let him have the slide.
Cyberpunk 2077, obviously, had to have the famous slide in it, and it’s one of the ones you can actually do, too; V can bring their motorbike to a stop by angling it just right. Again, who needs brakes? Cyberpunk is one gigantic homage to the genre, so as one of the defining ‘things’ of anime cyberpunk, this was mandatory.
It’s also the only way any of us will be able to do the Akira Slide without causing a traffic accident in real life.
Whether it’s character introductions in fighting games (thanks, Street Fighter VI) or skidding on ink in Splatoon 3, the Akira Slide never fails to impress. Even when it’s not used in the exact same way as the original movie. It’s just a very smooth, stylish action that makes you look pretty darn smokin’
But it does go beyond coolness. Amidst chaos, amidst despair, and amidst the horrors of space, the Akira Slide is there to remind you that this character means business; they’re a rebel with a cause, establishing their power or dominance in a single moment, like the modern-day (or futuristic) equivalent of drawing your sword at the start of a battle, or making eye-contact during a duel.
Nothing will stop anyone from making sure you — and your enemies — know who’s in charge. Not even the laws of physics.
What’s your favourite Akira Slide in a video game? Does Samus now take the crown as the queen of the bikes? Let us know in the comments.