Akudama Drive

The bustling metropolis of Kansai, where cybernetic screens litter the neon landscape, may seem like a technological utopia at first glance. But in the dark alleys around the brightly-lit buildings, an unforgiving criminal underbelly still exists in the form of fugitives known as "Akudama."

No stranger to these individuals, Kansai police begin the countdown to the public execution of an infamous Akudama "Cutthroat," guilty of killing 999 people. However, a mysterious message is sent to several elite Akudama, enlisting them to free Cutthroat for a substantial amount of money. An invisible hand seeks to gather these dangerous personas in one place, ensuring that the execution is well underway to becoming a full-blown bloodbath.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

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Background

Each episode of the series shares a title with famous movies whose story shares themes and plot elements with the episode.

Episode Videos

More characters

Characters & Voice Actors

Cutthroat

Main

Sakurai, Takahiro
Japanese

Ordinary Person

Main

Kurosawa, Tomoyo
Japanese

Courier

Main

Umehara, Yuuichirou
Japanese

Hacker

Main

Horie, Shun
Japanese

Brawler

Main

Takeuchi, Shunsuke
Japanese

Doctor

Main

Ogata, Megumi
Japanese

Hoodlum

Main

Kimura, Subaru
Japanese

Execution Division Master

Supporting

Ootsuka, Akio
Japanese

Execution Division Apprentice

Supporting

Hanamori, Yumiri
Japanese

Black Cat

Supporting

Uchida, Maaya
Japanese

More staff

Staff

Cook, Justin

Producer

Tominaga, Yoshihiko

Producer

Takahashi, Kazuaki

Producer

Herek, Samantha

Assistant Producer

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Opening Theme

"STEAL!!" by SPARK!!SOUND!!SHOW!!

Edit

Ending Theme

"Ready" by Urashimasakatasen

Reviews

Aug 28, 2023

Antara666

Recommended

Akudama Drive, in short, is a mixture of Psycho Pass sci-fi and a tinge bit of the chaotic and twisted Joker vibe. A pretty well done mix of sci-fi, twisted sense of crime, and that "bad guys" is a subjective perspective.

Thoroughly enjoyable if you prefer flashy sci-fi crime with really amazing action scenes. Pierrot did amazing with the overall animation.

The plot, though seemingly simple, has lots of unexpected complexities. I went into the anime without too high expectations, and I'll be honest that the anime definitely exceeded my expectations way too much.

The characters were each unique with their individualistic personalities; a perfect assortment of ...

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Apr 17, 2023

Kakashitachi

Mixed Feelings

This anime was definitely a wild ride. If you like animes such as Dororo, Babylon, Tokyo Ghoul, Hell's Paradise or even Chainsaw Man then this is definitely worth checking out.

It's another one of those that leaves one with the moral questioning and is not for the faint of heart at all. It's focus is mainly on the morals, the story, and not necessarily on telling a lot of background and the likes about most of the characters - just a trend since a while.

If you're into bloody journey's, characters you'll like that you maybe shouldn't like (JJK, CSM, and the family are waving) then, once ...

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Jan 26, 2023

Sukamii

Not Recommended

For lack of a better simile, Akudama drive is like eating rock candy- at first seeming incredibly interesting, an interesting appearance with an enticing texture, it tastes sweet but isn't much more. Like liquid sugar, Akudama Drive doesn't really make for much more than a temporary sugar rush.
Like flashes of lightning, the series always presents something that is enticing, ideas that come off as interesting, characters that you *could* grow attached to- but they exist within their boxes of tropes and don't become more than characters on the screen. For their initial presentations, most of the characters exist as incredibly edgy and egotistical characters ... that I could easily become interested in as the story unfolds (barring Doctor, as I dislike near everything about her character, except her VAs performance)- but they don't exist as anything more. They have predictable fates, stories that unfold in a blase manner. It's really a shame.
For the first five episodes it feels exceedingly generic, the "plot twists" and advancement of the story don't feel like anything special, and after getting past the fifth episode; I felt as if it had wasted my time telling a story that could easily be condensed. Even after the halfway marker and the show becomes "interesting", it's only due to clever moments of design where before you flashes entertainment. But its embedded in a genre (and medium) that does it but better in every way. The characters are by far the worst offenders of this, I don't think there was a single one I came away from thinking they told an exciting story worth remembering. The tropes are solid, the animation is good, and the plot is exceedingly average. It's going to be forgotten to time, created to sell and nothing more.
I won't waste my breath doing an in depth analysis of the themes, ideas, or story on the whole of the series. What you see the the first episode is what you get the entire run time, sometimes a little bit more- but by and large its exactly what it is. Defying its own sense of logic and reason, stretching suspension of disbelief so far that it frays and snaps under its own existence.
I usually don't continue to watch series I actively dislike, but even more than that I hate dropping something unless it's so painfully egregious that I feel like my life force is being siphoned away as I watch. At times, Akudama Drive felt like an art vampire- but what's even worse is that I definitely enjoyed it. After all, I wouldn't have picked it up and watched all the way through if I wasn't at least having fun. Its not so terrible that you'll feel your eyes roll into the back of your skull during viewing, but it gets close. Just when your souls close to its desperate escape from your flesh it'll do something clever- a nice use of doubles, an enticing action sequence, or a genuinely heartfelt moment that convinces me to watch another episode.
I wouldn't recommend Akudama Drive for any reason other than understanding what makes Anime tick, in good ways and bad; to experience how good tropes can go to die when the characters they inhabit become nothing more than the tropes themselves, and when the story gives up on being worth your time. There are plenty of anime that are genuinely worth your time, exploring ideas in genuinely meaningful and artistic ways. I'm absolutely against saying "go watch this show instead of x", but with very little effort you'll be able to find works in this genre that do everything Akudama Drive wants to do with some fraction of grace and fidelity.

But if you REALLY want to watch this mess, nothing in this world should stop you. It's not a good time, but at the very least its a fun ride.

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Akudama Drive

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Characters & Voice Actors

Cutthroat

Ordinary Person

Courier

Hacker

Brawler

Doctor

Hoodlum

Execution Division Master

Execution Division Apprentice

Black Cat

Staff

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Ending Theme

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Akudama Drive

Alternative Titles

Information

Statistics

Available At

Resources

Streaming Platforms

Synopsis

Background

Episode Videos

Visit MALxJapan MALxJapan -More than just anime-

Characters & Voice Actors

Staff

Opening Theme

Ending Theme

Reviews

Interest Stacks

Recommendations

Recent News

Recent Forum Discussion

Recent Featured Articles

MoreTop Anime

MoreTop Airing Anime

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