Akira is wonderful. The Simpsons is wonderful. Put them together and you get something pretty special.
This is Bartkira. As Kotaku first mentioned when the crowd-sourced project first launched, Bartkira is inspired by artist Ryan Humphrey's art (see below) and spearheaded by cartoonist James Harvey.
With over 500 hundred artists worldwide, each contributor works in his or her own style, with the central concept being that this is The Simpsons meets Akira.
[via Bartkira]
So, for example, Bart is Kaneda, Milhouse is Tetsuo, and Ralph Wiggum is the titular character, Akira.
[via Bartkira]
[via Bartkira]
To hopefully avoid legal threats, the project is non-profit, which, so far, is working out. Currently, the group has completed the first three volumes of Bartkira. Via the Bartkira Tumblr, see how these panels compare with the original Akira:
[via Bartkira]
The remixing makes a great deal of sense. According to Harvey, "Both pieces depict a world of children at war with adults... Both Bart and Kaneda were avatars for [an] aggressive brand of anti-establishmentarianism—The Simpsons lampooned society with barbed wit while Kaneda's gang literally smashed it with hammers. Both pieces, then, were a massive moment of catharsis for the cultures they sprang out of."
[via Bartkira]
[via Bartkira]
Previously, Bartkira had three exhibitions: two in the US and one in the UK. This weekend, it will have its first exhibit in Japan at the Gallery Hakusen in Tokyo.
[via Bartkira]
For the Akira part of the collaboration, this is a homecoming of sorts.
[via Bartkira]
There's also a non-profit, crowded-sourced Bartkira anime trailer that's based on the original Akira movie trailer. Here are some preview GIFs via Tumblr site Catsuka:
While not officially connected to The Simpsons or Akira, it is officially connected to Bartkira.
To contact the author of this post, write to bashcraftATkotaku.com or find him on Twitter @Brian_Ashcraft.