Samurai 8 Creator Reveals How Akira Inspired the Sci-Fi Series

Naruto creator Masashi Kishimoto revealed that Katsuhiro Otomo's iconic science fiction film Akira actually inspired his own science fiction series, Samurai 8: The Tale of Hachimaru! Samurai 8 surprisingly came to an end with only 30 or so chapters under its belt at the time, and it was a pretty big shock to fans of Kishimoto's first breakout series. For one reason or another, Samurai 8 failed to get the attention of fans around the world. But it did have a number of dedicated fans that really dove into its science laced world.

As it turns out, Kishimoto had a very specific point of inspiration when creating Samurai 8: The Tale of Hachimaru. As the author comment for the release of Samurai 8's final volume in Japan (as spotted by @nojiri_s on Twitter), Kishimoto revealed that he was inspired by Akira's prison scene, "This manga was inspired by the dialogue between the protagonists of the film AKIRA, in the scene where they are in prison."

Kishimoto, no comentário do autor na orelha do volume final de Samurai 8, diz:
"Este mangá teve inspiração no diálogo entre os protagonistas do filme AKIRA, na cena em que eles estão na prisão."

Se samurai 8 não fez sucesso, claramente foi porque a criançada não viu Akira pic.twitter.com/QbQHOclUYu

— Thiago Nojiri (@nojiri_s) May 14, 2020

It's not clear how Akira's prison scene then eventually lead Kishimoto to craft Samurai 8: The Tale of Hachimaru, and unfortunately we may never know for ourselves. With the series coming to an end long before many expected, the series was unable to explore many of the vast stories and adventures it originally teased when it first began. This means that whatever Kishimoto is referring to here many never see the light of day in any official capacity.

Regardless, seeing as how Kishimoto draws inspiration from the most unexpected of places, fans should keep their eyes peeled for whatever he might be working on next. With Samurai 8 ending so soon into its run, whatever is coming next will most likely see an outpouring of support for fans of Kishimoto's works as a sort of recompense. But what do you think? Did you notice any similarities between Akira and Samurai 8: The Tale of Hachimaru? What did you think of the series coming to an end so soon? Let us know your thoughts in the comments or talk to me directly about all things anime and other cool stuff @Valdezology on Twitter!