Even now, nearly thirty years later, Akira continues to send shockwaves around the globe. It remains as the absolute gold standard of anime films, which serves as a source of inspiration for animators around the world even today. There have been a lot of failed attempts to make a live-action film, with Get Out director Jordan Peele being the most recent of the attempts. For all the reasons that make Akira great, do you guys think that a Hollywood adaptation will do it justice? Nonetheless, Akira is a landmark in the history of animation and will likely always be regarded as such. We could go on and on about what a great masterpiece it was, but let's save that for a different discussion. In this article, we'll be talking about the humble roots of Vintage Vitamin Manila and how it was propelled by the creator's love for the film.
For those who have not seen the film or the manga yet, here's some context for you. An explosion that occurs 31 years after the beginning of World War III sets the stage for the events of Akira. In the future, a gang of young motorcyclists caused quite a commotion in Neo Tokyo's reconstructed streets. Tetsuo Shima is the leader of the gang, but he desperately wants to escape from under Shotaro Kaneda's shadow. After Tetsuo is badly injured in a motorcycle accident, the government decides to use him as a guinea pig. While at the same time, a terrorist group is looking for the identity of the person called "Akira" in an effort to influence government policy in their favor.
The early days of Vintage Vitamin started with Akira. Brice, the creator of the brand, first watched the movie back in 2003, when AXN aired it. By 2018, the vintage wave was already starting to surface as a subculture in the country. Brice, of course, also rode along with the wave. As he got to know people in the community, he found out that there are only a few t-shirts out there that feature one of his favorite films of all time. I mean, why not? Akira was way ahead of its time. Brice felt that it was an injustice that such a classic film didn't get more recognition, so he set out to make his own t-shirts. It also remains relevant today; it's the perfect blend of social commentary with just the right amount of angst and aesthetic. Brice wanted to create something that could capture Akira's spirit, and the t-shirts were the right direction to go.
As a new member of the fan community, however, he was shocked to see that Akira t-shirts sold for as much as $250. The tees had already reached $800 by the time he figured out why they were so expensive. The only thing that did not change was that he did not have the money to buy it LOL. Everything else is history. Akira boots were the inspiration for the very first Vintage Vitamin project. At first, though, it was something Brice did for fun—the tees were just a personal project. He had no idea that this would be the beginning of what would eventually become "Vintage Vitamin Manila'' and the genesis of a multitude of other projects.
Even the first version of the logo for his L.A. page, Vintage Vitamin LA, was inspired by the film itself. With Akira as his original source of inspiration, Brice began to explore the artistic freedom, identity, and vintage nostalgia that Vintage Vitamin provided for the community. I guess we'll have to thank Akira and its creators for, you know, everything.
That is why this release is extremely close to home as it takes us back to our humble beginnings. and for all the tees that came our way, we'd like to re-invent what we initially made, apply what we learned, and do it EIGHT times better.