Tray and I are big fans of the 1988 the anime movie, Akira, and we are not fans of anime to say the least. From what we know so far, it looks like this will disappoint. Here are excerpts from www.firstshowing.net on the matter:

The two films will be directed by Irish filmmaker Ruairi Robinson who is making his feature debut after directing a number of short films and commercials…
The script for the two films is being written by first-time screenwriter Gary Whitta.

It’s coming 2009 so they’re obviously rushing it with inexperienced people at the front lines. See where this is heading? Here’s another piece of poop to be dropped — reports say that this version will be taking place in “New Manhattan.” They might as well take out the bike chases too.

We will be keeping an eye out for any new developments.