Akira slide n.

(a depiction of) an act of sliding a motorcycle to a stop perpendicular to the direction of travel

[after such a manoeuvre performed by the character Kaneda in the anime film Akira (1988)]

Comics

  • [1999 ‘Mike’ Monday Night Cafe-Racing Review in ba.motorcycles (Usenet newsgroup) 29 Sept. page image

    Reaching escape velocity I then exited the roundabout straight at the group, locking the rear and pitching the Helix-hack sideways in an Akira-like slide that I was later told ‘Would have been a really really impressive highside’. ]

  • 2009 ‘Zeng’ Corrupting an Angel on Shards of Dewprism (Geocities) page image

    She kicked out the back end, halting the bike with the well-known Akira Slide maneuver.

  • 2013 ‘mortyania’ Tweet 12 Sept. page image

    someday i need to pull off an AKIRA slide.

  • 2018 C. Burke in Crunchyroll 7 Dec. (title) page image

    You've Definitely Seen The ‘Akira Slide’ Before, Even If You Don’t Watch Anime.

  • 2022 T. Weinert in Collider 28 Dec. (title) page image

    The 10 Best Uses of 'Akira Slide' in Movies & TV Series.

  • 2025 I. Colbert Why Gainax’s ‘Gunbuster’ Post Is More Than Anime Rule of Cool Reference Fodder in Gizmodo 6 Nov. page image

    The ‘Akira slide’—an iconic shot of Kaneda sliding sideways on his bike in the 1988 movie adaptation of Akira—has become an icon of anime culture, referenced over and over in numerous cartoons and films, western and Japanese.

Research requirements

antedating 2009
Research History
Suggested, and many cites submitted, by Bill Mullins.
Ben Zimmer submitted an 1999 cite for the related form "Akira-like slide".

We expect this term is rather earlier, and would welcome any antedatings.

Last modified 2026-04-09 12:58:00
In the compilation of some entries, HDSF has drawn extensively on corresponding entries in OED.