Though all made at different studios, the film shares many of its key creative staff with Robot Carnival (1987) and Memories (1995), forming a loose trilogy of anthology features, as well as the non-anthology Akira (1988).
After premiering in 1987 the film had its first wide release in its native Japan on video, on October 10 that year. It was only after the success of Akira (1988) that Tôhô gave it a general theatrical release, on April 15, 1989.
The segment "Running Man" made its first US appearance in an episode of Liquid Television (1991) originally broadcast October 20, 1992, in a different, censored English version, narrated by Rafael Ferrer. The whole, uncut anthology with the dub cast listed here was subsequently released theatrically in North America by Streamline Pictures on November 20, 1992 as part of a double feature with Silent Möbius (1991).
Apparently the segment "In Order To Stop Construction" was originally made by Otomo as a stand alone hour anime short, which he used to teach himself how to make anime. And later was made part of what we know now as Neo Tokyo. Otomo used what he learned to make Akira.