All great franchises come with a tall order to live up to the expectations of the former films. That is undeniably amplified even further for a franchise built on the back of Sylvester Stallone’s half-a-decade-strong Rocky Balboa. In other words, it's fair to say Michael B. Jordan had a tall order at his feet with his first solo rendition in the saga, Creed III. In light of that, it's not surprising the Hollywood superstar sought a fresh perspective in the way he approached the characters in his film and he found this in anime. In fact, it went beyond the character arcs and also fed into the aesthetics of the film, according to concept artist and designer Raphael Phillips.The prolific costume illustrator revealed on social media how he pitched Jordan a concept for Adonis "Donnie" Creed's signature red shorts based on Akira protagonist Shotaro Kaneda. As part of his explanation, he shared images of Kaneda in a vibrant red outfit that features quilted ascents. He then put the spotlight on the Creed-branded shorts Jordan's titular hero sports during a match. Notably, the shorts share the same vibrancy in red leather and quilted features that Kaneda's outfit does. Explaining how the vision all came together, Phillips wrote: "So, @thebigbadwolf44 [Creed III costume designer Lizz Wolf] hits me one Sunday afternoon in 2021 and was like: ‘Raph! Michael loves anime so much, what if we pitch him some Akira inspired shorts?’ We took inspo from the design lines of Kaneda’s classic fit, and he loved it #CreedIII."Alongside Jordan's remarkable vision for interweaving anime into the visuals and wardrobe of his hero, it also played a critical role in influencing the cinematography for the film. This included several scenes that saw Jordan opt to embrace the use of slow motion to emphasize Donnie's heightened senses during fights. It's also powerfully integrated during an isolated sequence that highlights the painful emotion brimming under the surface when Donnie finally goes toe to toe with his friend-turned-foe Damian "Dame" Anderson (Jonathan Majors). “I love the thought process of anime, the internal dialog, and seeing the world through how [characters] think," Jordan explained during an interview with IndieWire. "They just achieve a level of action that live action just sometimes doesn’t give you.”creed-3-michael-b-jordanRELATED: 'Creed III': Michael B. Jordan Discusses Which 'Rocky' Staple Was the Most Difficult to Film & How the Movie Changed in EditingMore broadly, the inspiration Jordan was able to pull from anime also aligns with the thematic depth that is common in anime movies, which often feature complex characters. In Jordan's film, the depth of the characters is explored through Dame's return following a lengthy prison sentence and his quest for vengeance, which is solely focused on the one he holds responsible for his lost time, Donnie. Hence, bringing some of that pain and intensity to Donnie and Dame's fight was an essential component in depicting the physical payoff to their tumultuous broken brotherhood bond.Creed III is in theaters now. You can see the inspiration behind Donnie's shorts below: