Akira, Vol. 1

Cyberpunkalicious detail make this original story an engrossing adventure of action and intrigue. Pigeonholing this into "manga" just doesn't seem right. It's just a great graphic novel. A really great science fiction story with complex themes and interesting ideas. Much more than just "manga."

This edition is paperback, black and white, and takes about three hours to read. The only downside is that if you buy this and read it, you will have no choice but to buy volume 2. That said, this is a well-contained story, it just sets up the rest of the series and leaves many unanswered questions.

NOTE: This description probably contains spoilers! (This review covers the first two volumes)

Young, tough, motorcycle-riding gang ruffians stumble onto a bizarre government experiment in postapocalytic Tokyo in this classic manga series from Katsuhiro Otomo. The government sequesters and essentially holds captive a few hyper-aged children with a variety of bizarre powers, keeping one of them in deep hibernation, lest another apocalypse be unleashed upon the beleaguered populace of Tokyo. Badness ensues when one of the motorcycle-riding ruffians acquires one of the unique powers the government is doing its level best to control, and his powers, of course, eclipse any that have before been observed. Our new super-powered ruffian proceeds to remove Akira, the super-weapon kept in deep hibernation, from his prison, and then a game of grab-Akira-and-run occurs with the government, the ruffian, and antigovernment forces (which, being antigovernment, are of course the good guys). The art in this book is astonishing and all completely hand-drawn, and, my art friends tell me, contains some of the best manga page spreads in existence. I confess that some of the high-action scenes (many of which being double-page spreads) such as motorcycle chases and explosions were difficult for me to "decipher," but they were extraordinary nonetheless. I'd classify this as a pretty standard postapocalyptic story, with your standard government bad guys and antigovernment good guys - but that's where "standard" stops. The "weapons" in this story are people. The character development is remarkable. It's a lot to take in while reading, if you look closely at the art, which is merited. Volumes end with cliffhangers. I will continue with this series for sure. One note: in the English version of this manga, it's printed English style, that is, front-to-back, (or left-to-right) rather than the standard manga which reads back-to-front/right-to-left. It takes some getting used to.

'Akira' and 'Lone Wolf and Cub' were among the first complete manga masterpieces to be published in English, and despite the mirror-imaging, were very similar to their original tankobon incarnations. Katsuhiro Otomo's SF-classic 'Akira' -- as well as it's equally brilliant predecessor, 'Domu' -- revolutionized Japanese comics. It introduced realistic, incredibly detailed artwork that merged a far more subtle manga stylization with European influences, incorporating aspects from the art of 'Metal Hurlant' regulars Moebius, Francois Schuiten, and Enki Bilal. The importance of 'Akira' is difficult to express, but it certainly rivals US contemporaries 'Watchmen' and 'The Dark Knight Returns', though it ran far longer than either title. While the film adaptation is perhaps the best anime -- and animated -- film ever made, Otomo wrote and directed his debut when he was only around half-way through the manga. The 6-volume, 2200+-page series is not just 'worth checking out' for fans of the anime, it's essential. The film contains less than 15% of the super-epic that inspired it, but the art, the characters, the basic plot, and the light-speed pacing will all be unmistakably familiar.

P.S. While I prefer the original right-to-left orientation for translated manga, Kodansha is still using the Dark Horse translation that appeared before Japanese formatting surprised the hell out of US publishers by catching on. It's only as big a deal as you make it, in my opinion; obsessive-compulsive types are out of luck, but anyone who has recovered from the mind-blowing shock of confronting a left-handed doppelganger in the bathroom mirror will do just fine. My preference for R-to-L has to do with preserving the artist's original vision... does that sound right? Something like that, anyway. As far as accessibility, flipping the art is probably easier for weak western minds and eyeballs. I'd rather watch a film reflected in a mirror than I would one played in reverse*.

P.P.S. *Please ignore the lame analogy that concludes the above post-script. I'm pretty sure it doesn't even make sense.**

P.P.P.S. **Please forgive my stupidity in wasting your time with a P.P.S., when I could have just deleted the sentence in question.

This is my first exposure to the 'real' Akira. I had heard whisperings of the series for some time, and now, I could read 300 pages plus of Tetsuo and Kaneda.

Neo-Tokyo is a dangerous place. Built on the ashes of the old city, Tokyo, street wise teens Tetsuo, Kaneda and their friends from the 8th District Youth Vocational Training School come hard against the Colonel and his authoritarian troops. Right off the beginning, when the boys (on bikes) discover a ghostly victim, later known as 26 (Takashi) and his companion Masaru, we discover a conspiracy so deep that it engulfs the whole city. Tetsuo is almost killed, and upon his return to school, he is different. He begins to exhibit psycic abilities bordering on dangerous. Along the way, a growing awareness of capsules and administered drugs fuels a flurry of activity. This is not just manga, not just sci fi, but rather a dark, science, futuristic noir drama that makes Bladerunner seem tame.

Otomo has created an exciting cast of characters that has me waiting for volume 2.

Highely recommended.

This book is a science fiction manga. Manga is a type of
Japanese graphic novel that is typically black and white.
In the story, Tokyo was destroyed in 1992 by a mysterious
explosion that triggered World War III. It was rebuilt as
Neo-Tokyo, a dystopian city with military police and
teenage gangs. The year is now 2030, and Tetsuo and
Kaneda are two of these gang members who attend a school
filled with violent teachers and students. Tetsuo is
injured in a motorcycle crash when a man appears in the
middle of the road. However, the man disappears before
Kaneda can confront him. During another encounter with
the man, Kaneda meets Kei and Ryu, who have a relationship
resembling younger sister and older brother. They tell
Kaneda that the mysterious man has escaped from a shady
government organization. This organization is finding
people with paranormal abilities and harnessing their
power. Kei and Ryu are fighters for a group that is
resisting this organization. All three of them try to
find the old man and help him escape but are foiled by the
government. Before escaping, Kaneda steals a mysterious
pill from the government. Kei and Ryu escape separately
from Kaneda. Kaneda then returns to school to find that
Testsuo has been released from the hospital. However,
Tetsuo's personality is unbalanced and his strength has
drastically increased. The head of the government
organization shows up at the school and takes Tetsuo to
the group's headquaters. Kaneda soon meets up with Kei
again, and they wind up on the run and living together,
which Kei is not pleased with. By the end of the story,
Kaneda and Tetsuo are both involved in the world of the
paranormal.

This book was very interesting. It is the
first in a series, and I am definitely going to read the
others. The story is unique, with conflict between a
shady government organization seeking people with
paranormal talents and a fairly suspicious rebel group.
There is a backdrop of impending doom and fear of a
creature called Akira. One weakness is that the
characters are not outstanding or particularly likable,
but the plot is good enough to make up for this. The
drawings are detailed and intriguing, even though they are
mainly in black and white. The ending is not very
conclusive, but that is because it is in series. Despite
its many good points, this book may not be for everyone.
I personally love action, science fiction, and manga.
This book is probably best for people who enjoy action
stories and are open to reading a graphic novel instead of
a traditional book.

This book has very graphic violence,
due to the fact that it is illustrated, and some fairly
mild sexual references. It is probably best suited for
high school students and adults.

Reviewed by a young adult student reviewer
Flamingnet Book Reviews
Teen books reviewed by teen reviewers

I should preface this review by saying that I have never seen the Akira film and that I have read very little Manga in my life. I generally prefer English and American graphic novels with adult themes such as the Vertigo titles.

The plot of Akira takes place in a post-apocalyptic Japan and focuses on a gang of 15-year old bikers fighting the army and other gangs. As a pure action comic, Akira is amazing. I noticed that, compared to American comics, the story is much more decompressed. As an example, ten pages in Akira might be devoted to action sequence that, in an American comic, might only get a few panels. Thus, even though Volume 1 is over 350 pages long, you can read it in only a couple of hours. In addition, the action sequences are really much better than those in most American comics. The artwork is black and white and very good. Nothing really stood out to me, put the pencil work is very crisp and makes the action sequences surprisingly easy to follow.

Ultimately, this book wasn't for me. The correct audience for this book is probably males around age 15. Its very obvious this story was written for kids about the same age as the characters in the book. The story is completely plot-driven and there is little to no characterization. The book is also void of any philosophy or great ideas. In many ways, its like reading the plot of a well-written video game, with great artwork to boot.

If I were the intended audience for this, I would have probably rated it 5-stars.

Having watched the VHS video of Akira when the movie was released (80's I think) and then revisiting it when it was released on Blu-Ray I thought it was about time I actually read the manga. It is fantastic and I actually found it much more enjoyable than the movie. The artwork and story really holds up and have not dated at all. The story is much more detailed, thorough and frankly more enjoyable than the movie. Thoroughly recommended. I will be buying the entire series.

Just a good as I remember. Nice print on thick pages.

Wow. I thought the movie was awesome. This blows it out of the water. I will be buying the rest.

My short 9,5/10 mangaupdates review as everything that can be said about the series has been said already: The manga is nearly perfect is all aspects as the art is breathtaking, the narrative is engaging and the nearly all characters are properly defined. And there are many! The cyber punk setting further reaches Blade Runners level in terms of believability and the ending is also spot on. If you have only seen the the breathtaking but slightly cramped film adaptation than you earn it to yourself to read the source material and if you are new to the manga than read it right now to find out why it is among the most revered comics/manga of all time. The best one would be Berserk.