An interesting introduction to a futuristic world filled to the brim with grit and crime.
Creative Staff
Writer/Artist: Katsuhiro Otomo
Translation: Yoko Umezawa
Adpatation: Yoko Umezawa
What They Say
Welcome to Neo-Tokyo, built on the ashes of a Tokyo annihilated by a blast of unknown origin that triggered World War III. The lives of two streetwise teenage friends, Tetsuo and Kaneda, change forever when paranormal abilities begin to waken in Tetsuo, making him a target for a shadowy agency that will stop at nothing to prevent another catastrophe like the one that leveled Tokyo. At the core of the agency's motivation is a raw, all-consuming fear of an unthinkable, monstrous power known only as Akira.
Katsuhiro Otomo's stunning science fiction masterpiece is considered by many to be the finest work of graphic fiction ever produced, and Otomo's brilliant animated film version is regarded worldwide as a classic.
This edition includes a new foreword from the author and a postscript from Dark Horse publisher Mike Richardson!
The Review!
Technical:
The first thing will notice about this book is its size, larger than most anything else on the shelves. This allows for the images within in the volume itself to be displayed at a nice, robust size that is truly appreciated. Unfortunately, this great side of the packing comes with a price: the book is in flipped format, reading from left to right. A number of color pages are included in the beginning, and paper quality feels good.
The cover here is a nice one, displaying a large logo and an image in which are main characters are in what appears to be a sewer, but due to the red tint over the scene it appears that they are ankle deep in a stream of blood. It’s a simple effect, but it certainly catches the eye. The back cover, on the other hand, displays only a synopsis and the image of a single character shown with an odd bluish-green filter.
The art here is a tad too simple and cartoonish, which strikes fairly well against the dark subject matter, but still feels a bit distracting. The characters in particular could use a bit more variance in their designs, as occasionally it can be difficult to tell them apart, with a number of panels in which characters look near identical to one another. The vehicles and the city itself, however, display a great bit of detail and personality, and look rather nice. Sound effects are displayed in translated, stylized text, text reads smoothly, and honorifics are not maintained.
Content:
38 years in the past, World War III tore the world apart, destroying major cities around the globe. The world rebuilt from the ashes, such as the city of Neo-Tokyo, is a dark and gritty place by the year 2030. We soon join a young biker gang, led by a rowdy boy by the name of Kaneda. While playing around in an off-limits area of the city, a biker named Tetsuo spots a strange person who looks both like a young child and an old man, and crashes his bike. The strange man slowly fades away until he disappears completely, and mysterious men arrive and say that they’ll send the injured Tetsuo to a hospital.
Later, while chasing a woman who seems to be plotting something, Kaneda runs into the strange man once again, and decides to get back at him for what happened to Tetsuo. Upon trying to attack him, however, nearby structures begin to break down and he gets away. Now thoroughly annoyed and looking to get to the bottom of things, Kaneda decides to chase down the woman from earlier and get some answers, as she appeared to have an idea of what was going on. This escalates into a large showdown between the government, the strange elderly child, and the woman and her accomplice, with Kaneda right in the thick of things. Things come to an end when the man child’s psychic powers go berserk, fortunately allowing Tetsuo and the woman an opportunity to escape, and giving Kaneda a chance to snatch a pill from him.
From there, Tetsuo returns with enormous psychic powers and a murderous streak, taking control of a rival biker game to fuel his growing need for potent drugs that would kill a normal person. Meanwhile, Kaneda becomes increasingly involved with the woman (named Kei) and her group of rebels, out to discover and stop the government’s plot to create superhuman weapons. During their investigations, a certain keyword keeps popping up: “Akira,” the project into which the government is sinking a massive amount of funding.
As the volume comes to a close, Tetsuo’s actions begin to endanger all biker gangs in the area, and Kaneda decides to lead an offensive against his former friend. Despite Tetsuo’s now massive powers, Kaneda manages to corner the monster and place a bullet in his body, then chasing down the raving lunatic and tricking him into taking the pill he received earlier, an incredibly potent drug. Though this appears to kill Tetsuo at first, he soon arises more powerful than ever, and only stops short of killing Kaneda when the government convinces him that they are the only ones with drugs powerful enough to satisfy his needs.
In Summary:
A solid tale of an apocalyptic society and troubled youths getting mixed up in the affairs of a corrupt government, Akira makes for an intriguing read. For fans of the movie, there’s plenty to love with a number of scenes not presented there, and a greater depth for the characters and settings. And for those who have yet to experience Akira, the twisted government plots, mysterious abilities, and frantic changes in Tetsuo should provide plenty to love. Hopefully the rest of the tale will prove every bit as enjoyable as this first book has.
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