Akira, Vol. 1

After falling in love with the classic 1988 film adaptation, I decided to gather some context and read the source material. I was, of course, blown away. I've never been a great consumer of comics or manga, only the absolute classics have gotten my attention, but the fantastic artwork and narrative flow of Otomo's masterpiece was enthralling. Being a manga, and not an especially wordy one, I tore through this whole 300+ page volume in under an hour, then turned around and immediately ordered the other volumes. The ideas and themes Otomo tackles in this series are famously complex and thought provoking, but they never become overpowering or discouraging due to the thorough depiction of a wonderful setting. The world these characters live in is vibrant and every bit as interesting as its cyberpunk/sci-fi mashup of a plot. I won't say or do anything to spoil the experience for the uninitiated. All I can do is sing Akira's praises in the hope more people take the time to understand one of the greatest works of fiction of the 20th century.

I've been a fan of the Akira anime for years. It's got an awesome story and is one of the most intricately detailed animated films I have ever seen. For an aspiring artist like myself, it only makes sense that it would become one of my favorite films of all time. Despite being a huge fan of it for all those years, though, I never got around to picking up the manga. Finally I buckled down and picked up the first volume. I absolutely loved it. What made it fun was seeing the anime first and being able to see how similar it was to the manga but how things got changed around for obvious pacing reasons. The manga also made more sense of some things. Despite the pill being very iconic in the film's imagery, the only time drugs are even really involved are during one brief scene at the bar. Instead, they become a huge focus of the manga and it works really well, adding in this air of mystery as to where it can go from here. I only picked up the first volume since I didn't know how I'd feel about it being such a fan of the anime but I was absolutely sucked in and I can't wait to pick up the remaining volumes, especially since I know the story branches off in a totally different direction in the manga.

The 6 Akira graphic novels all tell one big really good story. It has very good plot, action, humor, art, characters and mystery. It makes you want to find out what's going on more and more as you go. I don't want to knock the movie at all because I enjoy watching it but in my opinion the graphic novels convey a completely different story and are so much better and thorough in every way. My only complaint with these particular books is that it is not in it's original Japanese right to left reading format and most scenes are a mirror image of what it was intended. Everyone is left handed in it which even as a left handed person I have to say is highly unrealistic. Now finding a right to left format Akira in English would be quite the collector's item which I don't think exists(maybe I don't know for sure). But it doesn't take away from the experience and if you enjoyed the Akira movie, I highly suggest reading these 6 books.

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.

What an amazing read. I strongly recommend it. I can't wait to read Akira 2.

This product came in earlier than it said, thank god. The book itself isn’t damaged at all which I’m pleased about. And the most important part is the actual book itself, the story is amazing and much more clearer than the movie. Follow @bxrrrettt on insta and on Soundcloud <3

Akira is one of the most loved and talked about Manga masterpieces of all time and one I had often thought of reading. My teenage son becoming a Manga fan finally promoted me to get this and I must admit I am very impressed. The story follows events in Neo Tokyo years after the original Tokyo was destroyed in an apocalyptic event as friends Kenada and Tetsuo are drawn into events leading to the heart of what caused it against the backdrop of gang wars and battles with authority. This really is excellent, excellent and thrilling story which gets better with each volume and excellent artwork. Hugely enjoyable.

Llego en el tiempo establecido y ademas en un excelente estado, protegido y la calidad es maravillosa, espero comprar los demas volumentes faltantes y mas productos similares.

Je voulais cette édition d'Akira pour ma collection, en ouvrant ce Akira j'ai été déçu ...qu'il soi en version anglaise, je l'ai retourné! Dommage!