(Disclaimer: Thoughts expressed in this review are my own)
The words “epic” and “massive” can’t describe the subject of today’s review. A project like this with the amount of detail, work, and input comes along once in a while, much like Stephen King’s “Dark Tower” series, the early days of Mobile Suit Gundam’s development, or even recently with DC Comics wrapping up their massive “Metal” storyline event. While the aforementioned words do not fully encapsulate today’s review, they are effective enough to talk about “Akira.”
First published in 1982 in Young Magazine and created by Katsuhiro Otomo, “Akira” is a six-part story set in a post-apocalyptic, cyberpunk world where psychic children, drugs, biker gangs, and a deep set conspiracy set in motion the story of a group of children that have their roles to play.
Plot: A short prologue set in 1988 sets the stage for the manga as a mysterious explosion destroys the majority of Tokyo, leading into World War III.
Fast forward to 2019, the city has rebuilt itself into Neo-Tokyo and is home to its survivors and an eclectic mix of people including biker gangs. This is where we are introduce to Shotaro Kaneda and Tetsuo Shima, the respective leader and member of their gang. While riding out one night, Tetsuo crashes into a small child that blocks him with what appears to be a psychic barrier. What would follow thrusts Kaneda, Tetsuo, and a young woman named Kei into a battle between anti-government militias and the governmental forces and lead to an encounter with a child named Akira.
That small description is a small part of a larger story that I won’t go into without divulging spoilers and ruining the story. The art for this series is filled with so much detail and work that helps to fully flesh out this world.
To fully compound my thoughts, go pick up this series for yourself. If you love cyberpunk, post-apocalyptic scenarios, and an overall lover of manga and anime; this series. “Akira” just celebrated it’s 35th anniversary last year with a convenient box set that collects all six volumes with an updated translation and a supplementary book that goes into details of the creation, publishing, and marketing of Akira and its’ worldwide impact.
(Big, beautiful, and fits right at home in your collection)
Before I end this review, I would be remised if I didn’t talk about the animated adaptation of series and how the movie would change the face of animation.
Released in the Summer of 1988 and directed by Otomo himself, the anime movie version of “Akira” remains to this day the only adaptation of the source material. The plot of the movie remains the same, but the huge difference is the film severely condenses all six volumes into a short run time and leaves out many plot points, characters, and important events. While this may bother some fans of the source material, what we get is a superb animated film and, at the very least, a faithful adaptation.
The art in this movie is stunning and filled with so much detail that stand on equal terms with its manga counterpart. Tons of movement and life help bring this world much more alive through this adaptation.
Overall thoughts of “Akira” at large; this series has a lot of story going for it with some exposition along the way, but if you can get through it then what you’re treated to is a superb series that garners praise to this day.
That’s all for this review and I hope to see you in the next one. In the mean time, I’ll leave you with this:
(All images are retrieved from Google and are owned by their respective creators)
The Pop Culture Guy 