Print Review: Akira volumes 1-3

Review Akira volumes 1-3Written by WarpshadowRating very good

Akira is a really interesting manga. The art may be a bit better than the plot at times but in the end the manga is an unique experience.

Thirty eight years ago a giant explosion went offin Tokyo which launched World War Three. In the time since then the city has gone through reconstruction and has now begun to give off the stench of inner city decay. It's there that gang members like Kaneda and Tetsuo live, play and get into trouble. One night while riding bikes around the bomb crater left from the war they run into a strange, wrinkled boy who is being chased by the government. The government nabs Tetsuo and when they poke around his brain they find that he might have psychic powers strong enough to handle the being known only by code name Akira.

The movie version of Akira was something that left a big impression on the anime community and the Akira manga is one that is similarly unique among the many manga that I have read. First of all the manga is presented in a giant phonebook format which makes it's higher price more bearable. The artwork shows a lot of detail given that the gritty nature of the setting really comes out in the artwork which is not only detailed but also consistent. There is more than a fair amount of intrigue in Akira but at it's heart this is an action manga with long running detailed action scenes that are not only fun to read but also very different from the usual actions scenes that often appear in manga (such as the usual shonen adventure fights). While Akira is not without it's faults it is good enough and different enough that I would easily recommend it to fans of manga and anime.