Akira (manga)

Akira, often stylized as AKIRA, is a Japanese cyberpunk manga series written and illustrated by Katsuhiro Otomo. It was serialized in Kodansha's "seinen" manga magazine "Weekly Young Magazine" from 1982 to 1990, with its chapters collected into six "tankōbon" volumes. It was published in the United States by Marvel Comics under Epic Comics, becoming one of the first manga ever to be completely translated into English. It is currently published by Kodansha Comics in North America. Otomo's art is considered outstanding and a watershed for both Otomo and the manga form. The manga is also famous for spawning the seminal 1988 cyberpunk anime film adaptation of the same name.
The manga is set in a post-apocalyptic and futuristic Neo-Tokyo, more than two decades after a mysterious explosion destroyed the city. The story focuses on the efforts of teenage biker gang leader Kaneda, militant revolutionary Kei, a trio of espers, and Neo-Tokyo military leader Colonel Shikishima, who attempt to prevent Tetsuo, Kaneda's mentally imbalanced childhood friend, from using his unstable and powerful telekinetic abilities to ravage the city and awaken a mysterious individual with similar psychic abilities named "Akira," who was responsible for the destruction of Tokyo several years ago. Throughout the volumes, Otomo uses conventions of the cyberpunk genre to detail a saga of political turmoil, social isolation, corruption, and power. It is considered a landmark work in the cyberpunk genre, credited with spawning the Japanese cyberpunk subgenre. "Akira" has received widespread universal acclaim from readers and critics, with the artwork, writing, characters, narrative progression and the exploration of mature/adult themes and concepts, along with the disturbing and unsettling storytelling being points of praise, while also achieving international commercial success, selling millions of copies worldwide.
An animated film adaptation released in 1988, shortened the plot considerably, while retaining many of the manga's primary characters and plot elements alongside additional scenes, settings, motifs and received similar critical acclaim and has served as a major influence to the anime industry and the cyberpunk genre, as a whole. The manga takes place over a longer time frame than the film and involves a much wider array of characters and subplots. Otomo's "Akira" anime film adaptation marked his transition from a career primarily in manga to one almost exclusively in anime.
"Akira" was instrumental in the surge in popularity of manga outside Japan, especially in the United States, as the release of a colourized edition by Marvel Comics coincided with the release of the film. The manga has won several awards, including the Kodansha Manga and Harvey Awards, and is named as being an important title in the manga explosion in France.
Plot.
Volume 1: Tetsuo.
On December 6, 1982 (1992 in the English version), a nuclear explosion destroys Tokyo and starts World War III. By 2019 (2030 in the English version), a new city called Neo-Tokyo has been built on an artificial island in Tokyo Bay. Although Neo-Tokyo is set to host the XXXII Olympic Games, the city is gripped by anti-government terrorism and gang violence. While exploring the ruins of old Tokyo, Tetsuo Shima, a member of the bōsōzoku gang led by Shōtarō Kaneda, is accidentally injured when his bike crashes after Takashi — a child Esper with wizened features — blocks his path. This incident awakens psychic powers in Tetsuo, attracting the attention of a secret government project directed by JSDF Colonel Shikishima. These increasing powers unhinge Tetsuo's mind, exacerbating his inferiority complex about Kaneda and leading him to assume leadership of the rival Clown Gang through violence.
Meanwhile, Kaneda becomes involved with Kei, a member of a terrorist organization that stage attacks against the government. The terrorists, led by Ryu and opposition parliament leader Nezu, get wind of the Colonel's project and a mysterious figure connected with it known as "Akira". They hope to use this leaked information and try to restrict Kaneda's movements because of his involvement with their activities. However, when Tetsuo and the Clowns begin a violent citywide turf war, Kaneda instigates a counter-attack that unites all of Neo-Tokyo's biker gangs against Tetsuo. While the Clown Gang is easily defeated, Tetsuo's psionic powers make him virtually invincible. Tetsuo kills Yamagata, Kaneda's second-in-command, and astonishingly survives after being shot by Kaneda. The Colonel arrives with the powerful drugs needed to suppress Tetsuo's violent headaches, extending Tetsuo an offer to join the project.
Volume 2: Akira I.
After their confrontation with the JSDF, Kaneda, Kei, and Tetsuo are taken into military custody and held in a highly secure skyscraper in Neo-Tokyo. Kei soon escapes after becoming possessed as a medium by another Esper, Kiyoko. Kei/Kiyoko briefly does battle with Tetsuo and frees Kaneda. After rapidly healing from his wounds, Tetsuo inquires about Akira, and forces Doctor Onishi, a project scientist, to take him to the other espers: Takashi, Kiyoko, and Masaru. There, a violent confrontation unfolds between Tetsuo, Kaneda, Kei, and the Espers. The Doctor decides to try to let Tetsuo harness Akira — the project's test subject that destroyed Tokyo — despite Tetsuo's disturbed personality. Upon learning that Akira is being stored in a cryogenic chamber beneath Neo-Tokyo's new Olympic Stadium, Tetsuo escapes the skyscraper with the intent of releasing Akira.
The following day, Tetsuo enters the secret military base at the Olympic site, killing many soldiers. The Colonel comes to the base and tries to talk Tetsuo out of his plan; Kaneda and Kei enter the base through the sewers and witness the unfolding situation. Tetsuo breaks open the underground cryogenic chamber and frees Akira, who turns out to be an ordinary-looking little boy. The terror of seeing Akira causes one of the Colonel's men to declare a state of emergency that causes massive panic in Neo-Tokyo. The Colonel himself tries to use SOL, a laser satellite, to kill Tetsuo and Akira, but only succeeds in severing Tetsuo's arm.
Volume 3: Akira II.
Tetsuo disappears in the subsequent explosion, and Kaneda and Kei come across Akira outside of the base. Vaguely aware of who he is, they take him back into Neo-Tokyo. Both the Colonel's soldiers and the followers of an Esper named Lady Miyako begin scouring Neo-Tokyo in search for him. Kaneda, Kei, and a third terrorist, Chiyoko, attempt to find refuge with Akira on Nezu's yacht. However, Nezu betrays them and kidnaps Akira for his use, attempting to have them killed. They survive the attempt and manage to snatch Akira from Nezu's mansion. The Colonel, desperate to find Akira and fed up with the government's tepid response to the crisis, mounts a coup d'état and puts the city under martial law. The Colonel's men join Lady Miyako's acolytes and Nezu's private army in chasing Kaneda, Kei, Chiyoko, and Akira through the city.
The pursuit ends at a canal, with Kaneda's group surrounded by the Colonel's troops. As Akira is being taken into the Colonel's custody, Nezu attempts to shoot Akira rather than have him be put into government hands; he is immediately fired upon and killed by the Colonel's men. However, Nezu's shot misses Akira and hits Takashi in the head, killing him instantly. The trauma of Takashi's death causes Akira to trigger a second psychic explosion that destroys Neo-Tokyo. Kei, Ryu, Chiyoko, the Colonel, and the other two Espers survive the catastrophe; Kaneda, however, disappears as he is surrounded by the blast. After the city's destruction, Tetsuo reappears and meets Akira.
Volume 4: Kei I.
Sometime later, an American reconnaissance team led by Lieutenant George Yamada covertly arrives in the ruined Neo-Tokyo. Yamada learns that the city has been divided into two factions: the cult of Lady Miyako, which provides food and medicine for the destitute refugees, and the Great Tokyo Empire, a group of zealots led by Tetsuo with Akira as a figurehead, both worshiped as deities for performing "miracles". The Empire constantly harasses Lady Miyako's group and kills any intruders with Tetsuo's psychic shock troops. Kiyoko and Masaru become targets for the Empire's fanatical soldiers: Kei, Chiyoko, the Colonel, and Keisuke, a former member of Kaneda's gang, ally themselves with Lady Miyako to protect them.
Yamada eventually becomes affiliated with Ryu, and updates him on how the world has reacted to the events in Neo-Tokyo; they later learn that an American naval fleet lingers nearby. Tetsuo becomes heavily dependent on government-issued pills to quell his headaches. Seeking answers, he visits Lady Miyako at her temple and is given a comprehensive history of the government project that unleashed Akira. Miyako advises Tetsuo to quit the pills to become more powerful; Tetsuo begins a withdrawal. Meanwhile, Tetsuo's aide, the Captain, stages an unsuccessful Empire assault on Miyako's temple. After the Colonel uses SOL to attack the Empire's army, a mysterious event opens a rift in the sky dumping massive debris from Akira's second explosion, as well as Kaneda.
Volume 5: Kei II.
Kaneda is reunited with Kei and joins Kaisuke and Joker, the former Clown leader, in planning an assault on the Great Tokyo Empire. Meanwhile, an international team of scientists meets up on an American aircraft carrier to study the recent psychic events in Neo-Tokyo, forming Project Juvenile A. Ryu has a falling out with Yamada after learning that he plans to use biological weapons to assassinate Tetsuo and Akira; Yamada later meets up with his arriving commando team. Akira and Tetsuo hold a rally at the Olympic Stadium to demonstrate their powers to the Empire, which culminates with Tetsuo tearing a massive hole in the Moon's surface and encircling it with a ring of the debris.
Following the rally, Tetsuo's power begins to contort his physical body, causing it to absorb surrounding objects; he later learns that his abuse of his powers has caused them to expand beyond the confines of his body, giving him the ability to transmute inert matter into flesh and integrate it into his physical form. Tetsuo makes a series of visits on board the aircraft carrier to attack the scientists and do battle with American fighter jets. Eventually, Tetsuo takes over the ship and launches a nuclear weapon over the ocean. Kei—accepting the role of a medium controlled by Lady Miyako and the Espers—arrives and battles Tetsuo. Meanwhile, Kaneda, Keisuke, Joker, and their small army of bikers arrive at the Olympic Stadium to begin their all-out assault on the Great Tokyo Empire.
Volume 6: Kaneda.
As Kaneda and the bikers launch their assault on the stadium, Tetsuo returns from his battle with Kei. As his powers continue to grow, Tetsuo's body begins involuntarily morphing, and his cybernetic arm is destroyed as his original arm regrows. He then faces Yamada's team, but absorbs their biological attacks and temporarily regains control of his powers. Tetsuo kills Yamada and the commandos; he also eludes the Colonel's attempts to kill him by guiding SOL with a laser designator. Kaneda confronts Tetsuo, and the two begin to fight; they are joined by Kei. However, the brawl is interrupted when the Americans try to carpet bomb Neo-Tokyo and destroy the city outright with their laser satellite, FLOYD. Tetsuo flies into space and brings down FLOYD, causing it to crash down upon the aircraft carrier, killing the fleet admiral and one of the scientists.
After the battle, Tetsuo tries to resurrect Kaori, a girl he loved who was killed in the battle. He succeeds to a small degree but is unable to maintain focus. He retreats to Akira's cryogenic chamber beneath the stadium, carrying her body. Kaneda and his friends appear to fight Tetsuo once more, but his powers transform him into a monstrous, amoeba-like mass resembling a fetus, absorbing everything near him. Tetsuo pulls the cryogenic chamber above-ground and drops it onto Lady Miyako's temple. Lady Miyako dies while defying Tetsuo, after guiding Kei into space to fire upon him with SOL. Kei's attack awakens Tetsuo's full powers, triggering a psychic reaction similar to Akira's. With the help of Kiyoko, Masaru, and the spirit of Takashi, Akira can cancel out Tetsuo's explosion with one of his own. They are also able to free Kaneda, who was trapped in Tetsuo's mass, and he witnesses the truth about the Espers' power as they, alongside Akira and Tetsuo, ascend to a higher plane of existence.
The United Nations sends forces to help the surviving parties of Neo-Tokyo. Kaneda and his friends confront them, declaring the city's sovereignty as the Great Tokyo Empire and warning them that Akira still lives in their hearts. Kaneda and Kei meet up with the Colonel and part ways as friends. As Kaneda and Kei ride through Neo-Tokyo with their followers, they are joined by ghostly visions of Tetsuo and Yamagata. They also see the city shedding its ruined façade, returning to its former splendor.
Production.
Katsuhiro Otomo had previously created "Fireball" (1979), an unfinished series in which he disregarded accepted manga art styles and which established his interest in science fiction as a setting. "Fireball" anticipated a number of plot elements of "Akira", with its story of young freedom fighters trying to rescue one of the group's older brother who was being used by the government in psychic experiments, with the older brother eventually unleashing a destructive "fireball" of energy (the story may have drawn inspiration from the Alfred Bester's 1953 novel "The Demolished Man"). The setting was again used the following year in "Domu", which was awarded the Science Fiction Grand Prix and became a bestseller. Otomo then began work on his most ambitious work to date, "Akira". While "Akira" came to be viewed as part of the emerging cyberpunk genre, it predates the seminal cyberpunk novel "Neuromancer" (1984), which was released two years after "Akira" began serialization in 1982 and was not translated into Japanese until 1985.
For its overseas release, to reach a larger audience, Otomo decided to color the manga and to carefully flip the pages so that they would be read from left to right, like American comics, instead of the traditional black and white artwork and right to left reading. Some of the artwork was redrawn by Otomo and his assistants to flip it, while the coloring was done by Steve Oliff at his company, Olyoptics. Akira was the first comic in the world to be colored digitally, using computers. Its release in color led to the widespread adoption of computer coloring in comics. Akira was also the first comic in the western world to be printed on slick paper with a 4 color process, much like modern American comics, which allowed for the more detailed and accurate color achieved by the use of computers to be shown, instead of the previously used newsprint with Ben Day process color. Coloring lasted from 1988 to 1994, being delayed by Otomo's work on "Steamboy", and Oliff's work in "Akira" earned him an Eisner Award in 1992.
Otomo cited the influence of works such as the movie "Star Wars", the comics of Moebius, the manga "Tetsujin 28-go", the science fiction works of Seishi Yokomizo which dealt with "new breeds" of humanity, and Sogo Ishii's punk films "Panic High School" (1978) and "Crazy Thunder Road" (1980) which portrayed the rebellion, anarchy and biker gangs associated with Japanese punk rock subculture. Famed manga artist and film director Satoshi Kon acted as an uncredited assistant artist for the series.
Otomo and his design office, Pencil Studio, originally tried futuristic typefaces such as Checkmate and Earth for the font used in the title logo, but eventually Otomo used condensed sans-serif capitals. The font was once told to be Impact, but did not match the actual design. It was speculated to be hand-drawn based on Schmalfette Grotesk. Other fonts have also been used for the logo, such as Broadway in issue 36, ITC Busorama in issues 37–48, Futura in issues 72 to 120.
Themes.
"Akira", like some of Otomo's other works (such as "Domu"), revolves around the basic idea of individuals with superhuman powers, especially psychokinetic abilities. However, these are not central to the story, which instead concerns itself with character, societal pressures and political machination. Motifs common in the manga include youth alienation, government corruption and inefficiency, and a military grounded in old-fashioned Japanese honor, displeased with the compromises of modern society.
Jenny Kwok Wah Lau writes in "Multiple Modernities" that "Akira" is a "direct outgrowth of war and postwar experiences." She argues that Otomo grounds the work in recent Japanese history and culture, using the atomic bombing of Japan during World War II, alongside the economic resurgence and issues relating to overcrowding as inspirations and underlying issues. Thematically, the work centers on the nature of youth to rebel against authority, control methods, community building and the transformation experienced in adolescent passage. The latter is best represented in the work by the morphing experienced by characters.
Susan J. Napier identified this morphing and metamorphosis as a factor that marks the work as postmodern: "a genre which suggests that identity is in constant fluctuation." She also sees the work as an attack on the Japanese establishment, arguing that Otomo satirizes aspects of Japanese culture: in particular, schooling and the rush for new technology. "Akira"s central image of characters aimlessly roaming the streets on motorbikes is seen to represent the futility of the quest for self-knowledge. The work also focuses on loss, with all characters in some form orphaned and having no sense of history. The landscapes depicted are ruinous, with old Tokyo represented only by a dark crater. The nihilistic nature of the work is felt by Napier to tie into a wider theme of pessimism present in Japanese fantasy literature of the 1980s.
Release.
"Akira" launched in 1982, serialized in Japan's "Young Magazine", and concluded in 1990, two years after the film adaptation of the same name was released. The work, totaling more than 2,000 pages, was collected and released in six "tankōbon" volumes by Kodansha. Concurrently with working on the series, Otomo agreed to an anime adaptation of the work, provided he retained creative control. This insistence was based on his experiences working on "Harmagedon". The film was released theatrically in Japan in 1988, and followed by limited theatrical releases in various Western territories from 1989 to 1991.
In 1988, the manga was published in the United States by Epic Comics, an imprint of Marvel Comics. This colorized version ended its 38-issue run in 1995. The coloring was by Steve Oliff, hand-picked for the role by Otomo. Oliff persuaded Marvel to use computer coloring, and "Akira" became the first ongoing comic book to feature computer coloring. The coloring was more subtle than that seen before and far beyond the capabilities of Japanese technology of the time. It played an important part in "Akira"s success in Western markets, and revolutionized the way comics were colorized. Delays in the publication were caused by Otomo's retouching of artwork for the Japanese collections. It was these works which formed the basis for translation, rather than the initial serialization. The Epic version suffered significant delays toward the end of the serial, requiring several years to publish the final 8 issues. Marvel planned to collect the colorized versions as a 13-volume paperback series, and teamed with Graphitti Designs to release six limited-edition hardcover volumes; however, the collected editions ceased in 1993, so the final 3 paperbacks and planned sixth hardcover volume was never published. A partially colorized version was serialized in British comic/magazine Manga Mania in the early to mid-'90s.
A new edition of "Akira" was later published in paperback from 2000 to 2002 by Dark Horse Comics, and in the UK by Titan Books, this time in its original 6-volume black-and-white form with a revised translation, although Otomo's painted color pages were used minimally at the start of each book as in the original manga. The English-language rights to "Akira" are currently held by Kodansha Comics, who re-released the manga from 2009 to 2011 through Random House. Kodansha's version is largely identical to the Dark Horse version. In honor of the 35th anniversary of the manga, Kodansha released a box set in late October 2017, containing hardcover editions of all six volumes, as well as the "Akira Club" art book, and an exclusive patch featuring the iconic pill design. This release was presented in the original right-to-left format, with unaltered original art and Japanese sound effects with endnote translations.
The serial nature of the work influenced the storyline structure, allowing for numerous sub-plots, a large cast, and an extended middle sequence. This allowed for a focus on destructive imagery and afforded Otomo the chance to portray a strong sense of movement. He also established a well-realized science fiction setting, and his art evoked a strong sense of emotion within both character and reader. The work has no consistent main character, but Kaneda and Tetsuo are featured the most prominently throughout.
Reception.
The first "tankōbon" volume, which was released on September 14, 1984, significantly exceeded sales expectations, with its print run increasing from an initial 30,000 copies up to nearly 300,000 copies within two weeks, becoming the number-one best-seller in Japan before eventually selling about 500,000 copies. By 1988, "Akira" had sold approximately 2 million copies in Japan, from four volumes averaging about 500,000 copies each. The manga was published in the United States in 1988, followed by France, Spain and Italy by 1991, and then Germany, Sweden, South Korea, Taiwan, Indonesia and Brazil. It was reported by Critique international that by 2000 "Akira" had sold copies worldwide, including in Japan and overseas. As of 2005, "Akira" has been published in more than a dozen languages worldwide. At a price of in Japan and $24.95 overseas, the manga "tankōbon" volumes grossed estimated revenues of () in Japan and overseas, for an estimated total of grossed worldwide.
During its run, the "seinen" manga magazine where it was first serialized, "Weekly Young Magazine", experienced an increase in its weekly circulation, from 1 million in 1986 to 1.5 million in 1990. At an average manga magazine price of at the time, the 120 issues serialising "Akira" sold an estimated total of – million copies and grossed an estimated ().
The series has won much recognition in the industry, including the 1984 Kodansha Manga Award for Best General Manga. It won a Harvey Award for Best American Edition of Foreign Material in 1993, and was nominated for a Harvey for Best Graphic Album of Previously Published Work in 2002. In her book "The Fantastic in Japanese Literature", Susan Napier described the work as a "no holds barred enjoyment of fluidity and chaos". The work is credited as having introduced both manga and anime to Western audiences. The translation of the work into French in 1991 by Glénat "opened the floodgates to the Japanese invasion." The imagery in "Akira", together with that of "Blade Runner", formed the blueprint for similar Japanese works of a dystopian nature of the late 1990s. Examples include "Ghost in the Shell" and "Armitage III". "Akira" cemented Otomo's reputation and the success of the animated feature allowed him to concentrate on film rather than the manga form in which his career began.
Related media.
While most of the character designs and basic settings were directly adapted from the original manga, the restructured plot of the movie differs considerably from the print version, changing much of the second half of the series. The film "Akira" is regarded by many critics as a landmark anime film: one that influenced much of the art in the anime world that followed its release.
In 2003, Tokyopop published a "reverse adaption" in the form of an "Akira" "cine-manga." The format consists of animation cels from the film version cut up and arranged with word balloons in order to resemble comic book panels.
A graphic adventure game based on the animated movie adaptation was released in 1988 by Taito for the Famicom console. The video game version has the player in the role of Kaneda, with the storyline starting with Kaneda and his motorcycle gang in police custody. In 1994, a British-made action game was released for the Amiga CD32 and it's considered one of the console's worst games. In 2002 Bandai released a pinball simulation, "Akira Psycho Ball", for the PlayStation 2.
In June 1995, Kodansha released "Akira Club", a compilation of various materials related to the production of the series. These include test designs of the paperback volume covers, title pages as they appeared in Young Magazine, and images of various related merchandise. Otomo also shares his commentaries in each page. Dark Horse collaborated with Kodansha to release an English-translated version of the book in 2007.
Since 2002, Warner Bros. had acquired rights to create an American live action film of "Akira". Since the initial announcement, a number of directors, producers and writers have been reported to be attached to the film, starting with Stephen Norrington (writer/director) and Jon Peters (producer). By 2017, it was announced Taika Waititi would officially serve as the director of the live-action adaptation, from a screenplay he co-wrote with Michael Golamco. Warner Bros. planned to distribute the film on May 21, 2021, but after Waititi was officially confirmed to both direct and write "", the film was put on hold, with its May 21 release date being taken over by "The Matrix 4".
On July 4, 2019, Bandai Namco Entertainment announced a 4K remaster of the original film set to release on April 24, 2020, as well as a television series to be made by Sunrise.