Akira, #1: The Highway

Akira #1

by Katsuhiro Otomo

Genres: Manga, Comics, Graphic Novels, Science Fiction, Graphic Novels Comics, Comics Manga, Japan

64 pages, Squarebound

First published January 1, 1988

About the author

Katsuhiro Otomo is a Japanese manga artist, film director, and screenwriter. For his works in Japanese see 大友克洋. He is perhaps best known for being the creator of the manga Akira and its anime adaptation, which are extremely famous and influential. Otomo has also directed several live-action films, such as the recent 2006 feature film adaptation of the Mushishi manga.

Katsuhiro Otomo was born in the former town of Hasama, in Miyagi Prefecture.

As a teenager growing up in the turbulent 1960s, he was surrounded by the demonstrations of both students and workers against the Japanese government. The riots, demonstrations, and overall chaotic conditions of this time would serve as the inspiration for his best known work, Akira. Some would argue that this seminal work is an allegory of 1960s Japan, and that one could easily substitute the year 2019 for 1969 and leave little difference in the basic story.

The animation from this period (especially the works coming out of Tokyo animation studios Mushi Production and Toei Doga, now known as TOEI Animation) were influencing young Otomo. Works like Tetsujin 28-go, Astro Boy, and Hols: Prince of the Sun would help push Otomo toward a career in animation. However, it was the films coming out of America that were driving his rebellious nature. Five Easy Pieces and Easy Rider would serve as inspiration for Shotaro Kaneda and his biker gang in Akira: rebellious youth who took too many drugs and didn't care about authority or the pressures put on them by their parents' generation.

Otomo has recently worked extensively with noted studio Sunrise with the studio animating and producing his most recent projects, the 2004 feature film Steamboy, 2006's Freedom Project and his latest project, SOS! Tokyo Metro Explorers: The Next, released in 2007.

Otomo grew up a fanatic of American blockbusters, which has influenced his cinematic style throughout his huge career. He grew fond of the work of artists like Moebius, and is often regarded as the person who brought a Westernized style into manga. From the late seventies onwards, Otomo created numerous volumes of anthologies and short stories, which usually ran at 23 pages each. Serialization for Fireball was cancelled, though the premise and themes were later to appear in the Sci-Fi Grand Prix award winning Domu and Akira. Otomo later moved onto directing and creating notable anime like the film adaption of Akira, Memories, and Steamboy. His most recent manga have been the scripting of Mother Sarah and the short story Park released in an issue of Pafu last year. He has also directed several live action films, such as World Apartment Horror, Give Us A Gun/Give Us Freedom, and the 2006 feature film adaptation of the Mushishi manga.

Reviews

[Ill D · Rating 3 out of 5]

Been meaning to read this for a while.

Topping innumerable top comic lists for the past few decades, Akira has begged for my eyes first and my erudite opinions second. For the most part, this dystopian tale holds up (for the most part) relatively well some 30+ years since its initial publication. Does it deserve its meteoric accolades? I’ll let you decide.

For all Its brevity, the first issue sets the stage and introduces the characters more than anything. And this is does quite well. We’re introduced to a troupe of teenage misfits who take part in the typical ne’er-do-well activities befitting of any post-apocalyptic society. Motorcycles are ridden and curricular insubordination establishes what we basically know already. When the querulous quartet meets a phantasmal figure in the road – an accident occurs and the story is off to the race-tracks.

Tinged with Noir-esque features, mystery begets further mystery as our mysterious dwarf-like figure reappears to enigmatic effect following some paper thin character development. Shadowy verbiage perfectly matches the secondary and tertiary characters who appear and then follow in the pursuit as well. At this cursory crescendo, all story points converge at the (not-so) stunning conclusion paving the way for the rest of the series.

Because this is merely the first issue of some 38 (an entirety of which spans almost a full decade of continuous publication(!)) this serial #1 is the tippety-tip of a massive iceberg. With an atmosphere that fumes with a barely concealed harsh misanthropy and thinly brokered nihilism – the scene and settings actually over-power the characters and ultimately the story itself. In fact, I actually lingered my eyes upon the corrosive outlines and jet-black lineages more-so than the movers and shakers themselves.

Which is odd for a story that finds itself punctuated with an uneven application of dialogue that ranges for the loquacious to the sparse. This staccato style of writing, while perfectly matching the environmentalized brutality of the dystopic landscape, does little to expand and germinate the characters of the characters within. It’s like Akira wants to be character driven but it forcebly overwhelmed by it’s own pressure of identity of (faux?) noir and Japanese sensibilities.
Denuded of any puerile charm – Akira takes a turgid and crushingly bleak take on restlessness of youth. Enveloped by it’s own power – it’s life is found more without of the characters than within that of its internally and unambivalently acidic ambience.

It’s a tough call here. So far so (kinda ) good. It deserves to have the rest of the series read. And so I shall.

[Rick Ray · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mostly just set dressing and concept introduction with this chapter - we meet some of the central players like Kaneda and Tetsuo, and are given the state of affairs in Neo-Tokyo. The world of Otomo's Akira is draped under classic film noir tropes alongside the '80s cyberpunk aesthetic making for a really cool setting. There isn't much to chew on with the opening chapter of Akira, but the promise of a deeper, more interesting story is laid out well.

[Taylor Quinn Atkins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gorgeous art, but as a stand alone issue it feels a little hard to believe at times. Everyone just happens to run into each other. Not the strongest start. In the larger collected volumes it just b;ends in to the larger story. The cliffhanger ending is a bit odd.

[Heisenberg]

When I'm done with the whole series, I'll write an overall review ;)

[Cyril · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75 stars

[Vincent Saint-Cyr · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent introduction to what will became a masterpiece of the Science-Fiction.

[Mohamed Mossad · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this part is portrayed better in the movie, there's more political tension and the protests are well placed in the story unlike in the manga.

[Cristina Garabatos · Rating 4 out of 5]

No es mucho mi estilo pero está guay solo tengo hasta el 4 , a ver si me compro los demás

[alita · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kaneda sucks

[Simon Bostock · Rating 5 out of 5]

This chapter introduces us to Kaneda, Testsuo and the gang, the resistance featuring Kay and Ryu, the Colonel and Takashi, and through a coincidence of being at the same place at the same time, Kaneda becomes entangled with the resistance.

[Hellread · Rating 3 out of 5]

Review for the entire comic, since there's no single entry.


Finally got around to it due to it being on so many top comic lists. There are certainly some great elements and some of the initial story has strong potential. But it all just peters out and towards the end I was just glad for it to finally end. It's certain great ideas do not just carry the whole work.

I'm not sure I liked the story. The whole second part of "people immediately go savage" is just silly. There are also too many silly indestructible characters doing silly things and instantly traveling through sewers and surviving apocalypse-level destruction. It's also tonally inconsistent half the time. Akira, the titular character, does nothing for the whole series. The comic should have been called "Angsty Tetsuo". The world-building is kind of poor. It throws a lot of concepts at you but never really explains anything. "Scientists did it, okay?" is just poor story-telling. We never see them do anything except in briefest of flashbacks that just raise more questions. It's fine to leave things unsaid, especially if characters don't know them. But at some point, everyone knows more than the reader. In the end, it's a string of cool moments held together by filler.

The art is good. Occasionally, it's visually stunning. A lot of the time is just okay.

I don't know what else to say. If not for the hype, I would just shrug and move on. I guess it has its place in the history. It did something innovative at the time, targeted a new audience, and it partly stands the test of time. But, as a whole, it's still barely above average comic. Worth reading for the sake of knowing what it is about.

[Hikmat Kabir · Rating 3 out of 5]

This serves as my entire review for the series since I completed in just one go today. Akira is pretty hyped post apocalyptic science fiction manga that spans over 2000 pages praised for its stunning visuals and its complex story. Frankly speaking, I felt Akira's story was a convoluted mess. This was not helped by the fact that the main characters came off as one dimensional and highly unlikable in regards to its two main protagonists Tetsuo and Kaneda. The book felt entirely dependent on its action scenes with very little time spent on fleshing out the story. The dialogue is just simply plain and horrible and pretty bothersome to go through at times. I only gave the book its 3 stars just because of the artwork alone. Neo Tokyo and its post apocalyptic scenery was just simply gorgeous to behold especially with the much welcome color additions. Many modern comic art would simply feel pale in comparison to the sheer details and magnitude presented within the pages of Akira.

I really would not go out of my way to recommend this book to someone and would rather ask people excellent anime adaptation instead. Akira can come off as a real bummer especially with the length of the book. Its better treating this book as a visual eye candy in order to come out with a more rewarding/tolerable reading experience.

[Phil · Rating 4 out of 5]

I heard a lot about this dystopian blade-runneresque phantasy and dived into it with only half a dozen graphic novels read before and hardly any knowledge about this particular one. I did the whole thing in a few nights and had a great time reading. Without being an expert it seems to me that the drawing style fits perfectly for the chaotic and worn down environment of Akira and of cause its action. That is the characteristic that struck me most as I didn‘t expect its pace.
I highly recommend Akira for everyone who‘s interests in cyberpunk, dystopian settings and most of the elements of typical action-adventure.

[Angelo · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a massive fan of the anime classic, I had always known the movie didn't cover half the story. Issue 1 is a good set up, and already noticeably different from the film. The art is spectacular and had a genuine grit missing from a lot of todays stuff. Definitely keen to read the entire series.

[Nathan Hughes · Rating 4 out of 5]

My first taste of Manga... It was incredible...

[Esteban Candia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Releyendo un clásico y uno de mis comics favoritos de todos los tiempos (2021)