What do you think?
Rate this book
Akira [アキラ] #6
Akira 6
This edition is part of the "Akira 35th Anniversary Box Set" and shares the same ISBN (9781632364616) with the whole collection.
444 pages, Hardcover
First published March 19, 1993
62 people are currently reading
3517 people want to read
About the author
Katsuhiro Otomo
316 books883 followersKatsuhiro 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.
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.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 696 reviews
January 14, 2022
Pre-review: I re-read Akira because real life and the society situations have become unbearable.
In this re-read, I can relate to the members of the teenage biker gang and their attitude: even before they were born, decisions had been made by adults who only care about their own interests, their world had been broken up and fucked up by forces which are entirely out of their control, and there is no way out for them outside of being trapped in a city which only viewed them as disposable losers. So what did those teens do? They rebelled, they broke things up randomly, they disturbed the peace and the order of the society, they went after people (usually the corrupted adults) who messed with their friends, that makes so much sense.
I like the scene in which, one of the few adults who is less corrupted and taking matter into his own hands, Colonel Shikishima departed with the youngsters. Is that a hint that the old generation should eventually step aside and make way for the younger ones so they can shape the future?
The ending is a bit on the vague and general side but I honestly can't think of any better way for the story to end......
PS: As to the fact that the most destructively powerful being in the series has the appearance of a 5 years old boy, it just reminds me of the fact that the atomic bomb that destructed Hiroshima on 6th August 1945 is also called "Little Boy".
Spoiler for the ending: ?
" Our friends are waiting on the other side."
In this re-read, I can relate to the members of the teenage biker gang and their attitude: even before they were born, decisions had been made by adults who only care about their own interests, their world had been broken up and fucked up by forces which are entirely out of their control, and there is no way out for them outside of being trapped in a city which only viewed them as disposable losers. So what did those teens do? They rebelled, they broke things up randomly, they disturbed the peace and the order of the society, they went after people (usually the corrupted adults) who messed with their friends, that makes so much sense.
I like the scene in which, one of the few adults who is less corrupted and taking matter into his own hands, Colonel Shikishima departed with the youngsters. Is that a hint that the old generation should eventually step aside and make way for the younger ones so they can shape the future?
The ending is a bit on the vague and general side but I honestly can't think of any better way for the story to end......
PS: As to the fact that the most destructively powerful being in the series has the appearance of a 5 years old boy, it just reminds me of the fact that the atomic bomb that destructed Hiroshima on 6th August 1945 is also called "Little Boy".
Spoiler for the ending: ?
December 16, 2020
So this is it, the final days of the the powered ones dominance over Neo-Tokyo ends with some expansive storytelling and some pretty amazing comic book art panels in this manga classic. Not as ground breaking as said by many at the time, although the artwork is pretty good on any level. 7 out of 12. This volume collects Akira # 31 -38.
May 21, 2020
“TETSUOOOO”
― Katsuhiro Otomo, Akira, Vol. 6
Maybe not as good as I used to remember, two very despicable ones main characters and I'm still more a fan of the 1988 movie, but when I started reading this classic sci-fi cyberpunk dystopic manga thirty years ago it totally blown my mind and still has a special place in my heart.
Punk teen biker gangs, military secret scientific experimantation gone wrong, political conspiracies, paranormal powered kids with unlimited potential for destruction, mad psychic drug-powered gods, the obscure secret about who or what is Akira, insane non-stop cinematic action, twists and much more.
Katsuhiro Hotomo's masterpiece is still a timeless cult classic and Chiyoko is probably most bad-ass woman in manga history.
Just read it and enjoy the ride.
June 29, 2023
یه روزی، توی آینده ای که خیلی بهش نزدیکم، بچه هامون به مانگای آکیرا نگاه میکنن و باورشون نمیشه تمام اینها کار انسانه. فکر یک نفر، هنرش، درکش از انسان و روایتها به حدی پیچیدهست که هیچ وقت نمیتونه تکرار بشه.
نمیدونم بحث افکارم توی ماههای اخیر بود یا نه، اما حس میکنم هیچ وقت قرار نیست مفهومی که آکیرا داشت رو فراموش کنم. جزو معدود آثاریه که مطمئنا نظرات و زندگیم به قبل و بعد از خوندنش تقسیم میشه.
نمیدونم بحث افکارم توی ماههای اخیر بود یا نه، اما حس میکنم هیچ وقت قرار نیست مفهومی که آکیرا داشت رو فراموش کنم. جزو معدود آثاریه که مطمئنا نظرات و زندگیم به قبل و بعد از خوندنش تقسیم میشه.
October 29, 2009
Its almost impossible to describe how completely amazing Akira actually is. It makes any seminal American graphic novel seem childish. Required reading for anyone interested in the medium.
August 24, 2018
4.3 stars.
RTC for the entire series.
RTC for the entire series.
October 10, 2017
Akira is one of the greatest manga that has ever been created. It is up there together with Kazuo Koike's Lone Wolf and Cub series. Katsuhiro Otomo has created a masterpiece that is teeming with pure non-stop action. Volume six didn't hit all the right spots in seamless storytelling, hugely because of the sheer amount of thins happening in the book. With so many players in the board, I am still amazed that the author still managed to pull off a spectacular finale.
Akira.
Reading each volume is like watching an entire movie. The whole series will not be given justice if it is compressed into one film, so thankfully the Akira anime film has huge deviations from the graphic material. Saying which is better between the book and movie is a tough choice to make. The movie, even though it has the same key plot points as the manga, by itself stands on its own.
Overall, I really enjoyed reading this series, though I am not sold on some of the author's choices in the last volume, my whole reading experience has been a great, high-octane ride.
Akira.
Reading each volume is like watching an entire movie. The whole series will not be given justice if it is compressed into one film, so thankfully the Akira anime film has huge deviations from the graphic material. Saying which is better between the book and movie is a tough choice to make. The movie, even though it has the same key plot points as the manga, by itself stands on its own.
Overall, I really enjoyed reading this series, though I am not sold on some of the author's choices in the last volume, my whole reading experience has been a great, high-octane ride.
December 28, 2024
430 pages of jaw drops & the entire series bangs.
May 24, 2019
And that's it. The so the story of Akira comes to an end. And what a beautiful, spectacular finale this was, worthy of the epic that has been told across 2000+ pages.
I have read a fair share of manga and comics in my life, but rarely has a story been that cinematic. I have said this before, but with Akira, it was easy to forget that you are even reading something, as the panels came alive in front of my eyes.
Everything is coming together in this volume. While the series as a whole is not perfect it is fine storytelling, from beginning to end engaging and even during slower parts sparking curiosity. The mystery turned into eeriness and ultimately a mix of hope, drama and horror. Characters that were just annoying to begin with grew on me to the degree where I just wanted everyone to be okay.
Tetsuo was the perfect antagonist. From a moody teenager he got a taste for power before being confronted with his inner demons. Power can be dangerous and he ultimately became a victim of what he was trying to conquer. Man, I was moved by what was happening here.
In total, this needs to be read by anyone who cares about manga. The length might be intimidating, but they are as easy to read as films are easy to watch. Maybe I'm so into this right now because I've pretty much read them all back to back, but you know what, I don't regret a second.
I have read a fair share of manga and comics in my life, but rarely has a story been that cinematic. I have said this before, but with Akira, it was easy to forget that you are even reading something, as the panels came alive in front of my eyes.
Everything is coming together in this volume. While the series as a whole is not perfect it is fine storytelling, from beginning to end engaging and even during slower parts sparking curiosity. The mystery turned into eeriness and ultimately a mix of hope, drama and horror. Characters that were just annoying to begin with grew on me to the degree where I just wanted everyone to be okay.
Tetsuo was the perfect antagonist. From a moody teenager he got a taste for power before being confronted with his inner demons. Power can be dangerous and he ultimately became a victim of what he was trying to conquer. Man, I was moved by what was happening here.
In total, this needs to be read by anyone who cares about manga. The length might be intimidating, but they are as easy to read as films are easy to watch. Maybe I'm so into this right now because I've pretty much read them all back to back, but you know what, I don't regret a second.
March 19, 2019
Kei: It's begun again, hasn't it Tetsuo...?
Tetsuo: Heh...Ha ha ha ha ha! How could you understand...what's happening inside of me?
Book six: the finale.
The fifth novel ended with Kaneda and a few followers attacking Tetsuo and his army at the stadium.
Tetsuo loses control. His body transforms and the power "possesses" him. Turns out he doesn't like it. His lust for power becomes terror of the power. He tells people to get away from him before he transforms, a sign of duality forming in his psyche, a separation from the spiritual force influencing him. He warns his girlfriend. He warns Kaneda. Later in a battle Kaneda realizes he should not be surviving against Tetsuo, and the memories of old friendship surface from his unconscious mind.
I felt sorry for Tetsuo. This end of the antagonist broke my heart. He had been deceived into the blindness of misusing spiritual power for selfish gain. Now he must pay for it. Near the end of the book he cries out for Miyako's help. And Kaneda's help. The pride has gone from his eyes. Only terror and pity-inducing weakness remain. It nearly moved me to tears to read those parts.
All parties meet together for a climactic ending, to meet up for Tetsuo's final transformation. I won't waste words. Take a look:
Lady Miyako: His ego has collapsed, that's all! It's nothing!
Sorry Lady Miyako, but those words provide no comfort to me.
Kei comes to fight in the flesh rather than a practice in spirit. She uses the power channeled through her by Miyako, Kiyoko, and Masaru. She does well, for awhile, considering the size-advantage of this giant blob-baby.
Tetsuo's right-hand man, kills his girl so she won't snitch on his plans to betray him. This breaks Tetsuo's spirit. We see his love for her. He carries her dead body to the place Akira was first revealed to us, under the stadium.
As mentioned already, Tetsuo and Kaneda have a battle. Kei comes too. Unfortunately an American soldier had previously shot him with a bio-weapon (just before he pissed Tetsuo off and had his head blown up). The drug gives him control over the power again, rather than killing him.
I had to wonder why Tetsuo never figured out he could get the drugs from Miyako and keep control, but then the climax would not have happened. Is that a plot issue? He was a smart kid, if that isn't obvious.
When Americans come to carpet-bomb Neo-Tokyo, bringing destruction and killing of innocent lives (collateral damage), Tetsuo brings an abrupt halt to the fight with Kei and Tetsuo. He had been playing with them. Or perhaps he didn't want to hurt them? Tetsuo's person, his heart of friendship beneath all that power?
Tetsuo becomes archenemy turned hero in an act that saves Neo-Tokyo and destroys the ship that signalled the destruction. Goodbye American ship! To the lifeboats....
The Tetsuo monster and Akira connect.
Not good.
Masaru: Akira! No!
Kiyoko: It's too soon!
Miyako: If they multiply positive power by positive power...the earth cannot contain it!
So Ryu shoots Akira. Everybody freaks. Everyone in shock.
The monster walks to Lady Miyako's place, drawn by the spiritual power of the three.
I could make this a fun review by spoiling the end.
But I won't.
You'll have to read all six for yourself (or watch the animation). Otomo gives an outstanding, emotional and powerful ending. He recaps the entire story from start to finish in a well-executed way.
I highly recommend this anime series!
Tetsuo, Kaneda, Yamagata and Keisuke.
Tetsuo: Heh...Ha ha ha ha ha! How could you understand...what's happening inside of me?
Book six: the finale.
The fifth novel ended with Kaneda and a few followers attacking Tetsuo and his army at the stadium.
Tetsuo loses control. His body transforms and the power "possesses" him. Turns out he doesn't like it. His lust for power becomes terror of the power. He tells people to get away from him before he transforms, a sign of duality forming in his psyche, a separation from the spiritual force influencing him. He warns his girlfriend. He warns Kaneda. Later in a battle Kaneda realizes he should not be surviving against Tetsuo, and the memories of old friendship surface from his unconscious mind.
I felt sorry for Tetsuo. This end of the antagonist broke my heart. He had been deceived into the blindness of misusing spiritual power for selfish gain. Now he must pay for it. Near the end of the book he cries out for Miyako's help. And Kaneda's help. The pride has gone from his eyes. Only terror and pity-inducing weakness remain. It nearly moved me to tears to read those parts.
All parties meet together for a climactic ending, to meet up for Tetsuo's final transformation. I won't waste words. Take a look:
Lady Miyako: His ego has collapsed, that's all! It's nothing!
Sorry Lady Miyako, but those words provide no comfort to me.
Kei comes to fight in the flesh rather than a practice in spirit. She uses the power channeled through her by Miyako, Kiyoko, and Masaru. She does well, for awhile, considering the size-advantage of this giant blob-baby.
Tetsuo's right-hand man, kills his girl so she won't snitch on his plans to betray him. This breaks Tetsuo's spirit. We see his love for her. He carries her dead body to the place Akira was first revealed to us, under the stadium.
As mentioned already, Tetsuo and Kaneda have a battle. Kei comes too. Unfortunately an American soldier had previously shot him with a bio-weapon (just before he pissed Tetsuo off and had his head blown up). The drug gives him control over the power again, rather than killing him.
I had to wonder why Tetsuo never figured out he could get the drugs from Miyako and keep control, but then the climax would not have happened. Is that a plot issue? He was a smart kid, if that isn't obvious.
When Americans come to carpet-bomb Neo-Tokyo, bringing destruction and killing of innocent lives (collateral damage), Tetsuo brings an abrupt halt to the fight with Kei and Tetsuo. He had been playing with them. Or perhaps he didn't want to hurt them? Tetsuo's person, his heart of friendship beneath all that power?
Tetsuo becomes archenemy turned hero in an act that saves Neo-Tokyo and destroys the ship that signalled the destruction. Goodbye American ship! To the lifeboats....
The Tetsuo monster and Akira connect.
Not good.
Masaru: Akira! No!
Kiyoko: It's too soon!
Miyako: If they multiply positive power by positive power...the earth cannot contain it!
So Ryu shoots Akira. Everybody freaks. Everyone in shock.
The monster walks to Lady Miyako's place, drawn by the spiritual power of the three.
I could make this a fun review by spoiling the end.
But I won't.
You'll have to read all six for yourself (or watch the animation). Otomo gives an outstanding, emotional and powerful ending. He recaps the entire story from start to finish in a well-executed way.
I highly recommend this anime series!
Tetsuo, Kaneda, Yamagata and Keisuke.
September 17, 2018
Honestly, I was pretty disappointed with this series as a whole. The action was good and some of the visuals were very impressive, but everything felt so empty. The characters were bland and didn’t have much growth. The relationships between them often felt forced and superficial. The plot was pretty barebones for long intervals. I just found myself not caring about anyone or anything by the time the ending came around.
I’ve heard the film be regarded as a masterpiece many times, and I’ve also heard that the film is superior. I might give the movie a chance at a later date, but for now I just find myself disappointed with what I was led to believe was going to be a masterpiece.
I’ve heard the film be regarded as a masterpiece many times, and I’ve also heard that the film is superior. I might give the movie a chance at a later date, but for now I just find myself disappointed with what I was led to believe was going to be a masterpiece.
December 30, 2020
Akira is a great read, much higher in quality, narration and art from most mangas. It's a landmark in comics for too many reasons to count here, and imagine that i'm not even a fan of sci-fi. Still, the dystopia here is one to remember and take as an example for future artists.
Strongly recommend.
Strongly recommend.
January 1, 2012
Much better than Volumes 4 and 5! The dream sequence near the end was beautifully depicted and really delivered an emotional payload that I'd been looking forward to since reading the first book. I found some of the action frenetic and some the characters' motivations murky. I think at this point I'm mostly happy to finally be finished with this series!
March 22, 2023
4.5 Stars. Akira was originally published in the US in 38 chapters, later collected into 6 volumes. Vol. 6 is chapters 31-38.
What happens in this volume:
Wow wow wow. After tackling more than 2000 pages I can say with confidence that Akira was well worth the journey. There aren't a lot of comics or manga I've read that I can say are truly epic in their scale and scope but Akira is one of them. Despite being finished more than 30 years ago the story feels incredibly relevant today. I think this is a manga that will absolutely reward rereads.
The Good:
- Otomo sticks the landing: One of the single biggest disappointments in a reader's life is when an author has a compelling story but not a satisfying ending. Each character's journey comes to a logical and satisfying conclusion that doesn't feel forced and is in line with the character's personality. It's not a perfect ending, there are elements of it I questioned, but overall it works.
- The American’s presence in the story pays off: I previously complained in past volumes that the US military's presence felt unnecessary. I wasn't wrong. Aside from provoking Tetsuo they didn't ultimately play much of a role. However, Tetsuo sending their own laser satellite crashing down upon their aircraft carrier was one of my favorite parts of this volume.
The Bad:
- Kaori and Tetsuo's relationship: Kaori is first introduced as a refugee that is forced to take part in a drugged up orgy with Tetsuo, hardly the makings of a love story. Why did Tetsuo spare her? Why did he make her Akira's babysitter? When and why did her feelings toward him turn romantic? The power dynamic between them is so imbalanced that she still calls him "Master Tetsuo". The women in this story too easily overlook and forgive abuse.
- The Great Tokyo Empire: I think Katsuhiro Otomo is making a statement about rebuilding Japan post WWII and a mistrust of government to act in the best interest of the people. Maybe there's also a message about the future being in the hands of the youth. While I like this in theory it falls apart when I start to actually think about it. Kaneda as a 15 year old boy with no power. Neo-Tokyo is in ruins. Why would the remaining survivors follow him? It seemed like plenty of survivors were desperate for food and medicine but he speaks for them?
What happens in this volume:
Wow wow wow. After tackling more than 2000 pages I can say with confidence that Akira was well worth the journey. There aren't a lot of comics or manga I've read that I can say are truly epic in their scale and scope but Akira is one of them. Despite being finished more than 30 years ago the story feels incredibly relevant today. I think this is a manga that will absolutely reward rereads.
The Good:
- Otomo sticks the landing: One of the single biggest disappointments in a reader's life is when an author has a compelling story but not a satisfying ending. Each character's journey comes to a logical and satisfying conclusion that doesn't feel forced and is in line with the character's personality. It's not a perfect ending, there are elements of it I questioned, but overall it works.
- The American’s presence in the story pays off: I previously complained in past volumes that the US military's presence felt unnecessary. I wasn't wrong. Aside from provoking Tetsuo they didn't ultimately play much of a role. However, Tetsuo sending their own laser satellite crashing down upon their aircraft carrier was one of my favorite parts of this volume.
The Bad:
- Kaori and Tetsuo's relationship: Kaori is first introduced as a refugee that is forced to take part in a drugged up orgy with Tetsuo, hardly the makings of a love story. Why did Tetsuo spare her? Why did he make her Akira's babysitter? When and why did her feelings toward him turn romantic? The power dynamic between them is so imbalanced that she still calls him "Master Tetsuo". The women in this story too easily overlook and forgive abuse.
- The Great Tokyo Empire: I think Katsuhiro Otomo is making a statement about rebuilding Japan post WWII and a mistrust of government to act in the best interest of the people. Maybe there's also a message about the future being in the hands of the youth. While I like this in theory it falls apart when I start to actually think about it. Kaneda as a 15 year old boy with no power. Neo-Tokyo is in ruins. Why would the remaining survivors follow him? It seemed like plenty of survivors were desperate for food and medicine but he speaks for them?
September 22, 2020
Enfin terminé Akira, donc je peux officiellement le dire : je n'ai pas tout compris.
Une relecture s'impose.
Mais très beau final !
Une relecture s'impose.
Mais très beau final !
January 8, 2024
Fan fan fan de Akira, así que no me hagáis mucho caso. Par mí, una obra insuperable en su género que me hizo descubrir el mundo del cómic japonés.
July 3, 2024
Comecei a ler essa edição com o pensamento de que iria iniciar a leitura, mas finalizaria no dia seguinte, pois iria dormir, já que comecei o encadernado próximo do meu horário de dormir. No entanto, a empolgação com a leitura, junto com a trama envolvente, não consegui parar de ler e terminei a HQ em menos de 2 horas.
Após a conclusão da leitura, tive um misto de sensações, pois o final me surpreendeu, não apensas pela conclusão do Akira e Tetsuo, mas também as resoluções do Kaneda. Foi uma jornada incrível desses personagens, que tenho certeza que não consegui absorver 100% dessa complexa obra, e por isso, pretendo ler novamente esse mangá daqui uns anos.
Ao concluir a leitura, também demorei um pouco para fazer essa review, porque fiquei refletindo sobre tudo que Katsuhiro Otomo trabalhou na sua obra e tentou passar para os leitores. Foram diversas temáticas e reflexões que o autor propõe, e vou tentar falar algumas após a finalização desse incrível mangá.
Acredito que de maneira explícita, a principal temática que é trabalhada em Akira, são os resultados de uma guerra e de bombas nucleares em um país/sociedade. A maneira como Neo Tokyo é retratada, com um governo corrupto, população passando fome, diversos protestos contra as politicas vigentes, o crescimento das gangues e toda a violência, são reflexos de uma sociedade cyberpunk em que o governo está mais preocupado com guerra e poderio militar do que com a própria população. Dito isso, cabe ao povo fazer uma revolução e lutar pelos seus direitos.
Sob o primas de um governo pró guerra, temos a temática também do investimento em armas e nos experimentos em humanos, o que remete muito com um país nazi que estava na segunda guerra mundial.
Outro tema bastante presente é o poder da religião, mas não uma religião cristã, mas sim toda a misticidade que a mesma possui, com o aspecto de salvação que serve como forma de apego para o povo. Nesse sentido, temos o Akira sendo visto como o escolhido, bem como uma figura secundaria como de Tetsuo que aparece para se juntar a essa religião. Akira é idealizado pelo povo como seu salvador, que irá guia-los para uma sociedade melhor, ficando ainda mais explicito tal fato quando há a grande explosão em Neo Tokyo provocada por Tetsuo.
Acredito que a obra também trabalha a questão de poder como sentimento de superioridade, mas não apenas o poder como sendo algo relacionado a poderes fictícios ou a super-heróis, mas sim poderes no que tange posição social, talvez potenciados por inveja. Sinto que isso está muito presente na personalidade do Tetsuo, sobre como ele se vê diante ao Kaneda e demais companheiros de gangue.
Outro ponto que destaco, é a questão da guerra no que envolve outros países. É de senso comum que os EUA são viciados em promover guerras e sempre se envolvem em tais conflitos, e isso não é diferente na obra, pois temos um representante do país (não me lembro o cargo dele agora) ignorando todos os inocentes em Neo Tokyo e simplesmente ordenando que seja feito um massacre no local para destruir Tetsuo. Fora isso, antes do Tetsuo surtar, ele já estava se envolvendo nas questões politicas do Japão, enviando militares para o local.
Por sim, mas não menos importante, acho que Akira trabalha bem as questões politicas de um governo corrupto e posteriormente um golpe militar, e por fim a “anarquia” que o local virou, sendo controlado por facções.
Foi uma experiencia incrível ler Akira e acompanhar a jornada dos personagens. Fiquei feliz com a trajetória do Kaneda e da Kai, fiquei surpreso e com a cabeça explodindo com todas as revelações envolvendo as crianças especiais e o Tetsuo, mas principalmente sobre o misticismo por trás do Akira, que no fim, realmente foi uma criança salvadora. Destaco ainda três personagens que gostei muito: a tia, o Kai e o Yamagata. E finalizando, ressalto novamente: O OTOMO DESENHA ABSURDSAMENTE BEM.
Após a conclusão da leitura, tive um misto de sensações, pois o final me surpreendeu, não apensas pela conclusão do Akira e Tetsuo, mas também as resoluções do Kaneda. Foi uma jornada incrível desses personagens, que tenho certeza que não consegui absorver 100% dessa complexa obra, e por isso, pretendo ler novamente esse mangá daqui uns anos.
Ao concluir a leitura, também demorei um pouco para fazer essa review, porque fiquei refletindo sobre tudo que Katsuhiro Otomo trabalhou na sua obra e tentou passar para os leitores. Foram diversas temáticas e reflexões que o autor propõe, e vou tentar falar algumas após a finalização desse incrível mangá.
Acredito que de maneira explícita, a principal temática que é trabalhada em Akira, são os resultados de uma guerra e de bombas nucleares em um país/sociedade. A maneira como Neo Tokyo é retratada, com um governo corrupto, população passando fome, diversos protestos contra as politicas vigentes, o crescimento das gangues e toda a violência, são reflexos de uma sociedade cyberpunk em que o governo está mais preocupado com guerra e poderio militar do que com a própria população. Dito isso, cabe ao povo fazer uma revolução e lutar pelos seus direitos.
Sob o primas de um governo pró guerra, temos a temática também do investimento em armas e nos experimentos em humanos, o que remete muito com um país nazi que estava na segunda guerra mundial.
Outro tema bastante presente é o poder da religião, mas não uma religião cristã, mas sim toda a misticidade que a mesma possui, com o aspecto de salvação que serve como forma de apego para o povo. Nesse sentido, temos o Akira sendo visto como o escolhido, bem como uma figura secundaria como de Tetsuo que aparece para se juntar a essa religião. Akira é idealizado pelo povo como seu salvador, que irá guia-los para uma sociedade melhor, ficando ainda mais explicito tal fato quando há a grande explosão em Neo Tokyo provocada por Tetsuo.
Acredito que a obra também trabalha a questão de poder como sentimento de superioridade, mas não apenas o poder como sendo algo relacionado a poderes fictícios ou a super-heróis, mas sim poderes no que tange posição social, talvez potenciados por inveja. Sinto que isso está muito presente na personalidade do Tetsuo, sobre como ele se vê diante ao Kaneda e demais companheiros de gangue.
Outro ponto que destaco, é a questão da guerra no que envolve outros países. É de senso comum que os EUA são viciados em promover guerras e sempre se envolvem em tais conflitos, e isso não é diferente na obra, pois temos um representante do país (não me lembro o cargo dele agora) ignorando todos os inocentes em Neo Tokyo e simplesmente ordenando que seja feito um massacre no local para destruir Tetsuo. Fora isso, antes do Tetsuo surtar, ele já estava se envolvendo nas questões politicas do Japão, enviando militares para o local.
Por sim, mas não menos importante, acho que Akira trabalha bem as questões politicas de um governo corrupto e posteriormente um golpe militar, e por fim a “anarquia” que o local virou, sendo controlado por facções.
Foi uma experiencia incrível ler Akira e acompanhar a jornada dos personagens. Fiquei feliz com a trajetória do Kaneda e da Kai, fiquei surpreso e com a cabeça explodindo com todas as revelações envolvendo as crianças especiais e o Tetsuo, mas principalmente sobre o misticismo por trás do Akira, que no fim, realmente foi uma criança salvadora. Destaco ainda três personagens que gostei muito: a tia, o Kai e o Yamagata. E finalizando, ressalto novamente: O OTOMO DESENHA ABSURDSAMENTE BEM.
January 1, 2024
This was such an intense, explosive journey. Neo-Tokyo lives in my head rent free forever. Absolute masterpiece, 5 stars the whole way down (the anime pales in comparison, but only because the manga has 2,600 pages to flush out character development and motivations. They're both stellar in their own ways)
January 21, 2019
Basically a 440 page showdown.
Holy cow! Somewhere around the middle of this series I thought it would be running out of steam. But those last two volumes really cranked it up quite a few notches.
The sixth and last volume is a little weird in places but mostly it’s just total mayhem, of the most delicious kind.
Overall this series will not go down as one of my favorite graphic novels. But I would be lying if I’d tell you I didn’t have a lot of fun.
Some collateral damage was inevitable. Sorry, Mom and Dad!
Holy cow! Somewhere around the middle of this series I thought it would be running out of steam. But those last two volumes really cranked it up quite a few notches.
The sixth and last volume is a little weird in places but mostly it’s just total mayhem, of the most delicious kind.
Overall this series will not go down as one of my favorite graphic novels. But I would be lying if I’d tell you I didn’t have a lot of fun.
Some collateral damage was inevitable. Sorry, Mom and Dad!
October 28, 2013
I'm totally biased on this one as Akira will always hold a special place in my heart. My next door neighbor lived in Japan for a while and when he came back he was like 'Akira Akira Akira!' I was about 12 years old at the time (1992) so based on this I bought the anime on VHS by saving the money my mom gave me to play arcade games. It took a long time to save up, but I got an older neighborhood kid to take me to Suncoast so I could buy it and man it was worth it. It's a cartoon but it's violent with blood and stuff!
Later when Dark Horse reissued the manga in 6 volumes, I was in college and had a job so I bought them as soon as they were released. It's awesome. It's like when you're 12 and you watch a movie but you want more and want to know what was going on in that one part with those other people and why that one guy did that one thing. Yea, the manga fills in those blanks.
The story, the characters, the art and designs, it's all top shelf. 10,000 thumbs up! Some of it still makes no sense and is psychic mumbo-jumbo but again, I'm biased.
Later when Dark Horse reissued the manga in 6 volumes, I was in college and had a job so I bought them as soon as they were released. It's awesome. It's like when you're 12 and you watch a movie but you want more and want to know what was going on in that one part with those other people and why that one guy did that one thing. Yea, the manga fills in those blanks.
The story, the characters, the art and designs, it's all top shelf. 10,000 thumbs up! Some of it still makes no sense and is psychic mumbo-jumbo but again, I'm biased.
August 25, 2021
The hype is real for this series doesn’t disappoint glad to finally get around to reading the whole series. Might be the best art you will see in a manga. Would love this series in color! Thank you Otomo
April 30, 2023
Vaya basura de final JAJAJJA no me gustó nada.
OK, sí, el arte de Akira es una maravilla, eso es indiscutible y blablabla... pero realmente esperaba otra cosa para este último tomo.
Así quedé 🤡💩
OK, sí, el arte de Akira es una maravilla, eso es indiscutible y blablabla... pero realmente esperaba otra cosa para este último tomo.
Así quedé 🤡💩
September 3, 2024
ЗАКОНЧИЛА! Фух, я не думала, что эта манга окажется такой объемной
Что хочу сказать по итогу. Интересно, красиво, но меня не то чтобы прям с головой затянуло. Есть к чему придраться в плане сюжета и темпа повествования, но финальный том все таки красиво сделан. Теперь можно смотреть фильм
Что хочу сказать по итогу. Интересно, красиво, но меня не то чтобы прям с головой затянуло. Есть к чему придраться в плане сюжета и темпа повествования, но финальный том все таки красиво сделан. Теперь можно смотреть фильм
October 13, 2021
El apartado visual es impactante. Y se podrían mencionar al menos una docena de adjetivos para describirlo y no alcanzaría para hacer justicia. Es para admirar.
Ahora, la historia toma tales ribetes épicos y oníricos que sin perder su fastuosidad, se vuelve confuso, el rotulado se mezcla en imágenes de catástrofe y devastación, no se entiende quién dice cada diálogo. Y a pesar de este punto negativo es como que no importa, el sentido general de lo que ocurre no se pierde.
Así como da la sensación que podría haber sido más corta toda la serie el arte es de un nivel tal que justifica la extensión aunque entiendo que a la vez puede saturar.
Ahora, la historia toma tales ribetes épicos y oníricos que sin perder su fastuosidad, se vuelve confuso, el rotulado se mezcla en imágenes de catástrofe y devastación, no se entiende quién dice cada diálogo. Y a pesar de este punto negativo es como que no importa, el sentido general de lo que ocurre no se pierde.
Así como da la sensación que podría haber sido más corta toda la serie el arte es de un nivel tal que justifica la extensión aunque entiendo que a la vez puede saturar.
September 10, 2018
I AM SO SHOOK.
So apparently all this madness has been a part of mankind’s evolution? Of a greater cosmic good??? HOW?
What a phenomenal, thought provoking piece of art. Honestly, I think this should be considered classic and studied in school.
10/10 would recommend.
So apparently all this madness has been a part of mankind’s evolution? Of a greater cosmic good??? HOW?
What a phenomenal, thought provoking piece of art. Honestly, I think this should be considered classic and studied in school.
10/10 would recommend.
October 11, 2021
Japanese apocalyptic literature at its best (kinda)!
December 30, 2021
One of the greatest pieces of Fiction. Ever. All hail Otomo.
Read
July 28, 2025Otomo got me for most of it, for 5 volumes, but the last installment did let me down, I found it to be inconsistent with the rest, and conclusion - unsatisfactory. Below are some of my thoughts on that in more detail.
1) concept of Akira
For most of the story, Akira is clearly used as a metaphor for God. He is hard to penetrate, unknowable really, he is mute and unresponsive, remains silent to all the pleads to him. But still everybody knows he has the power to change the fate of the world so they fear him and hope he will have mercy on them.
Then, when Akira does speak, it happens directly inside the mind of those he speaks to. We saw it only with Tetsuo. He shapes his dreams (and dreams were always believed to be caused by gods, so it checks out) and he speaks to him things only Tetsuo knows of himself, some secret intimate knowledge (Akira tells Tetsuo that a picture he claims to be his mother's is just something he picked up on the street; Akira sees through lies, he knows the truth). Then when Tetsuo tries to do the same to Akira (invade his mind), the reaction is exactly the reaction one has when seeing a God (if one doesn't simply drop dead): fear and trembling. Tetsuo immediately loses interest with his latest project, Tokyo Empire (now it seems just mundane nonsense), and grows obsessed with what Akira is, and how he can be closer to him.
All that happened in vol.4. Let's now see how the vol.4 ends. The symbolic significance of SOL is that it is a punishing device of a tyrannical father figure that Tetsuo rebels against. Tetsuo was already "castrated" (his torn off hand), but through his pain and shame, he lives on, he didn't stop trying to build his own world, free of the Father's Law.
So now he stopped taking the meds that would limit his powers, limit who he is. It is scary because he never knew how to live with himself, he only knew how to live with all the restrictions put up on him, and now, when he is free from the previous oppressive society and its laws, he still keeps limiting himself with drugs. Giving up narcotics for too long, he feels like losing his mind, like being on the edge. Seeing SOL activated again, a lightning striking from skies like from Zeus himself, makes him remember trauma of castration and triggers a flight response, and he finally loses himself completely.
A divine intervention needed to save him, and divine intervention he gets: Akira shows him a memory of his first moments in this world, he is an infant looking up at his parents and them looking down at him. They recognize each other (here is me and here is you, we are different), and that very first recognition places Tetsuo back into his own self. Then he remembers seeing Kaneda, perhaps for the first time: Kaneda is getting angry on his behalf, because Tetsuo is being bullied. Tetsuo's subjectivity is being recognised: bullies didn't see his pain, they negated Tetsuo's POV, but Kaneda does see Tetsuo as another human being. This again, restores Tetsuo's sense of self. And now, when he has a firm standing as his own being and is ready for the next step, Akira expands Tetsuo's conscience to include the whole of the universe. Now Tetsuo gains a second sight that Lady Miyako was talking about, which frees him completely from restraints of human culture, humans limited vision, and allows him to see into essense of things.
What is the result of this profound transformation? He loses his fear of castration and, therefore, he loses his shame imposed on him by Father's Law. You will notice it by how he stops covering his metal arm with a cape. The emotions left in him are emotions typically associated with godly beings (and gods do not fear and do not feel shame): anger and sorrow. Tetsuo becomes more like Akira (the only emotion we saw from the latter was sorrow), he is enlightened now.
Then, when Kaneda and those Neo Tokyo buildings destroyed in the second blow return back, the idea seems to be that nothing really is destroyed and nothing really ever dies, everything and everyone is only transformed. When Kaneda "didn't exist" he, in fact, existed, but could be perceived only as a ghost in "our dimension". When Akira performs his God's work, Kaneda comes back as if/because he never was dead, though needed divine intervention to materialize/resurrect again in this universe from which he previously perished as a result of nuclear explosion (those metaphysics are in line with the film's ending as well, in which explosion doesn't destroy the city parts and doesn't kill Tetsuo, just transfer them elsewhere where they undergo change in their nature, transcending their previous condition compatible with our universe to fit a new one they now belong to). Why does Akira bring him back? Because there is a divine plan ("the flow" as Lady Miyako puts it) to be fulfilled and if a miracle is needed for that to happen, God will make it happen.
But why is Kaneda a chosen one? It probably has to do with Tetsuo calling for Kaneda during his withdrawal pains (it's when he utters "Kaneda" that Kei sees Kaneda's ghost; Tetsuo as a psychic has powers only to summon a ghost but not resurrect), and Akira is there to provide Tetsuo with what he needs to fulfill his destiny.
This all adds up well and forms a unified picture. Problems begin in vol.6, in which Akira turns into a puppet that mindlessly follows another source of power which is Tetsuo. Because "frequency"... See? That's why I avoid sci-fi and fantasy, because authors can just invent things that refer to nothing and mean nothing and then they determine the whole course of the story. It's like deus ex machina only worse because there is no deus, just some crap.
What exactly Akira was trying to do when he found Tetsuo in the climax of vol. 6 is not clear and I don't think even Otomo knows, because why figure that out if you can have Ryu shoot Akira at that point. Again, for no reason, out of Ryu's character (he cares not to harm innocent people, and literally saved Akira earlier when George Yamada tried to eliminate him), but Otomo kills two birds with one stone: connection between Tetsuo and Akira is broken (whatever Tetsuo wanted to achieve he won't; probably it involved resurrecting Kaori)=Kaneda with friends will win (while they all remain innocent not harming Akira themself), and Ryu, whose guts Otomo hates cause he seem to hate good people, finally dies at random too.
Then there is the puzzling "Tetsuo follows other espers like a moth follows fire" aaahh what again. Because Lady Miyako says so ig.
Look, I don't mind being proven wrong in my interpretation of things at the end of the story, who doesn't love to go "oh" in the end and see everything prior to that in a new light? The problem here, there is no new light to the past events, no other interpretation is visible than the one I described above, Otomo just breaks away from it and wrecks the whole design. I will talk about why he, in my opinion, destroys his own intelligent design a bit later, now let's take a deeper look into Tetsuo's journey.
2) Tetsuo's development
To follow what I started in my part on Akira-God concept regarding Vol.4 ending, there we can see a coherent development happening with Tetsuo: he starts as a mortal Greek Hero with hidden divine ancestry, a lost son of god (and those are often disenfranchised among humans, like Tetsuo is); vol. 1-3 is him coming to terms with new-found godly powers he didn't know he had; in the end of vol.4, judged to be worthy by supreme God/Akira and with his assistance, he transcends his human status and becomes an equal of gods.
Note the symbolism of the Olympian throne he occupies as the ruler of the Tokyo Empire. He truly is a rightful dweller of Olymp now, the realm of pagan deities.
But he is still not on the level of Akira, because Akira is like a Biblical monotheistic God. What Tetsuo lacks to reach that level is compassion/love, as well as coming to terms with death (and all his anxiety can be traced back to his fear to be hurt, for his body to disintegrate) = overcoming it, conquering. And here is where Kaori comes in.
Kaori represents in the purest form of what Tetsuo is running from/resents in himself the most (and where his thirst for power and control comes from): she is pure vulnerability. Unlike Tetsuo who controls a whole Empire now, Kaori doesn't even have full control over her own body - she was kidnapped to be Tetsuo's slave. Only when Tetsuo will come to see the value in that vulnerability, and love it for what it is, he will find in himself the compassion/love for the weak (whom he despises at the moment; for Tetsuo, if he can kill someone it means they deserved it because they were weak enough to be killed), as well as learns to appreciate his own vulnerability. When Kaori dies and he mourns her, he accepts her death (which mourning/grief is in essence), and when one accepts death of someone whose passing they feared more than their own, it means they accept their own inevitable death as well. Here is for his final transcendence of death.
The manga walks 90% of that road and then cuts it short, undermining everything that happened before it. Kaori's storyline becomes a shallow tearjerker, the author himself cannot grant her her final dignity, scorning to even give her arc any closure he gives all other characters (except Ryu, whom he also hates). When she dies and her body is destroyed in debris, Tetsuo tries to resurrect her (remember, how Akira resurrected Kaneda), but what he is able to do is only materialize her body, and then she falls down like an empty shell, briefly regained consciousness sleeping away. Tetsuo cannot restore and heal, because Tetsuo never mastered the power to give, he only mastered it in order to take. While in her complete vulnerability, Kaori was able to only give. Tetsuo lacks the gifts Kaori was plenty of, and someone that was supposed to be the weakest turns out to be the strongest, while Tetsuo, the strongest, is actually the weakest when it comes to things that really matter.
So far so good, we are almost there to the final dramatic transcendance of Tetsuo's character (letting go of fear of death and desire to control, and gaining compassion / love), the only thing that's left is not to spit on everything prior to that. Kaori and Tetsuo storyarc is classic Beauty and the Beast drama, very simple but very effective, hard to screw it up. And unfortunately that is what Otomo does. We see Tetsuo lifting Kaori's body and transfer her to the cryonics chamber, to preserve it intact until he can resurrect her (or use Akira's powers for that, as Akira hears Tetsuo's call from afar and walks towards cryonics chamber). And that is all for Tetsuo and Kaori! Because that's the moment Otomo decided that Tetsuo loses control over his body (why though? Akira never lost control over his despite being on a higher level), Kaori's body never brought up again. She doesn't even get a funeral. It just abruptly ends like that. She could have never existed at all.
Fastforward all the spectacular action scenes in which Tetsuo's body undergoes all the mutations (for whatever reason that is never explained, as he was, in fact, gaining more on more agency with time), Kaneda is swallowed and sees inside his mind, some bohoo scenes when we (through Kaneda) sympathise with little Tetsuo (note that this sympathising is only allowed when he is dying and being expelled from our universe), after which Tetsuo's individuality just dissolves? Which I see contradicting all other metaphysics: Kaneda dies and is resurrected, Kaori is almost resurrected (her soul is clearly somewhere out there because she speaks briefly from new body), all the psychic kids who ever died come to meet Akira. None of them loses their core selfs as result of their body destruction. It also contradicts what happens in the film: the last line "boku wa Tetsuo" clearly indicates personal conscience. Even if that conscience constitutes a whole universe = him being God of that universe. Now that matches his previous journey at least: mortal human with a divine talent -> pagan type of deity -> monotheistic God. So we see the type of metaphysics more or less compatible with Eastern (dharmic) religions in which souls switch between universes/undergo cycles of death and rebirth until they reach the highest plane of existence (Godly).
But why so murky in the end?
3) Oedipal drama, or Kaneda's journey
I think I know why all the inconsistencies with Akira and Tetsuo came to be. Because what Otomo really cares about and what he is going to make happen even if it goes against everything else in the story, is to produce Kaneda's Oedipal drama. All that matters for Otomo is for a conventional male hero to fulfill his conventional male hero journey and restore patriarchal order that was threatened by imaginary forces of chaos (Tetsuo).
In Kaneda, Kei and Ryu we have a classic Oedipal triangle. A male viewer gets a satisfaction from seeing an older man, a father's figure (Ryu) die in the end so "his woman" (and Kei is in love with Ryu in the beginning and it will never be convincing to me that she would prefer Kaneda to him, but we are watching male fantasy here) would be transfered to Kaneda. This is sort of a male "initiation rite": by winning Kei, Kaneda proves himself a man and not a boy.
Then, we have a punishing (castrating) father figure (and Otomo Katsuhiro's daddy, or his ideal, tough, masculinity), the colonel. For all the first 3 volumes the colonel is the only human Kaneda is afraid of, as he tries to run away when he sees him, no matter how dangerous his shenanigans already are. The colonel is the one to castrate Tetsuo when the latter obtained the source of the Father's power: Akira. With his greatest weapon in the hand of a rebel son, The Father's authority is now threatened.
When Kaneda and the colonel meet again in the volume 5, what happens is that Kaneda proves himself to be a worthy "son" during fights with Tokyo Empire's men, as now him and the colonel are on one side opposing one danger: rebelling against patriarchal order Tetsuo (on Tetsuo being queer coded and representing emancipated female sexuality which symbolic structure of patriarchy equates with chaos and unchecked destruction, check out my Letterboxd review for the film). The colonel symbolically transfers Kaneda his authority when he hands him a gun (opposite of castration, he gives him extension of his penis) and blesses him in his endeavours. Tired, the colonel says "youth is a real weapon". Note that he doesn't say that youth is uncorrupted, or youth is going to be better than us failed adults and build a better world. No, Kaneda's youth is good because he can continue fighting effectively. Otomo's values are militaristic, his ideal man - a macho warrior of the past when "men were real men".
That is why all the blame for recent historical tragedies are pushed onto scientists (if not an orphan kid Tetsuo...) instead of the military which funds inhuman experiments on kids to make weapons out of them. That's why almost nobody notices that the colonel is the one villain of the story, because it's the military who created Akira with which Tokyo nuked itself with (thrice) and launched WW3. Nobody even attacked Japan, it nuked itself! Because the military invented a nuke they couldn't control.
So in the end, Kaneda must successfully expel Tetsuo from the universe, to restore a good old patriarchal order that entered into its decadence in the 20th century when men became too weak and too hedonistic. Some are corrupt politicians, others are gullible revolutioners (Ryu) fighting for an unattainable utopia while being just a tool of corrupt politicians (Nedzu) or foreign influence (Yamada); and some are those scientists who care about nothing else but knowledge, real villains and source of danger/s....When the colonel has his regrets about the past, he regrets not being too tough, like conducting horrible experiments on kids or trying to kill them, he must be regretting being not tough enough; he should have carried out a coup much sooner before it was too late and become a leader to save us all (that doesn't remind us of a fascistic fantasy of an incorruptible totalitarian leader, not at all....).
When Tetsuo, made to be an embodiment of all evil, is expunged from the world and punished for his misdeeds, Kaneda occupies his throne as a ruler of the Tokyo Empire. It is a happy ending but it is not clear why. How is his rule going to differ from Tetsuo's rule? Tetsuo's Empire produced the worst of men for no apparent reason, and just because now Kaneda took his place I am not sure how he gonna fix those terrible terrible men. Not putting narcotics into communal meals must be enough I guess (why Tetsuo did that? not sure). And their politicy on foreign relations is the same: fkc all foreign forces, they gonna build their own thing. If it's needed they are gonna fight (go to war). Hm. Like, Tetsuo's men did the same, killed all intruders, went to war with neighbours? How is Kaneda a better option? Whatever
I know that it was a chaotic text and it could be organized much better, but I truly wanted to get it out of my system asap and move on! If somebody read it till now, thank you from the bottom of my heart<3
1) concept of Akira
For most of the story, Akira is clearly used as a metaphor for God. He is hard to penetrate, unknowable really, he is mute and unresponsive, remains silent to all the pleads to him. But still everybody knows he has the power to change the fate of the world so they fear him and hope he will have mercy on them.
Then, when Akira does speak, it happens directly inside the mind of those he speaks to. We saw it only with Tetsuo. He shapes his dreams (and dreams were always believed to be caused by gods, so it checks out) and he speaks to him things only Tetsuo knows of himself, some secret intimate knowledge (Akira tells Tetsuo that a picture he claims to be his mother's is just something he picked up on the street; Akira sees through lies, he knows the truth). Then when Tetsuo tries to do the same to Akira (invade his mind), the reaction is exactly the reaction one has when seeing a God (if one doesn't simply drop dead): fear and trembling. Tetsuo immediately loses interest with his latest project, Tokyo Empire (now it seems just mundane nonsense), and grows obsessed with what Akira is, and how he can be closer to him.
All that happened in vol.4. Let's now see how the vol.4 ends. The symbolic significance of SOL is that it is a punishing device of a tyrannical father figure that Tetsuo rebels against. Tetsuo was already "castrated" (his torn off hand), but through his pain and shame, he lives on, he didn't stop trying to build his own world, free of the Father's Law.
So now he stopped taking the meds that would limit his powers, limit who he is. It is scary because he never knew how to live with himself, he only knew how to live with all the restrictions put up on him, and now, when he is free from the previous oppressive society and its laws, he still keeps limiting himself with drugs. Giving up narcotics for too long, he feels like losing his mind, like being on the edge. Seeing SOL activated again, a lightning striking from skies like from Zeus himself, makes him remember trauma of castration and triggers a flight response, and he finally loses himself completely.
A divine intervention needed to save him, and divine intervention he gets: Akira shows him a memory of his first moments in this world, he is an infant looking up at his parents and them looking down at him. They recognize each other (here is me and here is you, we are different), and that very first recognition places Tetsuo back into his own self. Then he remembers seeing Kaneda, perhaps for the first time: Kaneda is getting angry on his behalf, because Tetsuo is being bullied. Tetsuo's subjectivity is being recognised: bullies didn't see his pain, they negated Tetsuo's POV, but Kaneda does see Tetsuo as another human being. This again, restores Tetsuo's sense of self. And now, when he has a firm standing as his own being and is ready for the next step, Akira expands Tetsuo's conscience to include the whole of the universe. Now Tetsuo gains a second sight that Lady Miyako was talking about, which frees him completely from restraints of human culture, humans limited vision, and allows him to see into essense of things.
What is the result of this profound transformation? He loses his fear of castration and, therefore, he loses his shame imposed on him by Father's Law. You will notice it by how he stops covering his metal arm with a cape. The emotions left in him are emotions typically associated with godly beings (and gods do not fear and do not feel shame): anger and sorrow. Tetsuo becomes more like Akira (the only emotion we saw from the latter was sorrow), he is enlightened now.
Then, when Kaneda and those Neo Tokyo buildings destroyed in the second blow return back, the idea seems to be that nothing really is destroyed and nothing really ever dies, everything and everyone is only transformed. When Kaneda "didn't exist" he, in fact, existed, but could be perceived only as a ghost in "our dimension". When Akira performs his God's work, Kaneda comes back as if/because he never was dead, though needed divine intervention to materialize/resurrect again in this universe from which he previously perished as a result of nuclear explosion (those metaphysics are in line with the film's ending as well, in which explosion doesn't destroy the city parts and doesn't kill Tetsuo, just transfer them elsewhere where they undergo change in their nature, transcending their previous condition compatible with our universe to fit a new one they now belong to). Why does Akira bring him back? Because there is a divine plan ("the flow" as Lady Miyako puts it) to be fulfilled and if a miracle is needed for that to happen, God will make it happen.
But why is Kaneda a chosen one? It probably has to do with Tetsuo calling for Kaneda during his withdrawal pains (it's when he utters "Kaneda" that Kei sees Kaneda's ghost; Tetsuo as a psychic has powers only to summon a ghost but not resurrect), and Akira is there to provide Tetsuo with what he needs to fulfill his destiny.
This all adds up well and forms a unified picture. Problems begin in vol.6, in which Akira turns into a puppet that mindlessly follows another source of power which is Tetsuo. Because "frequency"... See? That's why I avoid sci-fi and fantasy, because authors can just invent things that refer to nothing and mean nothing and then they determine the whole course of the story. It's like deus ex machina only worse because there is no deus, just some crap.
What exactly Akira was trying to do when he found Tetsuo in the climax of vol. 6 is not clear and I don't think even Otomo knows, because why figure that out if you can have Ryu shoot Akira at that point. Again, for no reason, out of Ryu's character (he cares not to harm innocent people, and literally saved Akira earlier when George Yamada tried to eliminate him), but Otomo kills two birds with one stone: connection between Tetsuo and Akira is broken (whatever Tetsuo wanted to achieve he won't; probably it involved resurrecting Kaori)=Kaneda with friends will win (while they all remain innocent not harming Akira themself), and Ryu, whose guts Otomo hates cause he seem to hate good people, finally dies at random too.
Then there is the puzzling "Tetsuo follows other espers like a moth follows fire" aaahh what again. Because Lady Miyako says so ig.
Look, I don't mind being proven wrong in my interpretation of things at the end of the story, who doesn't love to go "oh" in the end and see everything prior to that in a new light? The problem here, there is no new light to the past events, no other interpretation is visible than the one I described above, Otomo just breaks away from it and wrecks the whole design. I will talk about why he, in my opinion, destroys his own intelligent design a bit later, now let's take a deeper look into Tetsuo's journey.
2) Tetsuo's development
To follow what I started in my part on Akira-God concept regarding Vol.4 ending, there we can see a coherent development happening with Tetsuo: he starts as a mortal Greek Hero with hidden divine ancestry, a lost son of god (and those are often disenfranchised among humans, like Tetsuo is); vol. 1-3 is him coming to terms with new-found godly powers he didn't know he had; in the end of vol.4, judged to be worthy by supreme God/Akira and with his assistance, he transcends his human status and becomes an equal of gods.
Note the symbolism of the Olympian throne he occupies as the ruler of the Tokyo Empire. He truly is a rightful dweller of Olymp now, the realm of pagan deities.
But he is still not on the level of Akira, because Akira is like a Biblical monotheistic God. What Tetsuo lacks to reach that level is compassion/love, as well as coming to terms with death (and all his anxiety can be traced back to his fear to be hurt, for his body to disintegrate) = overcoming it, conquering. And here is where Kaori comes in.
Kaori represents in the purest form of what Tetsuo is running from/resents in himself the most (and where his thirst for power and control comes from): she is pure vulnerability. Unlike Tetsuo who controls a whole Empire now, Kaori doesn't even have full control over her own body - she was kidnapped to be Tetsuo's slave. Only when Tetsuo will come to see the value in that vulnerability, and love it for what it is, he will find in himself the compassion/love for the weak (whom he despises at the moment; for Tetsuo, if he can kill someone it means they deserved it because they were weak enough to be killed), as well as learns to appreciate his own vulnerability. When Kaori dies and he mourns her, he accepts her death (which mourning/grief is in essence), and when one accepts death of someone whose passing they feared more than their own, it means they accept their own inevitable death as well. Here is for his final transcendence of death.
The manga walks 90% of that road and then cuts it short, undermining everything that happened before it. Kaori's storyline becomes a shallow tearjerker, the author himself cannot grant her her final dignity, scorning to even give her arc any closure he gives all other characters (except Ryu, whom he also hates). When she dies and her body is destroyed in debris, Tetsuo tries to resurrect her (remember, how Akira resurrected Kaneda), but what he is able to do is only materialize her body, and then she falls down like an empty shell, briefly regained consciousness sleeping away. Tetsuo cannot restore and heal, because Tetsuo never mastered the power to give, he only mastered it in order to take. While in her complete vulnerability, Kaori was able to only give. Tetsuo lacks the gifts Kaori was plenty of, and someone that was supposed to be the weakest turns out to be the strongest, while Tetsuo, the strongest, is actually the weakest when it comes to things that really matter.
So far so good, we are almost there to the final dramatic transcendance of Tetsuo's character (letting go of fear of death and desire to control, and gaining compassion / love), the only thing that's left is not to spit on everything prior to that. Kaori and Tetsuo storyarc is classic Beauty and the Beast drama, very simple but very effective, hard to screw it up. And unfortunately that is what Otomo does. We see Tetsuo lifting Kaori's body and transfer her to the cryonics chamber, to preserve it intact until he can resurrect her (or use Akira's powers for that, as Akira hears Tetsuo's call from afar and walks towards cryonics chamber). And that is all for Tetsuo and Kaori! Because that's the moment Otomo decided that Tetsuo loses control over his body (why though? Akira never lost control over his despite being on a higher level), Kaori's body never brought up again. She doesn't even get a funeral. It just abruptly ends like that. She could have never existed at all.
Fastforward all the spectacular action scenes in which Tetsuo's body undergoes all the mutations (for whatever reason that is never explained, as he was, in fact, gaining more on more agency with time), Kaneda is swallowed and sees inside his mind, some bohoo scenes when we (through Kaneda) sympathise with little Tetsuo (note that this sympathising is only allowed when he is dying and being expelled from our universe), after which Tetsuo's individuality just dissolves? Which I see contradicting all other metaphysics: Kaneda dies and is resurrected, Kaori is almost resurrected (her soul is clearly somewhere out there because she speaks briefly from new body), all the psychic kids who ever died come to meet Akira. None of them loses their core selfs as result of their body destruction. It also contradicts what happens in the film: the last line "boku wa Tetsuo" clearly indicates personal conscience. Even if that conscience constitutes a whole universe = him being God of that universe. Now that matches his previous journey at least: mortal human with a divine talent -> pagan type of deity -> monotheistic God. So we see the type of metaphysics more or less compatible with Eastern (dharmic) religions in which souls switch between universes/undergo cycles of death and rebirth until they reach the highest plane of existence (Godly).
But why so murky in the end?
3) Oedipal drama, or Kaneda's journey
I think I know why all the inconsistencies with Akira and Tetsuo came to be. Because what Otomo really cares about and what he is going to make happen even if it goes against everything else in the story, is to produce Kaneda's Oedipal drama. All that matters for Otomo is for a conventional male hero to fulfill his conventional male hero journey and restore patriarchal order that was threatened by imaginary forces of chaos (Tetsuo).
In Kaneda, Kei and Ryu we have a classic Oedipal triangle. A male viewer gets a satisfaction from seeing an older man, a father's figure (Ryu) die in the end so "his woman" (and Kei is in love with Ryu in the beginning and it will never be convincing to me that she would prefer Kaneda to him, but we are watching male fantasy here) would be transfered to Kaneda. This is sort of a male "initiation rite": by winning Kei, Kaneda proves himself a man and not a boy.
Then, we have a punishing (castrating) father figure (and Otomo Katsuhiro's daddy, or his ideal, tough, masculinity), the colonel. For all the first 3 volumes the colonel is the only human Kaneda is afraid of, as he tries to run away when he sees him, no matter how dangerous his shenanigans already are. The colonel is the one to castrate Tetsuo when the latter obtained the source of the Father's power: Akira. With his greatest weapon in the hand of a rebel son, The Father's authority is now threatened.
When Kaneda and the colonel meet again in the volume 5, what happens is that Kaneda proves himself to be a worthy "son" during fights with Tokyo Empire's men, as now him and the colonel are on one side opposing one danger: rebelling against patriarchal order Tetsuo (on Tetsuo being queer coded and representing emancipated female sexuality which symbolic structure of patriarchy equates with chaos and unchecked destruction, check out my Letterboxd review for the film). The colonel symbolically transfers Kaneda his authority when he hands him a gun (opposite of castration, he gives him extension of his penis) and blesses him in his endeavours. Tired, the colonel says "youth is a real weapon". Note that he doesn't say that youth is uncorrupted, or youth is going to be better than us failed adults and build a better world. No, Kaneda's youth is good because he can continue fighting effectively. Otomo's values are militaristic, his ideal man - a macho warrior of the past when "men were real men".
That is why all the blame for recent historical tragedies are pushed onto scientists (if not an orphan kid Tetsuo...) instead of the military which funds inhuman experiments on kids to make weapons out of them. That's why almost nobody notices that the colonel is the one villain of the story, because it's the military who created Akira with which Tokyo nuked itself with (thrice) and launched WW3. Nobody even attacked Japan, it nuked itself! Because the military invented a nuke they couldn't control.
So in the end, Kaneda must successfully expel Tetsuo from the universe, to restore a good old patriarchal order that entered into its decadence in the 20th century when men became too weak and too hedonistic. Some are corrupt politicians, others are gullible revolutioners (Ryu) fighting for an unattainable utopia while being just a tool of corrupt politicians (Nedzu) or foreign influence (Yamada); and some are those scientists who care about nothing else but knowledge, real villains and source of danger/s....When the colonel has his regrets about the past, he regrets not being too tough, like conducting horrible experiments on kids or trying to kill them, he must be regretting being not tough enough; he should have carried out a coup much sooner before it was too late and become a leader to save us all (that doesn't remind us of a fascistic fantasy of an incorruptible totalitarian leader, not at all....).
When Tetsuo, made to be an embodiment of all evil, is expunged from the world and punished for his misdeeds, Kaneda occupies his throne as a ruler of the Tokyo Empire. It is a happy ending but it is not clear why. How is his rule going to differ from Tetsuo's rule? Tetsuo's Empire produced the worst of men for no apparent reason, and just because now Kaneda took his place I am not sure how he gonna fix those terrible terrible men. Not putting narcotics into communal meals must be enough I guess (why Tetsuo did that? not sure). And their politicy on foreign relations is the same: fkc all foreign forces, they gonna build their own thing. If it's needed they are gonna fight (go to war). Hm. Like, Tetsuo's men did the same, killed all intruders, went to war with neighbours? How is Kaneda a better option? Whatever
I know that it was a chaotic text and it could be organized much better, but I truly wanted to get it out of my system asap and move on! If somebody read it till now, thank you from the bottom of my heart<3
September 23, 2022
Akira es un manga que empieza con una ambientación puramente cyberpunk, Neo Tokyo es una urbe futuristica como nunca vista en una ilustración. De pronto, durante su segunda mitad, la serie se convierte en una aventura de corte post-apocaliptica, donde la supervivencia juega un papel fundamental. Y finalmente, para su último tomo, Katsuhiro Otomo nos otorga un final cargado de body horror y conceptos metafísicos que podrían entrar dentro del género de horror cósmico.
Por fin tenemos el esperado enfrentamiento de Tetsuo y Kaneda, que de forma similar a la película de animación, se enfrentan en el destruido estadio olimpico para los juegos de Tokyo. El manga se centra más aparte de este choque de egos y nos narra la facilidad que tienen otras naciones en intervenir donde les da la gana con el pretexto de hacerlo por la "seguridad internacional".
Puede ser que a muchos no les convenza el mismo final, ya que se pueden sacar ciertos matices nacionalistas que a mi tampoco me hicieron mucha gracia pero al final del día, la historia va sobre el futuro y de como nuestras acciones influenciarán la era en la que nuestros hijos prosperen o desesperen.
Por fin tenemos el esperado enfrentamiento de Tetsuo y Kaneda, que de forma similar a la película de animación, se enfrentan en el destruido estadio olimpico para los juegos de Tokyo. El manga se centra más aparte de este choque de egos y nos narra la facilidad que tienen otras naciones en intervenir donde les da la gana con el pretexto de hacerlo por la "seguridad internacional".
Puede ser que a muchos no les convenza el mismo final, ya que se pueden sacar ciertos matices nacionalistas que a mi tampoco me hicieron mucha gracia pero al final del día, la historia va sobre el futuro y de como nuestras acciones influenciarán la era en la que nuestros hijos prosperen o desesperen.
December 9, 2019
[Comics Canon Review]
This final volume is a masterclass in comics art. Otomo finishes on a high note with some of the most impressive panel illustrations in the medium. The sense of scale and detail are sublime.
Watching the bulbous mass of mutating flesh that is Tetsuo, the technical details of the US military’s (futile) intervention, and the beautifully horrific mass destruction of Tokyo (yet again) makes for an unmatched reading experience. I was also surprised by the ending, not for its nationalist jingoism, but for the liberatory sentiment it sees in its young characters’ street-punk rebelliousness. It gives to youth culture and to urban poverty a distinct political viewpoint, and goes much further than I would ordinarily expect from such mainstream sources.
It’s far from a utopian outcome, but it is nevertheless hopeful for such an otherwise bleak and brutal book.
This final volume is a masterclass in comics art. Otomo finishes on a high note with some of the most impressive panel illustrations in the medium. The sense of scale and detail are sublime.
Watching the bulbous mass of mutating flesh that is Tetsuo, the technical details of the US military’s (futile) intervention, and the beautifully horrific mass destruction of Tokyo (yet again) makes for an unmatched reading experience. I was also surprised by the ending, not for its nationalist jingoism, but for the liberatory sentiment it sees in its young characters’ street-punk rebelliousness. It gives to youth culture and to urban poverty a distinct political viewpoint, and goes much further than I would ordinarily expect from such mainstream sources.
It’s far from a utopian outcome, but it is nevertheless hopeful for such an otherwise bleak and brutal book.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 696 reviews