Akira (Manga)

Akira (manga)
Akira ( アキラ, stylized as AKIRA) is a

Japanese cyberpunk post-apocalyptic
manga series written and illustrated by
Katsuhiro Otomo. It was serialized
biweekly in Kodansha's seinen manga
magazine Young Magazine from December
20, 1982, to June 25, 1990, with its 120
chapters collected into six tankōbon
volumes. It was initially published in the
United States by Marvel Comics under its
Epic imprint, becoming one of the first
manga works to be translated in its
entirety into English.[6] It is currently
published by Kodansha Comics in North
America. Considered a watershed title for
the medium,[7] the manga is also famous
for spawning the seminal 1988 cyberpunk
anime film adaptation of the same name
and the greater franchise.
Akira
First volume cover
アキラ
Genre Cyberpunk[1][2]
Political thriller[3]
Post-apocalyptic[4]
Manga
Written by Katsuhiro Otomo
Published by Kodansha
English publisher AUS Madman
Entertainment
NA Kodansha Comics
UK Titan Books
Imprint Young Magazine KC
Magazine Young Magazine
Demographic Seinen
Original run December 20, 1982 –

June 25, 1990
Volumes 6
Film
Akira (1988)
Anime television series
Studio Sunrise[5]
Anime and manga portal
Set in a post-apocalyptic and futuristic

"Neo-Tokyo", more than three decades
after a mysterious explosion destroyed the
city, the story centers on teenage biker
gang leader Shotaro Kaneda, militant
revolutionary Kei, a trio of Espers, and Neo-
Tokyo military leader Colonel Shikishima,
who attempt to prevent Tetsuo Shima,
Kaneda's mentally unbalanced childhood
friend, from using his unstable and
destructive telekinetic abilities to ravage
the city and awaken a mysterious entity
with powerful psychic abilities named
"Akira". Otomo uses conventions of the
cyberpunk genre to detail a saga of
political turmoil, social isolation,
corruption, and power.[7] Widely regarded
as a landmark work in cyberpunk and
credited with pioneering the Japanese
cyberpunk subgenre, Akira received
universal acclaim from readers and critics,
with Otomo's artwork, storytelling,
characters, and exploration of mature
themes and concepts subject to particular
praise. The manga also achieved
international commercial success, selling
millions of copies worldwide.
An animated film adaptation released in
1988 shortened the plot considerably, but
retained many of the manga's primary
characters and plot elements alongside
additional scenes, settings, and motifs.
The film was similarly lauded and has
served as a significant influence to the
anime industry and sci-fi media as a
whole.[8] The adaptation also marked
Otomo's 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 and
France.[9][10] The manga won several
awards, including the Kodansha Manga
Award, a Harvey Award, and four Eisner
Awards.
Plot
Volume 1: Tetsuo
On December 6, 1982,[a] an apparent

nuclear explosion destroys Tokyo and
starts World War III. By 2019,[b] a new city
called Neo-Tokyo has been built on
artificial islands 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 stages anti-government
attacks. Led by Ryusaku and opposition
Diet leader Nezu, the terrorists 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 confronting 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.
Tetsuo enters the secret military base at
the Olympic site the following day, killing
many soldiers. The Colonel comes to the
base and tries to talk Tetsuo out of his
plan; Kaneda and Kei enter the site
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 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 of 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 the blast
surrounds him. 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 Kai,
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 and Kaneda.
Volume 5: Kei II
Kaneda is reunited with Kei and joins Kai

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,
culminating with Tetsuo tearing a massive
hole in the Moon's surface and encircling it
with a ring of 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, Kai,
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 growing, 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; Kei joins them.
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 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 cancels out Tetsuo's explosion with
one of his own. They are also able to free
Kaneda, who was trapped in Tetsuo's
mass. 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 peacekeeping

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. 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.
Characters
Kaneda ( 金田)
Kaneda (born September 5, 2003),[11] full
name Shōtarō Kaneda ( 金田正太郎,
Kaneda Shōtarō), is the main protagonist
of Akira. He is an antiheroic, brash,
carefree delinquent and the leader of a
motorcycle gang. Kaneda is best friends
with Tetsuo, a member who he has
known since childhood, but their
friendship was ruined after Tetsuo
gained and abused his psychic powers.
He becomes involved with the terrorist
resistance movement and forms an
attraction for their member Kei, which
eventually develops into a strong
romantic bond between the two. During
the events of volume 3, Kaneda is
surrounded by the explosion caused by
Akira and is transported to a place
"beyond this world", according to Lady
Miyako. Kaneda returns at the end of
volume 4, and alongside the Colonel,
Joker, Ryu, Kai, Miyako, the Espers and
Kei, they take down Tetsuo. Kaneda is
ranked as #11 on IGN's Top 25 Anime
Characters of All Time list.[12]
Kei ( ケイ)
Kei (born March 8, 2002),[11] real name
unknown, is the secondary protagonist
of Akira. Strong-willed and sensitive, she
is a member of the terrorist resistance
movement led by the government mole
Nezu. She initially claims to be the sister
of fellow resistance fighter Ryu, though
it is implied that this is not true. Kei at
first views Kaneda with contempt,
finding him arrogant, gluttonous and
chauvinistic. However, in volume 4, Lady
Miyako deduces that she has fallen in
love with him, and they become
romantically involved following Kaneda's
return in volume 5. Kei is a powerful
medium who cannot use psychic
powers of her own but can channel the
powers of others through her body. She
is taken in by Lady Miyako and plays a
critical role in the final battle.
Tetsuo ( 鉄雄)
Tetsuo (born July 29, 2004),[11] full name
Tetsuo Shima ( 島鉄雄, Shima Tetsuo), is
the main antagonist of Akira. He evolves
from Kaneda's best friend and gang
member to his nemesis. He is involved
in an accident at the very beginning of
the story, which causes him to display
immense psychic powers. He is soon
recruited by the Colonel and became a
test subject known as No. 41 (41 号,
Yonjūichi-gō). It is mentioned that he is
Akira's successor; however, Tetsuo's
mental instability increases with the
manifestation of his powers, which
ultimately drives him insane and he
ruins his friendship with Kaneda. Later
in the story, he becomes Akira's second-
in-command, before he begins to lose
control of his powers. Eventually, Kei
battles Tetsuo, unlocking his full power
and triggering another psychic
explosion. Akira, watched by his fellow
Espers, absorbs Tetsuo's explosion by
creating one of his own. With Akira and
the espers, he ascends to a higher plane
of existence.
The Colonel ( 大佐, Taisa)
The Colonel (born November 15,
1977),[11] last name Shikishima ( 敷島), is
the head of the secret government
project conducting research on psychic
test subjects (including the Esper
children, Tetsuo, and formerly Akira).
Although he initially appears to be an
antagonist, the Colonel is an honorable
and dedicated soldier committed to
protecting Neo-Tokyo from any second
onslaught of Akira. Later in the story, he
provides medical aid to an ill Chiyoko
and works with Kei. He is usually
referred to by Kaneda as "The Skinhead",
due to his distinctive crew cut.
The Espers
The Espers, also known as the Numbers
( ナンバーズ, Nanbāzu), are three
children who are test subjects for the
secret project. They are the only
survivors of the test, following that of
Lady Miyako (No. 19), and given
numbers between twenty and thirty. No.
23 was shown in the final chapter to
have been amongst those "in whom the
power awoke" but "were left with
crippling handicaps". At the time of the
story, test subjects Nos. 29, 30 and 31
are not mentioned, Nos. 32, 33, 36, 37,
38 and 40 had died from brain injuries
during treatment and Nos. 34, 35 and
39, who was in the secret base when
Akira destroyed Neo-Tokyo, were
subsequently listed as missing (they do
not appear in the story). Akira was the
only one of this generation with true
power, with the others being evaluated
as "harmless" (their considerable
powers notwithstanding; they did not,
however, represent a destructive threat
of Akira's magnitude). The three have
the bodies of children but
chronologically are in their late 30s.
Their bodies and faces have wizened
with age, but they have not physically
grown. They are former acquaintances
of Akira and survived the destruction of
Tokyo. The Espers include:
Kiyoko ( キヨコ, designated No. 25 (25
号, Nijūgo-gō))
Kiyoko (born 1979)[11] is an Esper who
is confined to a bed at all times due to
her lack of strength, which is why her
companions Takashi and Masaru are
protective of her. She can use
teleportation, precognition and
psychokinesis (as shown when
levitating herself and Takashi's corpse
when Akira destroys Neo-Tokyo). She
predicted the demise of Neo-Tokyo
and Tetsuo's involvement with Akira
but did not tell the Colonel the full
story right away. She is also shown to
be a mother figure and leader of the
other Espers for decision making.
Takashi ( タカシ, designated No. 26
(26号, Nijūroku-gō))
Takashi (born 1980)[11] is the first
Esper to be introduced when he
causes Tetsuo's accident in self-
defense. He has the power to use
psychokinesis and communicates
with his fellow psychics telepathically.
Takashi is a quiet, softspoken boy
who has conflicting thoughts of the
government and the people who had
sheltered him and his friends, which
was why he escaped the Colonel's
facility; however, Takashi is concerned
for Kiyoko's safety, and that forces
him to stay. Takashi is accidentally
killed by Nezu in his attempt to
assassinate Akira, and the psychic
trauma revolving around it afterward
caused Akira to destroy Neo-Tokyo
with his immense powers. He is
revived along with the rest of the
deceased Espers near the end of the
series.
Masaru ( マサル, designated No. 27
(27号, Nijūnana-gō))
Masaru (born 1980)[11] is overweight
and confined either to a wheelchair or
a special floating chair as a result of
developing polio at a young age. He
has the power to use psychokinesis
and communicates with his fellow
psychics telepathically. He is braver
than Takashi and is the first to attack
Tetsuo when he tries killing Kiyoko.
Masaru looks after the well-being of
his friends, especially that of Kiyoko
who is physically frail.
Akira ( アキラ, designated No. 28 (28号,
Nijūhachi-gō))
Akira is the eponymous character of the
series. He has immense psychic
powers, although from outward
appearances he looks like a small,
normal child. He is responsible for the
destruction of Tokyo and the beginning
of World War III. After the war, he was
placed in cryogenics not far from the
crater created by him, and the future site
of the Neo-Tokyo Olympic Games.
Shortly after being awoken by Tetsuo, he
destroys Neo-Tokyo during a
confrontation between Kaneda and the
Colonel's forces. Later in the story, he
becomes Emperor of the Great Tokyo
Empire. When he first appears, Akira has
not aged in the decades he was kept
frozen. Akira is essentially an empty
shell; his powers have overwritten and
destroyed his personality, leaving
someone who rarely speaks or reacts,
with a constant blank expression on his
face. In the end, he is shot by Ryu while
psychically synced with the increasingly
unstable Tetsuo. It is at this moment he
is reunited with his friends and regains
his personality.
Kai ( 甲斐)
Kai[c] (born January 8, 2004)[13] is a
loyal, high-ranking member of Kaneda's
gang. He is known for his unorthodox
fashion sense, such as neckties, which
he adopts to appear intelligent and
sophisticated. He is detained by the
army and placed in a reform school
following the climax of volume 1, but
returns in volume 4. Forming alliances
with Kei and Lady Miyako, as well as
Joker and Kaneda, he plays an
instrumental role in the build-up to
Kaneda's showdown with Tetsuo.
Yamagata ( 山形)
Yamagata (born November 9, 2003)[13]
is a member of Kaneda's gang who
serves as Kaneda's right-hand-man.
Known for his aggressive, ready-to-fight
behavior, he is killed by Tetsuo's powers
in volume 1 after attempting to shoot
him when Kaneda, unable to kill Tetsuo,
loses his gun.
Joker ( ジョーカー, Jōkā)
Joker is the leader of the Clowns, a
motorcycle gang made up of junkies
and drug addicts. Joker plays a small
role in the beginning but becomes more
prominent much later in the story as an
ally of Kaneda and Kai. He wears clown
face paint and often changes the
pattern.
Nezu ( 根津)
Nezu (born December 11, 1964)[13] is an
opposition parliament member who is
also the leader of the terrorist resistance
movement against the government. He
seems to be the mentor of Kei and Ryu
and purports to be saving the nation
from the corrupt and ineffective
bureaucrats in power. It soon becomes
evident, however, that Nezu is just as
corrupt, and all that he seeks to do is to
seize power for himself. He later betrays
Lady Miyako, as well as various other
characters, as he attempts to take
control of Akira. After losing Akira, he
finds Ryu in a dark corridor with the boy
in tow. He attempts to kill Ryu, thinking
he is a member of Lady Miyako's group
all along. Ryu, however, shoots Nezu. He
later tries to shoot Akira before he can
be taken into the Colonel's custody. He
misses and shoots Takashi in the head,
instantly killing him. He is in turn shot
and killed by the Colonel's men.
Ryu ( 竜, Ryū)
Ryu (born May 31, 1992),[13] short for
Ryusaku ( 竜作, Ryūsaku), is a comrade
of Kei's in the resistance movement. As
the story progresses, Ryu abandons his
terrorist roots and becomes more
heroic, working with Yamada and
guiding Kaneda to Akira's chamber
where Tetsuo is held up, but battles with
alcoholism. In the final volume, Ryu
reluctantly shoots and "kills" Akira when
he begins to release his power; he is
killed by falling elevator debris shortly
afterward.
Chiyoko ( チヨコ)
Chiyoko is a tough, heavyset woman
and weapons expert who is involved in
the resistance and eventually becomes
a key supporting character. She acts as
a mother figure to Kei.
The Doctor ( ドクター, Dokutā)
The Doctor (born January 28, 1958),[13]
last name Onishi ( 大西, Ōnishi), is the
head scientist of the secret psychic
research project and also serves as the
Colonel's scientific advisor. He belonged
to the second generation of scientists
overseeing the project after Akira killed
the first. It is his curiosity and
negligence for anyone's well-being that
unlocks and nurtures Tetsuo's
destructive power in the first place.
When Akira is freed by Tetsuo from his
cryogenic lair, the Doctor fails to get
inside the shelter and freezes to death.
Lady Miyako ( ミヤコ様, Miyako-sama)
Lady Miyako is a former test subject
known as No. 19. She is shown to
possess precognitive and telepathic
powers, as well as, in the final
altercation with Tetsuo, telekinetic
abilities. She is the high priestess of a
temple in Neo-Tokyo and a major ally of
Kaneda and Kei as the story progresses.
Lady Miyako is also an initial ally of
Nezu and gives Tetsuo a lecture on his
powers. She plays an instrumental role
in the final battle with Tetsuo at the cost
of her own life, and after her death
speaks to Kaneda when he, having
previously been absorbed by Tetsuo, is
transported to a place "beyond this
world".
Sakaki ( サカキ, also 榊)
Sakaki is an empowered and fond
disciple of Lady Miyako and apparent
leader of her team of three. Although
small and unassuming, she uses her
powers to become much faster and
stronger than the average person.
Tomboyish in appearance, she is sent
to battle the Espers, the military,
Kaneda, and Nezu to recover Akira.
Sakaki only appears in the third
volume, in which she is killed by the
military. Before her death Lady Miyako
utters Sakaki's name, emphasizing
their close relationship.
Mozu ( モズ)
Mozu is a girl, plump in appearance,
who is an empowered and fond
disciple of Lady Miyako. She later
teams with Sakaki and Miki to recover
Akira. Mozu only appears in the third
volume, in which she is killed by a
reluctant Takashi who psychically
turns her attack back on her.
Miki ( ミキ)
Miki is an empowered girl, gaunt in
appearance and third fond disciple of
Lady Miyako. She only appears in the
third volume, in which she is killed by
Nezu's henchmen.
The Great Tokyo Empire ( 大東京帝国,
Dai Tōkyō Teikoku)
The Great Tokyo Empire is a small army
which rises amid the ruins of Neo-Tokyo
after its destruction at the hands of
Akira, made up of crazed zealots who
worship Akira as an Emperor for the
"miracles" he performs, though the
power lies squarely with his so-called
Prime Minister, Tetsuo. Disorganized
and unruly, the army rejects outside aid
and wars with Lady Miyako's followers.
Tetsuo secretly drugs the rations
distributed to its members. At the end of
the story, Kaneda and friends take the
Empire's name and declare Neo-Tokyo a
sovereign nation, expelling the American
and United Nations forces that land in
the city.
Kaori ( カオリ)
Kaori is a young girl who appears late
in the story and is recruited as one of
Tetsuo's sex slaves. She later
becomes an object of his sincere
affections. Kaori also serves as
Akira's babysitter. She is later shot in
the back by the Captain. Tetsuo
attempts to resurrect her but fails.
The Captain ( 隊長, Taichō)
The Captain is an opportunist, posing
as a fanatical devotee of Tetsuo who
serves him as his aide-de-camp late in
the story but secretly desires control
of the Great Tokyo Empire. Despite his
scheming, the Captain shows some
compassion, begging Tetsuo not to
kill or harm the young women he has
procured for him as they still have
families. During the confrontation
between Tetsuo and the U.S. Marines,
he is caught in the crossfire and is
killed by the bacterial gas Yamada
uses.
The Birdman ( 鳥男, Tori Otoko)
The Birdman is one of Tetsuo's elite
psychic shock-troops. He wears a
blindfold and is frequently standing
atop ruined buildings and rafters,
observing and reporting on the
goings-on within the Empire's turf, and
essentially acting as a security
system. It is implied that his psychic
powers allow him to sense sights and
sounds from a great distance, further
embodied by the all-seeing eye drawn
on his forehead. He also possesses
telepathic (his announcements are
observed by a Marine to be "like a
voice in my head") and telekinetic
abilities. Birdman dies when Yamada
knocks him from his perch, causing
him to fall to his death.
The Eggplant man ( ホーズキ男,
Hōzuki Otoko)
The Eggplant man is a member of
Tetsuo's shock troops. He is
described as a fat, short man with
glasses who encounters Yamada and
the Marines at Olympic Stadium. He
was friends with Birdman, and
attempts to telekinetically crush a
Marine's heart before being executed
by Yamada.
Lieutenant Yamada ( 山田中尉, Yamada-
chūi)
Lieutenant Yamada, full name George
Yamada ( ジョージ山田, Jōji Yamada), is
a Japanese-American soldier who is
sent on a mission to assassinate Akira
and Tetsuo in the latter half of the story
after Akira has leveled Neo-Tokyo.
Yamada plans to kill the two powerful
psychics with darts containing a
biological poison. He is later joined by a
team of U.S. Marines to carry out the
mission at the Olympic Stadium after it
becomes the headquarters for Akira and
Tetsuo's Great Tokyo Empire. However,
the biochemical weapons fail to harm
Tetsuo, instead of giving him temporary
control of his expanding powers again,
who proceeds to kill Yamada.
Juvenile A ( ジュヴィナイルA, Juvinairu
Ē)
Juvenile A is an international team of
scientists who are appointed to
investigate psychic events in Neo-Tokyo
in the latter half of the story. Its
members include Dr. Dubrovsky ( ドブロ
フスキー博士, Doburofusukī-hakase), Dr.
Simmons (シモンズ博士, Shimonzu-
hakase), Dr. Jorris (ジョリス博士, Jorisu-
hakase), Dr. Hock (ホック博士, Hokku-
hakase), Professor Bernardi (ベルナルデ
ィ教授, Berunarudi-kyōju), and lama
Karma Tangi ( カルマ・タンギ, Karuma
Tangi).
Production
Conception
I wanted
Kodansha had been
to draw repeatedly asking Katsuhiro
this story Otomo to write a series for
set in a their new manga magazine
Japan Young Magazine for some
similar to
time, but he was busy with
how it was
other work for another
after the
publisher and turned them
end of
World War down.[15] After finishing
II— Kanojo no Omoide... (1980)
rebelling and Farewell to Weapons
governme (1981) for Young Magazine,
ntal
he started thinking of a new
factions; a
project. From the first
rebuilding
meeting with the publisher,
world;
foreign Akira was to be a short work
political of about ten chapters "or
influence, something like that," so
an Otomo said he was "really
uncertain
not" expecting it to be a
future; a
success.[15] Otomo had
bored and
previously created Fireball
reckless
younger (1979), a series in which he
generation disregarded accepted manga
racing art styles and established his
each other interest in science fiction as
on bikes. a setting.[6] Fireball
Akira is anticipated a number of plot
the story
elements of Akira, with its
of my own
story of young freedom
teenage
fighters trying to rescue one
years,
rewritten of the group's older brother
to take who was being used by the
place in government in psychic
the future. experiments, with the older
I never
brother eventually unleashing
thought
a destructive "fireball" of
too deeply
energy (the story may have
about the
two main drawn inspiration from the
characters Alfred Bester's 1953 novel
as I made The Demolished Man).[16]
them; I Otomo used a science fiction
just setting again the following
projected year in Domu, which won the
how I was
Nihon SF Taisho Award and
like when I
Seiun Award and became a
was
younger.
bestseller.[6] He then began
The ideas work on his most ambitious
naturally work to date, Akira.
flowed out
from my Due to a lack of planning,
own Otomo had to hastily end
memories. Fireball without the finale he
— wanted and stated, "You
Katsuhiro could say that Akira was born
Otomo, on from the frustration I had
the birth about that at the time."[14]
of Akira[14]
Not wanting to repeat what
happened with that manga, he had the
basic plot of Akira outlined from the start
in a two-page synopsis and predicted he
would finish it in six months. However, just
like what happened with Domu, new ideas
and problems immediately came up and
expanded the story gradually as he
wrote.[14] Mitsuteru Yokoyama's manga
series Tetsujin 28-go (1956–1966) had
particular influence on Akira, as Otomo
wanted to pay homage to the children's
manga.[14] He explained, "the grand plot
for Akira is about an ultimate weapon
developed during wartime and found
during a more peaceful era. So the
accidents and story develop around that
ultimate weapon. If you know, Tetsujin 28-
go then this is the same overall plot."[15]
With Akira, Otomo also wanted to depict
the later Showa period, including
preparations for the Olympics, the rapid
economic growth, and the student
protests of the 1960s. "I wanted to
recreate the assorted elements that built
this era and craft an exciting story that
would seem believable enough in
reality."[14] Otomo said that while there had
been post-apocalyptic works before, he
could not think of one that depicted an
apocalypse in the middle of the story and
wanted to do that with Akira.[17] Mark
Schilling reported that Otomo has also
cited influence from the 1977 live-action
film Star Wars on his series.[18]
Development
With Akira, Otomo wanted to "dig deeper

into [his] issues" with speed and flow,
telling a story with as few words as
possible, "edit it to gain that sense of
speed and make people read it faster, and
at the same time make them stop cold at
the important scenes."[14] When it started,
he was drawing 20 pages a chapter, for a
total of 40 pages a month. Otomo began
the process for each chapter by fully
completing the first page as practice. In
order to save time, he did not bother with
character-pose sketches or the like; he
drew directly onto the page he was
submitting to the editors. After he drew
each page, his assistant inked the lines of
the buildings and the rest of the
backgrounds with a Rotring pen and a
ruler. Otomo would complete the rough
draft two days before his deadline. He
would spend half a day drawing the
characters, then finish the buildings by
adding dust, crevices and cracks to
windows. Otomo estimated that they
would finish the final rough draft at 5 a.m.
on Sunday, ink the characters by 7 p.m.,
and then submit the completed chapter at
8 a.m. Monday morning. When Otomo
began production on the anime film
adaptation of Akira, he said the manga had
a weekly schedule of 20 pages a week. So
he hired a second assistant to help, and
occasionally brought in a third just to
handle the screentone. "When the manga
deadline drew near, we’d pull several all-
nighters, then I’d walk right into the anime
studio the day after."[14] Manga artist and
film director Satoshi Kon was an
uncredited assistant on the series.[19]
The image model for the character Akira

was Shōryū from Saiyūki (1960). Otomo
liked his sorrowful expression and used
him as a reference after deciding to make
Akira a child.[17] While editing his film Jiyū
wo Warera ni, Otomo would often hear
someone in the studio next door yell
"Akira!", which he took to be the name of
the assistant director. Because in the film
industry the name "Akira" is often used to
refer to Akira Kurosawa, Otomo "thought
that gap" was funny and decided to use
the name in his work one day.[17] The
character names Tetsuo and Kaneda, and
the Espers' codenames of Nos. 25–28,
were taken from Tetsujin 28-go.[15][16][17]
Kaneda's iconic motorcycle from the
manga had no specific design. So Otomo
said it came out "kind of random" and
changed every time he drew it.[17] The
character Chiyoko was originally designed
to be an old man, but Otomo felt that was
too ordinary and "a little boring" and came
up with the idea for an old lady, which then
became a large old lady. The character
grew on him as he drew and she ended up
with a greater role than he originally
planned.[17]
Otomo posing on a replica of the

futuristic motorcycle driven by
Kaneda in Akira (2016)
The logo for the manga changed several

times throughout its serialization,
including switching between Japanese
and English.[17] The first 35 chapters used
katakana in the font Thick Textbook,
chosen by Otomo for its ease of
understanding and impact. After getting
tired of this logo and having entered
"Chapter 2" a few chapters previously, he
used English in Broadway for chapter 36
because he wanted an Art Deco feel.
However, Otomo did not like it when he
saw the magazine and for chapters 37–48
he changed the font to a different Art
Deco-style and wrote his name in English
as "OHTOMO KATSUHIRO". Otomo was
often drawing Art Deco-styled skyscrapers
on the title pages at this time, but that
stopped when Neo Tokyo is destroyed in
the story, at which point the logo changed
again and he removed the "H" from his
surname. The fourth logo for Akira, used
for chapters 49–71, returned to using
katakana and was created by manga artist
Hiroshi Hirata as Otomo wanted a
Japanese calligraphy-style. Otomo's name
was still written in English until chapter 55.
Having come to the "final chapter" of the
series, Otomo figured he should change
the logo again and went with an English
font similar to Impact for the title and his
name for chapters 72–120. He had
already been using Impact with the top
"trimmed off", which gives a dignified and
American comics feel, for the covers of
the collected volumes.[17] However, some
fans believe some of the fonts actually
used do not match the above named
typefaces.[20]
Otomo was meticulous in creating the

collected tankōbon volumes of Akira, often
leading to them being released late.[17]
During serialization he faced not only
schedule deadlines but also page limits
and would have to cut stuff in order to fit
said limit. He therefore would draw rough
designs of what he actually "wanted" to
draw in the margins of the chapters'
manuscripts so that he would remember
when time came to redraw the collected
volume. He also had to make alterations in
the collected volumes due to all the
chapter title pages being removed, for
example to make sure two-page spreads
ended up on opposing pages. He wanted
everything about the collected volumes,
including the page count and paintings, to
give a deep and full American comics feel.
The covers are entirely in English, but he
said this was not with an eye towards
global distribution, he simply "had this
incredible enthusiasm to just try to make
something new." With its all-English cover,
B5 size and painted page edges, the first
volume of Akira caused a sensation in
Japan.[17]
Otomo painted the cover illustration of the

first volume very thick, while its inside
cover illustration was influenced by Tetsuji
Fukushima's manga Sabaku no Maō and
how he used colors like American
comics.[17] Because the first volume had a
"hot" red cover, Otomo felt volume two
should have a "cool" one. Its back cover
image was created using video, and he
said he ruined Kodansha's VCR by
repeatedly changing the color balance to
get it right. Following the American and
European cover images of the previous
two volumes, Otomo felt the third should
have an Asian one and so included the
signs in its background. Its back cover is a
composite photograph taken during a race
at the Tokyo Racecourse when an image
of Akira was shown on the jumbotron.
Because the first three images had
followed a pattern of "action-silence-
action," the artist figured volume four
should continue it and so drew Akira
sitting down for the cover. Its back cover
features an original Akira pinball machine
created by Taito with animation cels
pasted onto it by Otomo. The cover of
volume five was the first to feature an
event actually related to the content inside
the book. Its back cover features an
Otomo-designed decorative bamboo rake
that cost 2 million yen to make and
features a custom made Miyako doll and
mecha models. Otomo felt the sixth cover
had to be cool because it was the final
one, and as a result it went through the
most number of rough designs as he had
to really work to get Kaneda's line of sight
towards the reader without it feeling
forced. For the back cover photograph, a
life-size kiosk featuring numerous Akira
goods was constructed in Kodansha's
studio with cooperation from Sudo Art
Workshop and a stage manager from
Nikkatsu. Construction, which included
two fluorescent signs (cropped out of the
final image) and handmade newspapers,
and shooting took three days.[17]
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.[6] 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.[21]
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.[22]
According to Dolores P. Martinez, 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.[8] The work has no consistent
main character, but Kaneda and Tetsuo are
featured the most prominently
throughout.[8]
Publication
Written and illustrated by Katsuhiro
Otomo, Akira was serialized biweekly in
Kodansha's Young Magazine from
December 20, 1982, to June 25, 1990.[17]
While drawing the manga, Otomo began
work on an anime film adaptation, leading
to a lengthy break between chapters 87 on
April 20, 1987, and 88 on November 21,
1988.[17] Otomo agreed to a film
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 July 1988, and
followed by limited theatrical releases in
various Western territories from 1989 to
1991.[23][24] Even when Young Magazine
became a weekly publication in 1989,
Otomo and Akira retained a biweekly
schedule.[17] The 120 chapters and more
than 2,000 pages were collected and
released in six tankōbon volumes by
publisher Kodansha between September
21, 1984, and March 23, 1993.[17]
A five-volume anime comic version
created using scenes from the film
adaptation was published between August
29 and December 6, 1988, with newly
painted covers by Otomo.[17] The colored
version created for America by Marvel
Comics was published in Japan in 12
volumes between October 7, 1988,[17] and
September 20, 1996.
English publication
Otomo and Kodansha's Yasumasa Shimizu

visited New York City in 1983 to meet with
Archie Goodwin of Marvel Comics, who
had seen Akira and wanted to publish it in
America.[25] Shimizu said that Kodansha
had received offers from many other
publishers, including the newly established
Viz Media, but Otomo chose Goodwin
because he was really close to French
artists that Otomo was a fan of.[25] Otomo
did not want Akira to be seen as some
"strange thing from Japan," leading to a
meticulous and now-"unimaginable"
process of altering the art and coloring to
make it accessible to American
audiences.[25] Because Japanese manga
is read right-to-left, the artwork had to be
flipped to read the other way. But the
process was not as simple as mirroring,
backgrounds had to be redone in order to
remove the Japanese sound effects and
reshape the word balloons to fit the
Roman alphabet.[17] So Otomo went in and
made substantial retouches and
adjustments that are specific to the
American version.[25]
Japanese manga is largely in black and

white, but it was decided to fully color the
artwork in the English version of Akira to
match most American and European
comics. The coloring was done by Steve
Oliff at Olyoptics, who was hand-picked for
the role by Otomo after being introduced
by Goodwin.[26] Otomo sent Oliff
illustrations that he colored with markers
as samples.[17] Oliff had also received
slides from the anime film adaptation of
Akira to use as reference. At one point,
Otomo visited Oliff in Point Arena,
California and worked alongside him for
several days, but after the first 5 or 6
issues, Oliff said he was given free rein.[26]
Oliff persuaded Marvel to use 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.[27] Coloring lasted from 1988 to
1994, being delayed by Otomo's work on
Steamboy.[26] 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 and Oliff's work on Akira earned
him three consecutive Harvey Awards for
Best Colorist (1990–1992) and the first
Eisner Award for Best Coloring
(1992).[26][28][29][30][31][32]
Akira began being published in the

American comic book format in the United
States in 1988 by Epic Comics, an imprint
of Marvel Comics.[17] This colorized
version ended its 38-issue run in 1995.[26]
Delays in the English publication were
caused by Otomo's retouching of artwork
for the Japanese collected volumes. It was
these collections that formed the basis for
translation, rather than the initial magazine
serialization. The Epic version suffered
significant delays toward the end, 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, these ceased in 1993,
so the final 3 paperbacks and planned
sixth hardcover volume were never
published. British publisher Reed began
releasing full color versions of the six Akira
volumes in 1994.[17] A partially colorized
version was serialized in British
comic/magazine Manga Mania in the early
to mid-'90s. A new edition of Akira was
published in six paperback volumes from
2000 to 2002 by Dark Horse Comics in
North America and Titan Books in the UK.
This version is in black-and-white with a
revised translation, although Otomo's
painted color pages are used minimally at
the start of each book as in the original
Japanese volumes.[4][33] In 2003,
Tokyopop published the anime comic
version in North America.[34]
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.[35][36] 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.[37][38][39]
Volume list
North American
No. Title Original release date
release date
December 13, 2000

978-1-56971-498-0
September 21,
(Dark Horse)[4]
1 Tetsuo ( 鉄雄) 1984 [40]
October 13, 2009
4-06-103711-0
978-1-935429-00-5
(Kodansha)[35]
Chapters 1–18, originally serialized from December 1982 to September 1983.[41]
March 28, 2001

978-1-56971-499-7
September 4, 1985[42] (Dark Horse)[43]
2 Akira I ( アキラ I) 4-06-103712-9 June 22, 2010
978-1-935429-02-9
(Kodansha)[44]
Chapters 19–33, originally serialized from September 1983 to May 1984.[45]
June 27, 2001

978-1-56971-525-3
September 1, 1986[46] (Dark Horse)[47]
3 Akira II ( アキラ II) 4-06-103713-7 July 13, 2010
978-1-935429-04-3
(Kodansha)[48]
Chapters 34–48, originally serialized from May 1984 to January 1985.[49]
September 19, 2001

978-1-56971-526-0
[50]
(Dark Horse)[51]
4 Kei I ( ケイ I) July 10, 1987
4-06-103714-5 November 30, 2010
978-1-935429-06-7
(Kodansha)[52]
Chapters 49–71, originally serialized from March 1985 to April 1986.[53]
December 19, 2001

978-1-56971-527-7
December 11,
(Dark Horse)[55]
5 Kei II ( ケイ II) 1990 [54]
March 1, 2011
4-06-313166-1
978-1-935429-07-4
(Kodansha)[56]
Chapters 72–96, originally serialized from May 1986 to April 1989[57]
March 27, 2002

978-1-56971-528-4
March 23, 1993[58] (Dark Horse)[33]
6 Kaneda ( 金田) 4-06-319339-X April 12, 2011
978-1-935429-08-1
(Kodansha)[36]
Chapters 97–120, originally serialized from May 1989 to June 1990.[59]
Reception
Sales and awards
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.[60]
The manga was published in the United
States in 1988, followed by Spain in 1990,
France 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 7 million copies worldwide,
including 2 million in Japan and 5 million
overseas.[61] As of 2005, Akira has been
published in more than a dozen languages
worldwide.[62] In 2020, the first volume of
Akira became publisher Kodansha's first
manga to receive a 100th printing.[63] At a
price of ¥1,000 in Japan[40] and $24.95
overseas,[4] the manga tankōbon volumes
grossed estimated revenues of ¥2 billion
($16 million)[64] in Japan and $125 million
overseas, for an estimated total of
$141 million 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.[65] At an average
manga magazine price of ¥180 at the
time,[66] the 120 issues serializing Akira
sold an estimated total of 120–180 million
copies and grossed an estimated
¥22–32 billion ($170–250 million).[64]
Akira has won much recognition in the

industry, including the 1984 Kodansha
Manga Award for Best General Manga.[67]
Fans in the United Kingdom voted it
Favourite Comic at the 1990 Eagle
Awards.[68] It won a Harvey Award for Best
American Edition of Foreign Material in
1993,[69] and was nominated for a Harvey
for Best Graphic Album of Previously
Published Work in 2002. In 2002, Akira
won the Eisner Awards for Best U.S.
Edition of Foreign Material and Best
Archival Collection.[70] The 35th
anniversary edition won Best Archival
Collection again at the 2018 Eisner
Awards, in addition to Best Publication
Design.[71]
Critical reception
Akira is credited with having introduced

both manga and anime to Western
audiences.[23] According to Kodansha
USA's Naho Yamada, "Akira ignited a new
generation of dynamism not only in manga
but also in European and American
comics. Its impact shattered all
borders."[72] The Essential Guide to World
Comics states that the translation of the
work into French in 1991 by Glénat
"opened the floodgates to the Japanese
invasion."[73] 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, such
as Ghost in the Shell and Armitage III.[24]
Yamada also said that "Otomo jacked into
his generation's frustration with society, in
the wake of the defeat of Japan's liberal
student movement, and created an epic
that, in true Japanese fashion, processed
societal trauma through cataclysmic
visual symbolism."[72] Writing for The
Japan Times, Matt Schley said "For many
readers, Akira was a revelation. Each panel
features a head-spinning amount of detail,
and Otomo, an avowed film buff, keeps
things moving at a breathless, cinematic
pace."[72] In her book The Fantastic in
Japanese Literature, Susan J. Napier
described the work as a "no holds barred
enjoyment of fluidity and chaos".[74] Akira
cemented Otomo's reputation and the
success of the animated adaptation
allowed him to concentrate on film rather
than the manga form in which his career
began.[6]
Katherine Dacey of MangaBookshelf called
Akira one of manga's "greatest sci-fi
epics."[75] She also noted how Tetsuo and
Kaneda seem like real teenage boys in the
manga, not generic action figures like in
the film's "grossly" simplified depiction of
their relationship. Although stating that
Akira 's plot was still as topical as ever in
the year 2009, Dacey felt that the art had
not aged as gracefully.[75]
In his reviews of the first three volumes of

Akira, Mark Pellegrini of AIPT Comics
strongly praised Otomo's art as "simple,
but very lively" and called him a master at
drawing architecture.[76][77] Pellegrini
reviewed the series by making many
comparisons to the animated film
adaptation, calling the characterizations in
the manga both "better and on par" with
those in it.[76]
Anime News Network had four writers

review Kodansha USA's 35th Anniversary
box set of Akira. Austin Price and Lynzee
Loveridge both gave it a perfect 5 out of 5
rating.[78] Loveridge wrote that "Akira still
feels incredibly relevant 35 years later.[78]
Giving it a three ½ star rating, Amy
McNulty praised Otomo's art and setting.
However, she called the characterizations
weak and concluded that although Akira
"does little to appeal to those who aren't
interested in sci-fi, paranormal, or
dystopian tales [...] manga fans owe it to
themselves to at least check it out."[78]
Rebecca Silverman gave the series a rating
of three out of five, calling Akira a must-
read for anyone interested in manga.[78]
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.[23][79]
A video game, simply titled Akira, based on

the animated film was released on
December 24, 1988, by Taito for the
Famicom console.[17] The game 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.[80][81] In 2002, Bandai released a
pinball simulation titled Akira Psycho Ball
for the PlayStation 2.
On June 9, 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, images
of various related merchandise and
commentary by Otomo. 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.[82] 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).[82][83] 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.[84] Warner
Bros. planned to distribute the film on May
21, 2021, but after Waititi was officially
confirmed to both direct and write Thor:
Love and Thunder, the film was put on hold
and taken off the release slot.[85][86][87]
On July 4, 2019, Bandai Namco

Entertainment announced an anime
television series to be made by Sunrise
(now Bandai Namco Filmworks).[88][89]
Legacy
Akira is considered a landmark work in the
cyberpunk genre, credited with spawning
the Japanese cyberpunk subgenre. It
actually 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.[90]
Akira inspired a wave of Japanese
cyberpunk-infused manga and anime
works, including Ghost in the Shell, Battle
Angel Alita, Cowboy Bebop, and Serial
Experiments Lain.[91] Tetsuo Hara cited
Akira as an influence on the dystopian
post-apocalyptic setting of his manga Fist
of the North Star (1983 debut).[92] Manga
artist Tooru Fujisawa, creator of Great
Teacher Onizuka, cited Akira as one of his
greatest inspirations and said it changed
the way he wrote.[93] Naruto creator
Masashi Kishimoto has cited both the
Akira manga and anime as major
influences, particularly as the basis of his
own manga career.[94] Bartkira, a fan-made
web comic parody of Akira created by
Ryan Humphrey, is a panel-for-panel
retelling of all six volumes of the manga
illustrated by numerous artists
contributing several pages each, with
Otomo's characters being portrayed by
members of the cast of The Simpsons: for
example, Kaneda is represented by Bart
Simpson, Milhouse Van Houten replaces
Tetsuo, and Kei and Colonel Shikishima
are portrayed by Laura Powers and
Principal Skinner respectively.[95]
The city depicted in the first two stages of

the 1992 video game Last Resort is very
similar to that of Neo Tokyo from the
anime film. In the 1998 video game Half-
Life, aspects of the level design were
influenced directly by scenes from the
manga. For example, the diagonal elevator
leading down to the sewer canals as well
as the design of the canals themselves are
taken from scenes in the manga. This was
confirmed by Brett Johnson, the developer
who designed the levels.[96][97] The
NeoTokyo mod for its 2004 sequel, Half-
Life 2, was also inspired by Akira.[98] In the
2002 video game The King of Fighters
2002, Kusanagi and K9999 have an Akira-
esque intro before they fight. Kaneda's
motorcycle appears in the 2020 video
game Cyberpunk 2077.[99]
The Akira Class starship from the Star Trek

franchise, first introduced in the 1996
feature film Star Trek: First Contact, was
named after the anime by its designer Alex
Jaeger, of Industrial Light & Magic.[100] In
the 1998 film Dark City, one of the last
scenes, in which buildings "restore"
themselves, is similar to the last panel of
the Akira manga. Its writer-director Alex
Proyas called the end battle a "homage to
Otomo's Akira".[101] Director Josh Trank
cited Akira as an influence on the 2012
film Chronicle.[102]
Rapper Kanye West has a tribute to the
anime film in his 2007 music video for
"Stronger".[103] Electronic pop group M83
created a three-part tribute to Akira (and
other influences) with their music videos
for "Midnight City", "Reunion"[104] and
"Wait". Rapper Lupe Fiasco's 2015 album
Tetsuo & Youth was loosely inspired by the
Akira character Tetsuo Shima.[105]
In the original plans for the 2020 Tokyo

Olympics and Paralympics Opening
Ceremony, Akira was to be featured in
order to appeal to Japan's "soft power"
among youth. The original plans featured
Kaneda riding into the stadium on his
motorcycle. As Japan scholar Tagsold
notes, there is an inherent irony in the use
of Akira to promote the 2020 Olympics.
The original manga (and to a lesser extent
the film) contains strong anti-Olympic
sentiment and contains several references
to the 1964 Olympics, and in the story the
Olympics are also scheduled to be held in
Tokyo in 2020, where they are to symbolize
Japan's rebirth and recovery from a
nuclear disaster that takes place in the
1980s in the story setting (the dates differ
between the manga and the film). Tagsold
notes, "By referencing the 1964 Games,
Ōtomo paints a highly critical image of the
first Tokyo Olympics, reflecting the mood
of the early 1980s, when citizens
vehemently opposed plans to host the
Olympics in Nagoya."[106] Nonetheless, the
original plans also included Ōtomo
creating an illustration for the ceremony,
indicative of his own complex perspective
on what the Olympics mean for Japan.
Ultimately, the irony of an anti-Olympic
story being used to promote the Olympics
was avoided when the Olympics
themselves were postponed due to the
pandemic, and the original production
team was replaced.
Notes
a. Changed to 1992 in some English editions.
b. Changed to 2030 in some English editions.
c. Named Kaisuke in some English editions.
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External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related
to Akira (manga).
Akira (https://www.animenewsnetwork.c
om/encyclopedia/manga.php?id=11)
(manga) at Anime News Network's
encyclopedia
Retrieved from
"https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?
title=Akira_(manga)&oldid=1165101781"
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Akira ( アキラ, stylized as AKIRA) is a

First volume cover

Written by Katsuhiro Otomo

Imprint Young Magazine KC

Magazine Young Magazine

Original run December 20, 1982 –

Anime television series

Set in a post-apocalyptic and futuristic

Akira was instrumental in the surge in

On December 6, 1982,[a] an apparent

After confronting the JSDF, Kaneda, Kei,

Tetsuo disappears in the subsequent

The pursuit ends at a canal, with Kaneda's

Sometime later, an American

Kaneda is reunited with Kei and joins Kai

Following the rally, Tetsuo's power begins

As Kaneda and the bikers launch their

After the battle, Tetsuo tries to resurrect

The United Nations sends peacekeeping

With Akira, Otomo wanted to "dig deeper

The image model for the character Akira

Otomo posing on a replica of the

The logo for the manga changed several

Otomo was meticulous in creating the

Otomo painted the cover illustration of the

Jenny Kwok Wah Lau writes in Multiple

Susan J. Napier identified this morphing

According to Dolores P. Martinez, the serial

Otomo and Kodansha's Yasumasa Shimizu

Japanese manga is largely in black and

Akira began being published in the

December 13, 2000

Chapters 1–18, originally serialized from December 1982 to September 1983.[41]

March 28, 2001

Chapters 19–33, originally serialized from September 1983 to May 1984.[45]

June 27, 2001

Chapters 34–48, originally serialized from May 1984 to January 1985.[49]

September 19, 2001

December 19, 2001

Chapters 72–96, originally serialized from May 1986 to April 1989[57]

March 27, 2002

Chapters 97–120, originally serialized from May 1989 to June 1990.[59]

Sales and awards

The first tankōbon volume, which was

During its run, the seinen manga magazine

Akira has won much recognition in the

Akira is credited with having introduced

In his reviews of the first three volumes of

Anime News Network had four writers

A video game, simply titled Akira, based on

On June 9, 1995, Kodansha released Akira

On July 4, 2019, Bandai Namco

The city depicted in the first two stages of

The Akira Class starship from the Star Trek

In the original plans for the 2020 Tokyo

This page was last edited on 13 July 2023, at

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