| Akira | |
Japanese cover of Akira Volume 1 |
|
| アキラ | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Cyberpunk, Science fiction, Thriller |
| Manga | |
| Written by | Katsuhiro Otomo |
| Published by | Kodansha |
| English publisher | Epic Comics, Dark Horse Comics |
| Demographic | Seinen |
| Magazine | Young Magazine |
| Original run | December 20, 1982 – June 25, 1990 |
| Volumes | 6 |
Akira (アキラ) is a manga series by Katsuhiro Otomo. Set in a post-apocalyptic Neo-Tokyo, the work uses conventions of the cyberpunk genre to detail a saga of turmoil.[1] Initially serialized in the pages of Young Magazine from 1982 until 1990, the work was collected in six volumes by Japanese publisher Kodansha.[2] The work was first published in an English language version by the Marvel Comics imprint Epic Comics, one of the first manga works to be translated in its entirety.[3] Otomo's art on the series is considered outstanding, and the work is a breakthrough for both Otomo and the manga form.[1] An identically titled anime film adaptation was released in 1988, shortening the plot, but with its structure and scenes heavily informed by the manga and its serial origins.[4]
The manga takes place in a vastly larger timeframe than the film and involves a far wider array of characters and subplots. Through the breadth of the work, Otomo explicates themes of social isolation, corruption and power.
Otomo's Akira projects – the manga and its film adaptation – marked his transition from a career primarily in the creation and design of printed manga to one almost exclusively in the creation, direction and design of anime motion pictures and television.
Contents |
Volume 1
On December 6, 1992, an apparent nuclear explosion destroys Tokyo and starts World War III. By 2030, a new metropolis called Neo-Tokyo has been built on an artificial island in Tokyo Bay, but is gripped by anti-government terrorism and gang violence. While riding in the ruins of old Tokyo, Tetsuo Shima, a member of the bosozoku Capsule gang led by Shotaro Kaneda, is injured when his bike explodes after the "Esper" Takashi—a psychic child with wizened features—blocks his path. This incident awakens psychic powers in Tetsuo, attracting the attention of a secret government project directed by 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.
Meanwhile, Kaneda becomes involved with Kei, a member of the Resistance organization which stages terrorist attacks against the government. The Resistance—led by Kei's brother Ryu and opposition parliament leader Nezu—gets wind of Colonel Shikishima'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 after he becomes too involved with their activities. However, when Tetsuo and the Clowns begin a violent city-wide turf war, Kaneda instigates a counter-attack that unites all of Neo-Tokyo's biker gangs against Tetsuo. The Clowns are easily defeated, but Tetsuo is nearly invincible because of his powers. Tetsuo kills Yamagata, a high-ranking Capsule, and astonishingly survives after being shot by Kaneda. Colonel Shikishima then arrives in a military helicopter with the powerful drugs needed to suppress Tetsuo's violent headaches, and extends an offer to join his secret project.
Volume 2
Kaneda, Kei, and Tetsuo are taken into military custody after the climax of Volume 1. They are held in a high-security military skyscraper in Neo-Tokyo, but 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 Espers' playroom. There, a violent showdown unfolds between Tetsuo, Kaneda, Kei, and the Espers. It is during this encounter that Doctor Onishi 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 Olympic Stadium, Tetsuo escapes the skyscraper with the intent of releasing Akira.
The following day, Tetsuo enters the secret military base at the Olympic site, gruesomely killing any soldiers that get in his way. Colonel Shikishima comes to the base and tries to talk Tetsuo out of his plan; Kaneda and Kei enter the base through the sewers and witness the unfolding situation. Tetsuo ignores the Colonel's entreaties and breaks open the underground cryogenic chamber. He releases 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 a laser satellite called SOL to kill Tetsuo and Akira, but only succeeds in severing Tetsuo's arm. Tetsuo goes missing in the explosion, and Kaneda and Kei come across Akira outside of the base and—vaguely aware of who he is—take him back into Neo-Tokyo.
Volume 3
After Akira's release in Volume 2, both Colonel Shikishima's soldiers and followers of a former Esper named Lady Miyako begin scouring Neo-Tokyo in search for him. Kaneda, Kei, and a third Resistance member, Chiyoko, attempt to find refuge with Akira on Nezu's yacht. However, Nezu betrays them and kidnaps Akira for his own use, attempting to have them killed. They survive this attempt on their lives, 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'etat 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 Akira about to be 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 cause a second psychic explosion that utterly destroys Neo-Tokyo. Kei, Ryu, Chiyoko, Colonel Shikishima, and the other two Espers survive the catastrophe; Kaneda, however, disappears as he is enveloped by the psionic blast. After the city's destruction, Tetsuo—entirely absent during the volume—meets and accosts Akira.
Volume 4
Some time after the events of Volume 3, an American reconnaissance team led by 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 Miyako's group and kills any intruders with Tetsuo's psychic shock troops. Kiyoko and Masaru, the two remaining Espers, become targets for the Empire's fanatical soldiers; Kei, Chiyoko, the Colonel, and a former Capsule member named Kaisuke align themselves with Lady Miyako to protect them.
Yamada eventually becomes affiliated with Ryu, and updates the latter on how the world 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 where she gives him a comprehensive history of the government project that unleashed Akira. Miyako advises Tetsuo to quit the pills in order to become more powerful. Tetsuo begins an agonizing withdrawal. Meanwhile, Tetsuo's Aide stages an unsuccessful Empire assault on Miyako's temple. After the Colonel uses SOL to attack the Empire's army, a mysterious event opens a rift in the sky dumping massive debris from Akira's second explosion...as well as Kaneda.
Volume 5
After returning at the conclusion of Volume 4, Kaneda is reunited with Kei and joins Kaisuke and Joker—the former Clown leader—in planning an assault on the Great Tokyo Empire. Meanwhile, an international team of scientists meets up on an American aircraft carrier to study the recent psychic events in Neo-Tokyo, forming Project Juvenile "A". Ryu has a falling out with Yamada after learning that he plans to use biological weapons to assassinate Tetsuo and Akira; Yamada later escapes Ryu's confines and meets up with his arriving commando team. Akira and Tetsuo hold a rally at the Olympic Stadium to demonstrate their powers to the Empire faithful, which culminates with Tetsuo tearing a massive hole in the Moon's surface and encircling it with a ring of the debris.
Following the rally, Tetsuo's power begins to contort his physical body, causing it to absorb surrounding objects; he later learns that his abuse of his powers have 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. At one point, Tetsuo actually 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 to battle Tetsuo. Meanwhile, Kaneda, Kai, 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 and his new gang continue the assault on the Stadium that started in Volume 5. Tetsuo returns from his battle with Kei and 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 Colonel Shikishima's attempts to kill him by guiding SOL with a laser designator. Kaneda confronts Tetsuo, and the two begin an epic fight; they are joined by Kei. However, the brawl is interrupted when the American navy—horrified by Tetsuo's previous attack—tries to carpet bomb Neo-Tokyo, then gut it outright with its own laser satellite, FLOYD. Tetsuo flies into space and brings down FLOYD, causing it to crash down upon the aircraft carrier, killing the navy's fleet admiral and some of the scientists.
After the battle, Tetsuo unsuccessfully tries to resurrect Kaori, a girl he had been acquainted with who was killed in the battle. He heads down to Akira's old 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 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, but not before guiding Kei into space to fire upon him with SOL. Kei's attack awakens Tetsuo's full powers, triggering a psionic reaction similar to Akira's.
With the help of Kiyoko, Masaru, and a resurrected Takashi, Akira is able to cancel out Tetsuo's explosion with one of his own.
Following the climax, the United Nations sends forces to help the surviving parties of Neo-Tokyo. Kaneda and his friends confront them, declaring the city's sovereignty as the Great Tokyo Empire and warning them that Akira still lives. Kaneda and Kei meet up with Colonel Shikishima, and part ways as friends. As Kaneda and Kei ride through Neo-Tokyo, they see ghostly visions of Tetsuo and Yamagata. They also see the city shedding its ruined facade, returning to its former splendor.
Otomo had previously created Fireball (1979), an unfinished series in which he disregarded accepted manga art styles and which established his interest in science fiction as a setting. The setting was again used the following year in Domu, which was awarded the Science Fiction Grand Prix and became a bestseller. Otomo then began work on his most ambitious work to date, Akira. Inspired by both the American movie Star Wars, the work of Moebius and the Japanese animated series Tetsujin 28, Otomo created a work centred in the emerging cyberpunk tradition.[5][6] The story launched in 1982, serialised in Japan's Young Magazine, and concluded in July 1990. The work, totalling over 2000 pages, was then collected and released in six volumes by Kodansha.[3] Concurrently with working on the series, Otomo agreed to an anime adaptation of the work provided he retained creative control. This insistence was based on his experiences working on Harmagedon. The film itself was released in Japan in 1988, and to Western audiences from 1990 through 1991.[6][7]
In 1988, the manga was published in the United States by Epic Comics, a division of Marvel Comics. This colorized version ended its 38-issue run in 1995. The coloring was by Steve Oliff, hand-picked for the role by Otomo. Oliff persuaded Marvel to use computer coloring, and Akira became the first ongoing comic book to feature computer coloring. The coloring was more subtle than that seen before and far beyond the capabilities of Japanese technology of the time. It played an important part in Akira's success in Western markets, and revolutionised the way comics were colorized.[8] Delays in the publication were caused by Otomo's retouching of artwork for the Japanese collections. It was these works which formed the basis for translation, rather than the initial serialisation. The Epic edition suffered significant delays toward the end of the serial, requiring several years to publish the final 8 issues. Marvel planned to collect the colorized versions as a 13-volume paperback series, and teamed with Graphitti Designs to release six limited-edition hardcover volumes; however, the collected editions ceased in 1993, so the final 3 paperbacks and planned sixth hardcover volume were never published. A new edition of Akira was later published in paperback from 2000 to 2002 by Dark Horse Comics, and in the UK by Titan Books, this time in black and white with a new translation although Otomo's painted color pages were used minimally at the start of each book as in the original manga. This version is thought by some to be closer to the original serialisation than the Marvel/Epic translation. A partially colourized version was serialised in British comic/magazine Manga Mania in the early to mid '90s.
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.[4] He also established a well-realised science fiction setting, and through his art evoked a strong sense of emotion within both character and reader.[1] The work has no consistent main character, but Shotaro Kaneda and Tetsuo Shima are central protagonists.[4]
Akira, like 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.[3] 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 over-crowding as inspirations and underlying issues. Thematically the work centres 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.[9]
Susan Napier has identified this morphing and metamorphosis as a factor which 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 images, of characters aimlessly roaming the streets on motor bikes 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 present in Japanese literature of the time.[10]
The series has won a great deal of recognition in the industry, including the 1984 Kodansha Manga Award for best general manga.[11] It was also nominated for the Harvey Award for Best Graphic Album of Previously Published Work in 2002. In her book The Fantastic in Japanese Literature, Susan Napier described the work as a "no holds barred enjoyment of fluidity and chaos".[12] The work is credited as having introduced both manga and anime to Western audiences.[6] The translation of the work into French in 1991 by Glénat "opened the floodgates to the Japanese invasion."[13] The imagery in Akira, together with that of Blade Runner formed the blueprint for similar Japanese works of a dystopian nature of the late 1990s. Examples include Ghost in the Shell and Armitage III.[7] Akira cemented Otomo's reputation and the success of the animated feature allowed him to concentrate on film rather than the manga form in which his career began.[3]
The movie led the way for the growing popularity of anime in the West, with Akira considered to have been the trailblazer for the second wave of anime fandom that began in the early 1990s. One of the reasons for the movie's success was the highly advanced quality of its animation. At the time, most anime was notorious for cutting production corners with limited motion, such as having only the characters' mouths move while their faces remained static. Akira broke from this trend with meticulously detailed scenes, exactingly lip-synched dialogue — a first for an anime production (voices were recorded before the animation was completed, rather than the opposite) — and super-fluid motion as realized in the film's more than 160,000 animation cels.[14]
While most of the character designs and basic settings were directly adapted from the original 2,182-page manga epic, the restructured plot of the movie differs considerably from the print version, pruning much of the last half of the book. 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.[6][15]
In 2003 TokyoPop published a reverse adaption of sorts in the form of an Akira "Cine-Manga." The format consists of animation cels from the film version cut up and arranged with word balloons in order to resemble comic book panels.
A graphic adventure game based on the animated movie adaptation was released in 1988 by Taito for the Famicom console. The video game version has the player in the role of Kaneda, with the storyline starting with Kaneda and his motorcycle gang in police custody. In 1994, a British-made action game was released for the Amiga CD32, and in 2002 Bandai released a pinball simulation, Akira Psycho Ball for the PlayStation 2.
At the end of the last couple of single volumes of the manga, the Marvel/Epic editions of the series included Akira "fan art" from various industry alumni, such as John Romita, Jean Giraud, and Dave Gibbons.
Volume 1 only was also available in a limited edition hardcover version with nicer stock paper as an exclusive to Barnes and Noble.
In 2009, Random House started releasing the Akira volumes under their license.