Akira, Vol. 6 Author: Katsuhiro Otomo | Language: English | ISBN:
1935429086 | Format: EPUB
Akira, Vol. 6 Description
Review
• "One of the most important manga of the 1980s...four stars." --
Manga: The Complete GuideFrom the Publisher
In 1982, manga modernist Katshuhiro Otomo created a worldwide literary sensation when Japan's Kodansha Publications released the first volume of his 3000 page sci-fi fable of the apocalypse, AKIRA. Few westerners had experienced manga (Japanese comics) before AKIRA, and its rocketing ascent through cultural divides helped impress a cynical world that had long been convinced that pictures in books should be relegated to children's stories. Now pictures were being used to tell one of man's most explosive and harrowing tales. Since his groundbreaking work on Akira.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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- Paperback: 440 pages
- Publisher: Kodansha Comics (April 12, 2011)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 1935429086
- ISBN-13: 978-1935429081
- Product Dimensions: 9.9 x 7 x 1.8 inches
- Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
Allow me to reiterate:
Amidst the flotsam and jetsam of former pop-culture sensations, there are a few items of media that, through sheer visceral creative force, transcend the `cool one moment, cliché the next' element of disposable entertainment. The Japanese manga/movie _Akira_ is among these rare and dignified. Although the movie version is cluttered and convoluted, an epic mess--and what can one expect from the effort of reducing 2000 pages into two hours?--there still remains a power and presence to it that is at once unnerving and captivating.
I "got" Akira upon my first viewing, but like many others found the movie unsatisfying on a basic level. Characters and concepts popped up out of nowhere, seemingly important to the overall arc, yet remaining undeveloped. It felt as if an enormous amount of back-story was left untold. Thankfully, Dark Horse has decided to give the manga version of _Akira_ the definitive publishing it deserves, to fill in the gaps and give us a deeper and far more gratifying glimpse into Katsuhiro Otomo's astonishing vision of dystopia.
And now, finally, volume six is here, containing story and art never before seen on these shores. Here Otomo takes the hints and fragments presented by the film--Tetsuo's metamorphosis, the fate of Neo-Tokyo, the showdown of primal force between Akira and his prodigy companions--and ties them together in a way that, as an end result, far overshadows the 16mm attempt. I have to agree with a fellow reviewer who claims that the movie and manga compliment each other...but while the former is interesting and challenging, the latter is far more essential in terms of scope and overall achievement.
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