Akira, Vol. 1

You can't be into manga and not have heard about Akira, and I am no exception. It is on just about every ‘best of' list ever and certainly has been on my radar since my early days getting into manga. However, I never seemed to get around to reading it - until now. Recently I was craving some cyberpunk and while looking for recommendations, of course Akira tops a lot of the lists. So I finally picked it up and I realize now what I've been missing. I see why this is considered top-tier manga. The artwork is amazing, the world gritty, the characters grey and the story highly intriguing, fast-paced and mysterious. Adding supernatural powers, and shady government experiments into the mix adds a little something extra giving me a bit of Stranger Things vibes, even though this pre-dates that by nearly 30 years, so it would actually be Stranger Things that borrowed from it, not the other way around. All the artwork and world-building would be for not if it didn't have a solid story and I think that is where Akira shines. I was pulled in almost immediately and I'm still invested 3 volumes in, even when the characters are frustrating or make stupid decisions, I'm still on board with them and eager to know what comes next. It is certainly action-packed and Otomo's artwork fluidly portrays the action in a realistic way, lending to it being very cinematic. So far it hasn't fallen into many of the pitfalls that manga can be infamous for, truly being it's own work of art and storytelling and I can't wait to get through the whole series!

I had the pleasure of sitting down and reading Akira Volume 1 last night. The illustrations are amazing, although I had a hard time figuring out what was going on in some of the action scenes (and there are quite a few). I also took the time to read the publisher's note in the back of the book, and I'm embarrassed to admit that I just don't know enough about manga to really understand the impact this style of drawing and storytelling had on the world when it first premiered. Because it seems so familiar to me, I will assume that what I read now has been heavily influenced by Katsuhiro Otomo's work in Akira.

That said, I was not wild about the story. The main characters were punk ass idiots who are very violent by nature. In a time of rebuilding and new growth, this group of motorcycle brats are the scum on everyone's shoes. They almost run over a creature that is a government (?) experiment on the run and are changed forever. They also trip over free motorcycles on the street whenever they are on the run. How convenient!

I didn't quite understand the society. I tried to use Kei's character as a guide for how woman are treated (as an equal by her fellow rebels but as an object by Kaneda). I have read enough manga to know that often what I feel is disrespect and abuse, the author intends as “flirting”. The drugs seem to be a large part of society. Without a “normal” character to use as a baseline, it is kind of hard to tell how much is everyday life in Neo-Tokyo and how much is the underground culture.

What interests me the most are the numbered subjects of the government experiment. I would like to know more about them. And Akira, of course. So, I will continue to read.

Read for She Geeks in March.