The Conclusion of Akira, Volumes 5 & 6

The Climax of Katsuhiro Otomo's Epic Manga Series

Jun 28, 2009

Akira's final volumes depict the decisive battles for Neo-Tokyo, as the Akira manga anticipated the rise of graphic novels, Cyberpunk, and Japanese-American design.

Akira, by Katsuhiro Otomo, debuted in 1982, and was serialized over the next decade. In 2000 and 2001, Dark Horse Comics released an edition of Akira in English, with art mirrored to conform with Western reading conventions. The manga was split into six volumes, since it totals over two thousand pages.

Volumes 1 and 2 of Akira introduce rivals Kaneda and Tetsuo, teenage motorcycle gang members who get caught up in Project Akira, which is led by "the Colonel." While Kaneda allies with resistance fighters Kei and Ryu, Tetsuo begins to develop dangerous powers.

In Volumes 3 and 4, Neo-Tokyo is destroyed by the psychic power of Akira. The survivors begin forging allegiances with various psycho-kinetically-powered leaders. The factions split between Akira and Tetsuo on one side, and Lady Miyako and the other Project Akira children on the other.

After Kaneda is reunited with Kei, he and Kaisuke, one of Kaneda's old bike gang, meet with Joker, former leader of the Clown gang. Joker has been scavenging weapons and vehicles in the ruins of Neo-Tokyo, and agrees to unite with his old rival Kaneda to stop Tetsuo.

The Colonel, also anxious to kill Tetsuo before his power grows even more, first returns Kei to Lady Miyako's temple after Kei is injured by zealots from Tetsuo's "Great Tokyo Empire." Then the Colonel sets out to confront Tetsuo. Once Kei recovers, Miyako and the other surviving children of Project Akira convince Kei to let them use her to channel their own power to stop Tetsuo.

Meanwhile, Tetsuo rages out of control. He attacks an American fleet sent to stop him, and rips a massive hole in the moon, causing tidal shifts which deluge the ruins of Neo-Tokyo. Kei appears on the deck of the American carrier, and she and Tetsuo do battle, but this first confrontation ends in a draw.

Kei and Tetsuo continue their battle at the shattered Olympic Stadium, and Kaneda shows up to fight his old friend with a high-tech laser gun. Neither gains the upper hand, and the battle moves across the city, and even into space, as the psycho-kinetic children use their powers through Kei.

Eventually, they cause the collision of two "Akira phenomena," which draws Tetsuo into the spirit world, and almost pulls Kaneda in with him. But Kaneda, Kei, and their friends survive, even as a new shock wave rips through Neo-Tokyo.

In the aftermath, United Nations troops descend on Neo-Tokyo, bringing food and supplies. But Kaneda, Kei, and their new allies warn the international forces away, declaring that they now control the Great Tokyo Empire – and Akira as well, who is still alive. Then they ride off on their motorcycles.

Despite its 1980s origin, Akira has aged gracefully. Its futuristic world remains convincing, perhaps because the focus is on supernatural phenomena, not high-tech gimmickry. Most of Akira's hardware, such as laser satellites or police robots, likely won't become a reality soon. Only one technological aspect seems dated: in an early scene, resistance agents exchange a roll of film documenting surveillance on Project Akira.

Akira has been seen as a precursor to Cyberpunk, the mid-1980s science-fiction movement concerned with urban decay, the spread of computer networks, and the relationship between people and technology. Akira has many of these elements, but none are quite as pervasive as they are in pure Cyberpunk works such as William Gibson's novel Neuromancer (1984).

The graphic design aspects of the Akira manga hold up especially well. Katsuhiro Otomo's cinematic approach anticipated similar storytelling techniques in American graphic novels. Also, Japanese influence on Western design was on the rise in the 1980s, so Akira's aesthetic wouldn't be strange to readers familiar with Transformers cartoons, Darth Vader's samurai-style helmet, or the Japanese-inspired U.S.S. Excelsior ship model from Star Trek.

In any case, the last two volumes of Katsuhiro Otomo's Akira – indeed, the work as a whole – stand out as manga masterpieces for their artistic precision, cinematic pacing, and thematically complex storyline.

The copyright of the article The Conclusion of Akira, Volumes 5 & 6 in Manga is owned by Luke Arnott. Permission to republish The Conclusion of Akira, Volumes 5 & 6 in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.