Akira - Katsuhiro Otomo > Reviews (10)

See what I did there? I thought that was quite clever, you disagree? Oh.
On with the review then!
While round at a course-mates flat, I spotted he was a bit of a comic buff. I paid it no mind and just casually flicked through some of his books while I was waiting for the pizza to arrive.
This is when I came across AKIRA. Which I have promptly read most of, even though I'm not a big comic book fan.
Akira is a Japanese comic book series, the brainchild of artist Katsuhiro Otomo, a ridiculously talented man that I have discovered has done many more works than just Akira, but I haven't checked them out.

The Akira series is set in the future in Neo-Tokyo, a rebuild of Tokyo after the original city was destroyed in some kind of WW III type apocalypse.
I won't divulge the plot too far here, as it is the magic of the book itself, but needless to say it is captivating.

The artwork is phenomenal, so much so that Akira is often used as a reference for Japanese manga and anime students to look at.

Explosions, battles, motorcycles and of course strange powers eminating from humas are all aspects of this wonderful piece of art, the abilities of Otomo are definately shown off in this work. Even if you are not a comic book fan, I would suggest taking a look just for the artwork, which is so seminal to many modern shows and comics.

PROS
*******

Excellent developing plot (much deeper than the film, which is also quite popular)

Fantastic Artwork

Suprisingly funny!

Insight into the fantastic imagination of this wonderfully talented artist.

CONS
*******

Quite Expensive and difficult to find (Recommend trawling shops and eBay)

Dodgy american translation, but without a fluent knowledge of Japanese you're not gonna do much better

Can be difficult to get into - Not being a big comic book fan, it was primarily the artwork that attracted me, although I have found what I've read quite enjoyable.

The Length. The whole thing is about 2,500 pages long.

OVERALL
***********

For comic book fans, this is unbelievable, the length and consistent amazing quality make this very similar to a high budget film production!
I haven't read the whole thing, with it belonging to a friend, but I enjoyed the experience of reading what I have and I would recommend it to anyone with an interest in other cultures, particularly foreign art.