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Reviewed by Michael Aronson “21st century Neo Tokyo lies in ruin. Set off by the bullet of a would-be assassin, the godlike telekinetic fury of the superhuman child Akira has once again demolished in seconds that which took decades and untold billions to build. Now cut off from the rest of the world, the Great Tokyo Empire rises, with Akira its king, the psychic juggernaut Tetsuo its prime minister, and a growing army of fanatic acolytes ready to go to any length to please their masters. Forces on the outside still search for a way to stop Akira, and the answer may lie in the hands of the mysterious Lady Miyako, a powerful member of Akira’s paranormal brotherhood. But the solution to harnessing Akira may ultimately be more dangerous than Akira himself!” The halfway point is a good time in any story to shake up the status quo, and arguably no other story does it to greater lengths while retaining a consistent narrative flow like Akira. The city is in absolute ruins and is rendered to extraordinary lengths through Otomo’s pencil. The level of detail here goes so far behind the scope of almost any story out there, and this isn’t just a simple one-off story – it’s a magnum opus of grand scale and grander stakes, pushing the boundary between entertainment and art. Which means there’s a whole lot of visual grandeur. While the details are stunning, the status quo shift isn’t as shocking as it ought to be. It’s a treat to witness the fate of all the characters who were featured up to this point, and the conflict of interests between warring factions, while slightly shifted, carries on as usual through different means. However, despite the developments within, this volume feels like merely an exercise in establishing the new setting and situations while waiting until the final pages to catapult the plot forward. That’s not to say there’s no plot development in the bulk of this hefty volume, but it doesn’t carry the weight it should have, especially since one of the core characters is mysteriously absent and everyone else is patiently awaiting his or her return. Volume four offers a thrilling ride through a post-apocalyptic Neo Tokyo, not to mention panel upon panel of delicious eye candy, but readers may find themselves midway through starting to wonder when the real conflicts and revelations will occur. Though it could be meatier, it fits expectations for the fourth part of a six-part epic. Comment on this review of Akira v4 on the Manga Life Forums. |
6 October 2009
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