Hey, so for those who intend to read the Akira manga, you should probably just go to the library and see if you can find it there now. It's excellent and worth your time, and I'm gonna talk in detail about what happens throughout the series.
I'm also gonna be posting reactions to Akira Vol. 6 as I'm reading it, with pictures from pages I happen to find especially interesting. Quick note: every volume of Akira is pretty darn long, and this one's the longest of the bunch, so it certainly won't be EVERY page and this is probably not the best way to experience Akira.
Before I start, I really wanna talk about how I've spent the last three hours, which is reading the four volumes before it. Because I'd seen the film version and read the first volume, I'd felt that I'd be able to breeze through the previous volumes and pick up on everything going on, but I was dead wrong. Starting with the very end of Volume 2, the plots diverge in such serious ways that the series very nearly becomes unrecognizable. The activation of Akira and the destruction of Neo-Tokyo at the end of Volume 3 through me for a total loop, and the Great Tokyo Empire saga that's followed since then is actually really exciting. The utilization of Tetsuo as a sort of boy-emperor is actually very interesting, and explains quite a bit of the imagery towards the end of the film. His red cape doesn't really suit him in the film, as he's effectively a king with no castle and no people; here, leading the Great Tokyo Empire, he gets to truly lead for quite a bit of time, no matter how much time he spends disregarding those duties.
Imaginary World Of Blinding Lights — Akira Confessed That She Loves Both Amon ,and
However, Tetsuo's effective disappearance in Volume 3 really bummed me out, as I did not find Lady Miyoko's kids very interesting and simply wanted something to happen with Akira or Tetsuo again. I also didn't enjoy the focus upon the normal leader of the Great Tokyo Empire, the guy Wikipedia refers to as Tetsuo's Aide. He's just not especially interesting as a character, though the restructuring of his duties does allow for the GTE to have a presence while Tetsuo just wanders off. The placement of Kaori in the manga also makes a lot more sense; in the film, her affection towards Tetsuo seems entirely misplaced and overly quick, rather than a relationship that's developed over time.
Volume 5, of course, ends with a near-climax. The boys are riding into battle against Tetsuo, who has begun to mutate (as he did towards the end of the film, though he's certainly more powerful here.) Kei, Lady Miyoko, and the Espers are preparing to use Tetsuo to destroy Akira as well. It's an exciting climax to be headed towards, and one that combines my familiarity with the movie and the past few hours of reading this manga. Though many of the circumstances are drastically different, I wonder how these two will compare?
How do you guys feel about the two different versions of Akira? If you've only had experience with one, how do you feel about that one? I'll probably tune in soon with some reactions from the start of Volume 6. I know Tom over at AnimeVice really disliked Volume 6, but he also dissed Ghost in the Shell, so I may totally dig this more than he does.
Details From The Akira Manga That Are Left Out Of The Film
As Kaneda and the boys ride in and are hit by a rocket launcher, the American military takes out a psychic known as Eggman. Then, this happens.
Already, this pretty well displays why I so drastically prefer Kaori in the manga version. She's not mute or terrified like she is in the movie, she's actually got some efficacy here. She seems legitimately thoughtful about Tetsuo, rather than just sort of wandering through the scenes and feeling bad for anybody who's in pain. While the more serious mutation on the next page will be enough to terrify her, here, she's actually got enough sense of mind to initially think to defy him.
Or, as I turn the page, I realize it'll be the next few pages. Gonna probably have to skip out on some of the more graphic mutations, as I don't have a ton to say about them beyond Wow, that makes this really legitimately terrifying. Way to hold no barriers for yourselves, guys.
Tetsuo Shima (manga)
So, the Japanese Colonel (effectively the same character as he is in the film, apart from the fact that his army and nation are long gone) shows up and fires an orbital strike on Tetsuo. Needless to say, this doesn't go well.
FUCK. Well, uh. That's real bad. I don't remember Tetsuo's mutations looking QUITE this much like a giant baby before. It also looks quite a bit more like the Espers than it does in the films, which is an interesting parallel. Doing so has pissed off the American military, who are probably going to sink Neo-Tokyo to get rid of Tetsuo. One of the gang kids, Joker shows up, and gets completely blown to smithereens, but he notices Kei before he leaves. She throws a lightning punch through our giant mutant, and it knocks it down!
And...it doesn't go very well. Tetsuo just sort of mutates some more, which isn't surprising after the orbital strike only made him stronger. Goddammit, guys, this is not how you kill a god.
New Akira Anime Series Announced With New Movie From Akira Creator
EDIT: I guess there's not really interest in this thread, so I'm going to let it die. Needless to say, the last volume of Akira is a page-turner, and even if its finale were going to disappoint me, the ride there is too exciting to dislike.
I want to buy the entire manga, but your idea to go rent it out intrigues me. I've gotta get the Blu-Ray of the movie as well.
Get ready for explosions and freaky monster people and shouting for pages and pages and pages and pages and pages and pages and pages and pages and pages and pages and pages.
The Comics Classroom: Akira, A Cyberpunk Masterpiece
@Little_Socrates I have 1, 3, 4 and 5. For some reason 2 and 6 were expensive as hell when I went on my buying spree so I put it off. Six is that good, eh?
Oh, but for your discussion I'd say I like the Anime better. A lot of cool shit going on in the manga and it'd be awesome if someone makes a good adaptation much truer to the source material some day. But idk man, that anime still makes me happy every time I watch it. The animation still holds up crazy well. And that soundtrack is freaking amazing
I seen the anime a long long time ago, I don't remember it well and it is rather expensive on blu-ray (but apparently it has amazing audio :3). I like the exclusion of Kaneda, it really gives you a sense of dissonance as the main character is gone and the whole city is destroyed. The art is amazing in the manga, I only read some manga but I don't usually see it drawn with so much detail and care. Oh and the last page is amazing. Anyone have a high-res of that?
Amon (manga) Volume 6 (finale) Review
Most of it is people just trying to get from place to place and they blow up the city like four times and the metaphysical bullshit doesn't make any sense.
@wmaustin55: Well, Volume Six really depends why you go to Akira. If you're there for the posthumanism and implications about warfare, the movie is probably the way to go, but for the characters and for teenagers being total dicks, the manga wins out. The animation and score are definitely what drew me to the film, though, and they are totally amazing.
@JOURN3Y: I do actually really like the disappearance of Kaneda in Volume 4. Unlike Tetsuo's disappearance in Volume 3, the absence is something I really felt added to the series, and the characters seemed to be responding far more to Kaneda's exclusion than Tetsuo's. Probably because, y'know, they like Kaneda. As for the last shot, you mean the street view, right?
Understanding The Manga
@august: Well, the metaphysical stuff in the manga doesn't make nearly as much sense, that's for sure. In the anime, they just sort of build off that and use it to add atmosphere more than anything else, and then use it for one of the best final shots I can think of in movies.
@Little_Socrates: I actually like the very final few pages of the manga better than the film (and the overall mysteriousness); I'm thinking more of the leadup to the final shitstorm where they actually try to explain why everything is exploding and the monk is like IF HE MULTIPLIES POSITIVE FORCE BY POSITIVE FORCE, THE WORLD CANNOT CONTAIN IT.
@august: I agree, it brings a whole lot more into the story than needed to be brought in. And it explains why the manga sort of suddenly ends like the movie despite that whole second half not even resembling the movie. I mean, they tied it in fine, it just felt
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