Akira, Vol. 3
Akira, Vol. 3 by Katsuhiro Otomo
Translated by: Yoko Umezawa
Series: Akira #3
Publisher: Kodansha Comics
Published: 1986
Length: 282 pages
I found the first half of this one to be a bit tedious. It’s a cat and mouse chase between multiple groups that just felt bogged down to me. It was full of action and intrigue, but just in a very repetitive and dull way. I wanted to get on with it and was a bit worried for the series.
What I’ve liked, up to now, was that Katsuhiro Otomo never seemed to get too hung up on a particular plot point. I think when a story has a cleverly juicy element of mystery there’s often an urge to draw it out for way too long, but he keeps the story moving by continuously revealing answers and asking more questions. This one felt like it lost that momentum.
The end of this volume really saves it, though. Wow.
Spoilers
Akira going off at the end really came as a surprise to me. Even though I wasn’t that excited about the long chase to acquire Akira throughout this volume, I do think the contrast of that small neighbourhood chase with the final massive explosion of the city really helped bring home the scale of the destruction. This wasn’t just some brawl between a small group of vigilantes and the military. This was much bigger than that.
/Spoilers
6 Comments
Red Metal
A lot of people when talking about Akira say the manga is better than the film. It might be because the film compresses quite a lot of story into two hours. Which version would you say is better?
Rob
I’ve actually never watched the film, so I plan to sit down with it after reading the manga. I’ll do a quick comparison of the two, either in the final volume review or as a separate post.
thebookwormdrinketh
I haven’t read or seen Akira in years!!! Thanks for the reminder, and it’s a shame this one wasn’t great… but, it’s hard for them ALL to be winners!! Hopefully it picks up again with an ending like that!!
Rob
I have a feeling it will! It still definitely enjoyed it, but it was the weaker of the three I’ve read.
Bookstooge
Yeah, some volumes definitely were better than others.
Rob
Yeah, I expected some to be weaker than others. Still loving the series as a whole, though.