Free Akira, Vol. 2 Ebooks Online
IN THE 21ST CENTURY, Neo-Tokyo has risen from the ashes of a Tokyo obliterated by a monstrous psychokinetic power known only as Akira, a being who yet lives, secretly imprisoned in frozen stasis. Those who stand guard know that Akira's awakening is a terrifying inevitability. Tetsuo, an angry young man with immense—and rapidly growing—psychic abilities, may be their only hope to control Akira when he wakes. But Tetsuo is becoming increasingly unstable and harbors a growing obsession to confront Akira face to face. A clandestine group including his former best friend sets out to destroy Tetsuo before he can release Akira—or before Tetsuo himself becomes so powerful that no force on Earth can stop him.An epic masterpiece of graphic fiction and the inspiration for its stunning animated adaptation, Akira is required reading for any enthusiast of science fiction, manga, and the graphic novel.
Series: Akira (Book 2)
Paperback: 304 pages
Publisher: Kodansha Comics; F First Edition edition (June 22, 2010)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1935429027
ISBN-13: 978-1935429029
Product Dimensions: 7 x 1 x 10 inches
Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (122 customer reviews)
Best Sellers Rank: #10,401 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #27 in Books > Comics & Graphic Novels > Manga > Science Fiction #1800 in Books > Teens
This is the Barnes and Noble edition of Dark Horse's American release of Akira. As a collector of Akira graphic novels, I've had a hands-on with all the American releases and this one is by far my favorite. The presentation is absolutely gorgeous. It features a beautiful black and red hardcover binding with the Akira katakana logo embossed in gold. The slipcover features promotional art done by Otomo for the limited edition release of the laserdisc. The katakana is again embossed on top of the slipcover. The paper quality is good. Nothing has changed on the inside from Dark Horse's printing. If you don't have a copy of Akira already, this is the one to get. The only problem is that Barnes and Noble never printed the rest of the series, so it will stick out from the rest of the set on your shelf. It's $15 list price on the back makes it a smart choice, too as Dark Horse and the Kodansha reprints both retail for double that.
Could I give this six stars? When I was 13 I saw AKIRA in my local theater. Needless to say I was blown away and hooked for life. Imagine my surprise when, years later I found out about the manga! For anyone who has seen the movie but not read the manga you are missing out on about 80% of the story (The movie was condensed from over 2000 pages). The manga answers all the questions left from the movie and adds so much more to the story. The artwork is better than the movie even though the book is in black and white. The story and art crackle off of the pages like electricity. Otomo has such an amazing style that he has ruined other comics for me. Nothing quite compares to his mix of technical and human drawing prowess and his storytelling is second to none.In book 5, the special forces, american Navy, and various cult groups are all after the power of AKIRA even as Tetsuo's power continues to grow. Kaneda, Kei, and the Colonel play bigger roles in book 5, but the real star here is Tetsuo. His powers are immense and the destruction he causes is beyond belief. I wont spoil it for you but beleive me its amazing.The most enduring quailty of AKIRA for me is the fact that the movies and manga require your attention. This isnt a thrown together story where nothing really holds up, if you think there are plot holes you havent figured the story out. Its expertly crafted by Otoma-san and never strays from his vision. The story of AKIRA is excellence of the highest caliber. I love everything about AKIRA and this book is a testament to that.This is just my opinion and I happen to be a BIG AKIRA freak. I have the McFarlane toys, three versions of the movie, and even a back up DVD which has never been opened just in case.
Second volume of six, 'Akira' moves into high gear in this volume.Like the first volume, there are dire hints as to what will happen when Akira is released from his imprisonment - an event which happens in this volume, but one that we observe from some distance.The pace of this volume is faster than the first - it seemed to go very fast, but then I realised how long I'd spent reading it. It is certainly more action-packed than the first, although this shouldn't be confused with having no story. This would have been easy to do, but the story is progressing, although slower than it might be expected by the pace of the action. I'm sure others may have been tempted to tell the story in less space, concentrating on action.Several of the characters from the first volume are prominently on display, including several who were somewhat in the background last time. I expect that some characters will fade into the background, while others become more prominent.Last volume, I suggested that I wasn't certain if I'd go the distance with this story. With this volume, I think it is more likely that I will.
Although it is not stated on the this version, this is only the first volume of the original manga.
It's a classic and the hardcover version is nice to have sitting on the bookshelf. However, the images are "flipped" for Western readers. Everyone is suddenly left handed in the art. It made me nuts. I hope a decent "original" version is released one day
Volume Three of Katsuhiro Otomo's epic sci-fi saga finds the newly awakened Akira being pursued by Kei and Kaneda, the Army, Nazu's militant faction, weirdly-powered flying children, strange Government robots, etc. After being freed from his cryogenic sleep by Tetsuo in the last volume, Akira is still groggy, and so we really don't get any insight into his character, and he doesn't become an active participant in the story until the very end of the book. What an ending, though! After this, the series spins off into totally unexpected territory. This volume seemed like mostly filler, though. The story is basically just a lot of people playing "keepaway" with Akira; He's stolen from Kaneda by the flying kids, Nazu snatches him from the flying kids, etc. Like most long stories (In any medium), the middle lags. Otomo's art continues to be mind-boggling. The amount of detail in every panel is incredible, and you could just linger over the art all day. Even at three stars, Akira 3 is better than most other comics....
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