Welcome to 21st-century neo-Tokyo, a vast metropolis built on the ashes of a Tokyo annihilated by an apocalyptic blast of unknown origin that triggered World War III. The lives of two streetwise teenage friends, Tetsuo and Kaneda, change forever when dormant paranormal abilities begin to waken in Tetsuo, who becomes a target for a shadowy government agency who will stop at nothing to prevent another catastrophe like that which leveled Tokyo. At the core of their motivation is a raw, all-consuming fear of an unthinkable, monstrous power known only as￯﾿ﾽAkira.

One of the crown jewels of graphic fiction, Katsuhiro Otomo's stunning science-fiction tour-de-force is a bold and breathtaking epic of potent narrative strength and astonishing illustrative skill. Regarded by many as the finest work of graphic fiction ever produced, Akira stands alongside the great science-fiction novels and films and is the inspiration for Otomo's brilliant Akira film, an internationally acclaimed classic of animation.

"Admired by Kurosawa and Moebius, Katsuhiro Otomo has for twenty-five years been the top modernist in Japanese comics. If you're lucky enough to be new to Akira, you will see how underground and mainstream alike owe him more than they ever repaid. . . ."
—Pulp magazine

". . . as the New Cinema demolished the old Hollywood style of filmmaking . . . Katsuhiro Otomo . . . shattered the conventions existing in manga."
—Asahi newspaper

"Packed with gravity, mystery, and power."
—Comics Buyer's Guide

". . . utterly unlike anything you've experienced before."
—Warren Ellis

"Woven throughout the story is a substantial amount of social criticism, political intrigue and dark humor. . . . Clearly illustrates why this epic sets the standard for other manga."
—Chris Cummins, Philadelphia City Paper