KATSUHIRO OTOMO

AKIRA
BY KATSUHIRO OTOMO

MY FRIEND, MY ENEMY
 old city and putting а stop to it.
WHAT HAS Trouble ensues, and both
GONE delinquents and resistance
BEFORE fighters again encounter
Number 26. Ryu attempts to
reassure the paranormal boy, but
Kaneda is anxious to punish
him for injuring Tetsuo. As
‘they argue, mysterious soldiers
pursuing Number 26 reach the
scene, armed and ready. A
he year is 2030. The world firefight results.
is rebuilding from World Then the ominous Colonel in
War Ill. In Neo-Tokyo, charge of the covert operation
plans are being made to hold the appears with a secret weapon—
next Olympics in the “old city一 Number 27, a crippled para-
where, thirty-eight years before, normal child named Masaru.
the first of the bombs fell. Masaru astonishes the
Kaneda and his friends, resistance fighters by addressing
teenage delinquents, make an Number 26 as Takashi. Kay
unauthorized motorcycle run into and Ryu had previously assumed
the old city to check out the old that Number 26 was the
site. They encounter a terrified Colonel's ultimate weapon—
child, known only as Number the as-yet unseen paranormal
j, possessing extraordinary giant code-named Akira.
telekinetic abilities. During the Kaneda provokes a crisis by
encounter, the paranormal boy pretending to threaten Takashi,
gravely injures Tetsuo, one of who is exhibiting symptoms
Kanedass close friends. Then, he of drug withdrawal. Takashi
vanishes. responds with telekinetic
The next night, at Harukiya, upheavals. Kaneda is again
a tough local dive, Kaneda separated from the resistance
attempts, unsuccessfully, to pick fighters, but he manages to
up a newcomer, Kay. In fact, she intercept and hide a pill meant
and her companion, Ryu, are for Takashi, who is recaptured
part of an underground resis- by the Colonel's men.
tance group dedicated to The next day, Tetsuo—who
learning what is happening in the. following his accident was taken
to а hospital by soldiers— human weapon escape him, the
reappears in school, seemingly Colonel goes to the school the
all right. However, during Tetsuo's next day to collect Tetsuo.
treatment, the Colonel has Under the treatments of the
learned that the delinquent has Colonel’s chief medical officer,
great psychic potential. Tetsuo begins to exhibit
Kaneda has agirlfriend in powerful psychic abilities...and
the school infirmary analyze the 10 undergo great pain.
drug intended for Takashi. It is Meanwhile, Kaneda, trying
similar in substance to pills to spy on the Colonel and learn
Kaneda and his friends take, what is happening to Tetsuo,
but unbelievably concentrated re-encounters the members of
and powerful. the resistance, and is brought
Eager for action, Kaneda, back to their headquarters.
Tetsuo and their gang head out Questioned by Ryu, he denies all
for a rumble with their chief knowledge of the stolen drug.
rivals—the vicious Clown gang. Kiyoko, another of the
A member of the Clowns psychic children under the
comers and begins to beat Colonel's control, announces to
Tetsuo. Kaneda and the rest of her master the disastrous news
his friends rescue Tetsuo, who that Akira—who is asleep, and
astonishes them, first by expected to remain so for some
displaying an uncharacteristic time—is going to awaken
bloodthirstiness, and then by in the near future. Meanwhile,
challenging Kanedas authority. at the resistance hideout,
Determined not to let a new Kaneda encounters a ghost

е Colonel азаги Yamagata

apparition of himself, shouting first, and when Kaneda joins
Akiras name. her, they are able to escape back
When soldiers enter the to the safety of Harukiya.
resistance hideout in force, Later, Ryu orders Kay to stay
Kaneda and Kay manage close to Kaneda and keep
together to escape to Harukiya, undercover. But these plans are
where the bartender agrees to complicated by the arrival at the
shelter them. bar of Yamagata and Kanedas
Overwhelmed by pain, Tetsuo other friends. Kaneda is amazed
breaks out of the Colonels at their tales of Tetsuos new
installation, leaving death in his powers and bloodthirstiness.
wake. When he is cornered Meanwhile, Ryu meets with
alone in the streeet by the Nezu, a resistance leader, and
Clown Gang, Tetsuo uses his they share new evidence on
burgeoning powers to slaughter the scale of the Akira project.
those who oppose him. He takes A spy from the Colonel's
control of the gang, letting them organization learns of the
live in return for the massive Harukiya hideout, but he is
amounts of drugs required to caught and left for dead by a
stave off his agony. resistance fighter.
Kaneda, anxious to recover Ignoring their status as
the motorcycle he left behind fugitives, Kaneda eludes Kay
when he “joined” the resistance, and he and Yamagata lead all
eludes Kay. He is nearly caught of the local street gangs on a
by soldiers in the underground massive all-out attack to stop
tunnels. Kay gets to the lost bike Tetsuo and the Clowns.
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 ОТОМО
GALLERY
IC. Фото introduced his graphic
story saga of Akira in the Japanese bi-weekly, Young Magazine
{now weekly), published by Kodansha Ltd. For many of
these serialized segments, new title page art was created.
Presented here are examples from this work.
М ost of these Young Magazine pieces will be used
in time as color cover art for our Epic edition of Akira.
 P= as we are with the results of presenting
Mr. Otomos work in color, we are also second-to-none in
admiring the strength and design dynamics of his art
in black-and-white and are happy to have this space where
his material сап be shown in а form closer to its
original presentation. In the future, along with art that
relates to Akira, we hope to acquaint our readers
with samples of Otomo's other comics and illustration.
 KATSUHIRO ОТОМО
writer/llustrator 人

SL
- A ° YASUMITSU SUETAKE ` ~ x
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 Û... In the warehouse district of post-World War III Neo-Tokyo,
showdown is taking place. Two young men, once friends, are engaged in a struggle to destroy
other. Kaneda, rebellious gang leader, has a magnum revolver plus his own wit and determination
as weapons. Tetsuo, who recently took over the murderous Clown gang, hasdevastating PSY
powers. He has already used them to Kill, swiftly, explosively. Fueled by drugs and madness, he is
ready to kill again. Hoping to save Kaneda in this unequal clash is Kay, agentofthe underground
resistance movement. Hoping to win over Tetsuo is the Colonel, head ofasecret government
project that needs the youths paranormal power to control a much greater threat on the verge of
awakening... АКВА.

KATSUHIRO OTOMO'S
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