LONG LIVE THE GREAT TOKYO EMPIRE!!!!

There are many subjects and themes explored in this 2000 page epic by Katsuhiro Otomo, from social to scientific. Overall it is about being a youth in a world where no one cares about you. The two main characters(in a cast of dozens) Kaneda and Tetsuo are barely 16. They start out as friends but fate makes them enemies. Kaneda is the leader of a motorcycle gang in Neo Tokyo. Tetsuo was bullied all of his life and when he gets his incredible power all the rage built up over the years comes out and he turns into a juggernaut powerhouse. He destroys Neo Tokyo, and then winds up becoming a god along with Akira, a recently awoken physic destroyer with the same, if not greater, power as Tetsuo. Early in the story it is revealed that Akira is responsible for Word War 3. He winds up being frozen thousands of feet underground. These two wind up changing the whole universe.

The story teaches a lesson about underestimating the younger generation.Other topics are discussed like failing school systems, drug addiction, and shady government business.  Crazy pill popping motorcycle gangbangers speed through the streets beating the shit out of each other, while government officials in their giant office buildings frantically try to- then fail to, avert disaster. There is hyper violence at every turn. It is a story about killer-psychic kids so there are many head explosions . There are also a lot of gunshots to the head. At least a hand full. A lot of folks get obliterated People get crushed in all kinds of circumstances. People freeze. Some have heart attacks. One dude gets his ran over by a motorcycle. There is a lot of violence and Katsuhiro does like to get graphic with it. He is very skilled at drawing people getting brutally killed. Overall it is a really well drawn comic. There are parts where it is just page after page of the ruined  street of a devastated metropolis. Every bombed out office building and pile of rubble is done with great attention to detail. I think the black and white gives the story a more grimy feel. I great deal of the story in color and it was also pretty cool. Its hard to say which i like better because I feel like the color adds an extra level of gloom and dread because its easier to convey darkness. The anime version of Akira, also done in color, gives you a good impression of what its like.He only gets experimental with the actual placement of his frames a few times throughout the story. Instead, he focuses on a more old school approach with standard placement of his frames. Personally I like this idea because there is so much story to be told that to have a lot of weird framing would be kind of distracting. Or maybe it wouldn't matter at all. I am not exaggerating when I say that Akira Is hands down my most favorite story in any medium of all time. An art piece, whether it be comic, tv, movie, painting, whatever, is more likely going to get me interested if it is wildly insane. Akira is just that