Volume 2 and Akira is already awake! Where on earth is this story going?!

This second volume really ramped up the action. The entire thing was basically a string of action scenes connected with short bits of dialogue. It made for a very fast and exciting read, while still moving the plot along. In the first volume, we were left with a lot of questions, but this did a great job of answering a lot of the big ones while leaving more to discover, so it didn't feel like the reader was being teased along continuously as can happen sometimes in some serialized stories.

I love Katsuhiro Otomo's art in these. He really was the master of the cityscape. Some of these panels have an unbelievable amount of detail in them.

I'm wondering if the rest of the volumes will continue at this breakneck pace or if it will slow down a bit. There was enough setup in the first volume to carry this one through, but there wasn't much in the way of character development in this second volume. On one hand, I'd be interested in the story slowing down for the characters to connect a bit more, but on the other hand, he does action so incredibly well. Reading this feels like watching a movie. It is just so cinematic. Some comics, particularly older comics, can feel like each panel is a static pose with minimal implied movement, but in Akira, the panels just flow together so well. It really struck me while reading this just how far Katsuhiro Otomo was ahead of his time. This just doesn't read like most 80s comics.

Four more volumes to go and looking forward to it.

Book Blog | Twitter | Instagram

Todavía mantiene elementos de la película pero traspasados a otros momentos completamente diferentes. Algo me dice que cuando termine de leer el manga voy a apreciar muchísimo más la adaptación al cine.

AKIRAAAA!!!! So fast paced! Love seeing the rise of a hero and a villain — the fucking blueprint!!

A compelling continuation of the first volume. I continue to love the detail to expressions and the mechanical environments of this dystopian Tokyo. Some of the best line work I've seen in comics - manga or Western - period.

Though this is definitely an action-focused volume, it wasn’t tiring, and I’m incredibly impressed by Otomo’s ability to hold the tension for 300 pages (basically) non-stop. 9.25/10.

So far this series is like a movie. There are so many layers of intrigue to work through, I could not put it down. Not to mention the art is gorgeous. GORGEOUS. Every page is so lovely you just want to take a few minutes to stare at it. I couldn't help myself and I doubt others who are really into manga and graphic novels can either. Can't wait to get my hands on Vol. 3!

Although I thought this volume was a bit more uneven than the first, it does still propel the story forward by leaps and bounds, the artwork continues to be amazing and the world-building continues to grow in some interesting ways I hadn't anticipated, so I ate this one up pretty quickly. Maybe I have a different outlook because I had the next volume ready to go right after, so I wasn't looking at this volume as a piece on its own and so I maybe was more forgiving overall, but I still think this is a truly solid manga that deserves it's 'best of' status and this volume didn't make me think otherwise.

Action packed!