Akira: Book 4
No. 4 in the Akira series
by Katsuhiro Otomo
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Dark Horse Manga (Milwaukie, Oregon): September 2001. Trade paperback: 400 pages. ISBN-10: 1-56971-526-2 Suggested retail price: $24.95 (US) Tags: drugs; gangs; Graphic Novel; guns; Japan; made into movie; Manga; motorcycles; Tokyo Tactical strength: [7/10] |
Compare prices on Akira: Book 4 by Katsuhiro Otomo at Book Cost
A lot happens in Book 4 to move the plot forward, but nothing really gets resolved. The United States Army has dropped special forces into Neo-Tokyo with a mission to observe and possibly destroy Akira. Ryu hooks up with one of the commandoes. Ryu hopes to share information, but the soldier remains aloof.
Tetsuo visits Miyako, and she tells him about the metaphysical aspects of his power. She implies that the power originates with the big bang, and that power remains streaming all around us. Tetsuo, Akira, and the others in the project have evolved to a point where they can tap into the power. Miyako tells Tetsuo that to achieve his full potential, he must stop using drugs, and despite not understanding most of her speech, Tetsuo does give up using pills.
Kei meets Miyako, and Miyako convinces Kei that she must bring Masaru and Kiyoko to the temple. Kei and Chiyoko try to take the children to Miyako's temple, but get separated while fighting soldiers from Akira's Empire. Kei manages to get Masaru to the temple, but the empire troops manage to corner Chiyoko. The Colonel rescues Chiyoko and Kiyoko. When he learns that Lady Miyako bears the number 19 from his project, he loads Kiyoko in a tank and makes his way toward the temple.
Tetsuo neglects running the Empire, and without his direction, his henchmen decide to attack Lady Miyako's temple. At first, the acolytes in the temple with the aide of many citizens repel the Empire troops, but the Empire launches a second strike and the temple looks doomed.
In the break between the two Empire attacks on the temple, Kei meets Keisuke, one of the riders from Kaneda's motorcycle gang. They buddy up and reminisce about "old times." As the Empire starts it's second attack, the Colonel uses the solar laser to defend himself. Firing the laser triggers a reaction in Tetsuo, which releases a large burst of energy. In the burst of energy, Kaneda reappears, disheveled, but nonetheless alive.
Ôtomo has a pretty pessimistic view of human nature. As soon as the government collapses, anarchy reigns in Neo-Tokyo. Almost every time a gang of men encounter Kei, they threaten to rape her. The soldiers of the Empire seem eager to rip off the heads of enemies -- enemies that probably rode the same commuter train as the Empire solders every day. It would appear that Ôtomo believes that human behavior remains just barely in check by government, and that in the absence of police or other authorities, people would throw out all morals and rut and kill like animals.
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