Akira 35th Anniversary Box Set

Great books. The packaging was so annoying to get through, but in a good way. Double boxed and styrofoam padding. Everything arrived in perfect condition.

Kodansha really knocked this one out of the park. There's a attention to detail here that's impressive on multiple levels for Akira/Otomo fans. The overall box is impressively, surprisingly, larger than you might expect from seeing photos. I've had the set now for a few months and am still debating where/how I should display it. The 'clamshell' opening reveals the spines to all the hardcover editions as well as some impressively laid out artwork on the inside of the box. It's hard not to be impressed when you initially see the entire set. Fortunately, that level of detail and thoughtful design touches aren't isolated to the outer enclosure. I found that the same attention to detail and most every decision Kodansha made appears to be made with fans in mind. Each volume of the manga has different artwork for the 'actual cover' and the dust sleeve. The internal pages/paper are definitely higher quality than your typical manga. I've seen a lot of people state in various reviews that the paper is typical for manga and this just isn't true. It is definitely thicker stock than typical, but it is still a matte finish. Personally, I prefer the matte finish as it's closer to what you'd expect from the source material. I found no issues with the binding on any volume in my set and the outer box had no visible damage. Everything looked crisp on the page to me so I didn't have any complaints about the print quality. The Akira Club book is pure fan service bliss if you grew up a fan of the film. It really serves as a time capsule taking you back to the time the Manga was running and the film was released. I found it a lot more interesting than I originally expected it to. If you're a fan of the film and have never bothered to read the entirety of the original manga this is a great way to get it all at once in a very handsome collection that you won't regret having on your shelf for years to come. The manga expands and extends the story from the film in numerous ways that make it well worth your time. It is in no way a 'retread' if you are only familiar with the film. Otomo's artwork alone is worth the price of admission here and is frequently mind boggling considering the era it released in. If you've already read this or own a previous form of it maybe it's time to upgrade your collection. I can't imagine how they'd improve on this collection with a later release down the road. Finally, there's the patch and it's awesome. If I really had to think of criticisms of the set I could only think of a few. - There are some very minor binding 'fit and finish' issues with the collection's box. - Some people might not like the right to left reading orientation or the 'sound effects' being in their original untranslated form throughout the collection. This is ultimately a personal preference because it's not difficult to figure it out without checking the translations, and I, for one, appreciated these decisions as I think most manga fans would agree. This isn't even really a criticism, but something I could see some people taking issue with. Finally, if there were shipping issues in the past those appear to have been resolved. My collection was shipped in a internal box that was then held in place with foam inserts in a outer box. Any damage that would have occurred wouldn't have been due to poor packing in my case.

This is one of my favorite manga, telling a thrilling and original cyberpunk story with gorgeous art and incredible world building. The comic tells the story of a pair of boys, Kanneda and Tetsuo, part of a biker gang on the streets of Neo Tokyo. It soon becomes evident that Tetsuo has developed some kind of psychic power, and he splits from the rest of the gang. Things spiral out of control as Tetsuo uses his power, and eventually the entire city of Neo Tokyo is changed because of it. The thing that strikes me most every time I read this series is the art- painstakingly rendered cityscapes, explosions, protest scenes with people rioting and fighting, wild segments of psychic power being displayed, and destruction on a massive scale. All of it in black and white ink. I have encountered few other comics or manga with the same level of dedication and consistency- Akira is an epic of proportions that will be remembered a century from now, one of the greatest science fiction stories ever written. I have only seen two manga of the scale and detail of Akira, Miyazaki's Nausicaa, and Miura's Berserk. It is a rarity to find such dedication to story and art, and to see it all pulled off by one person is impressive. In conclusion, this is worth the buy. Easily one of the best editions of the series, only surpassed by the rare color edition, which is no longer available in english. You will have a hard time finding any comic or manga more classic than Akira, and it is a sci fi tale everyone should read.

Caught this on sale and decided to treat myself for prime day. Have seen the movie plenty of times and love it. There is so much more to the story when you read these, though. The art is amazing, and they look great on my bookshelf.

Absolutely one of the best collections I’ve bought. The pre-order price was a good deal ($107.99). It’s an insanely heavy box with all six akira volumes in hardcover with colored book jackets. The end sheets are colored as well. Each volume begins with summaries of previous volumes, art, and glossy intro pages, which are all colored too! There’s a preview at the end of each volume and sometimes related extra artwork. An index for non-translated sound effects are also located at the end of each book if you really want to know the English translations. You also get “Akira Club”! It’s an art book consisting of Akira illustrations, title pages, promotional art, and unpublished work. The unpublished works section is a treat to read through. It shows tons of artwork, process, and words by Otomo himself on certain design decisions and outtakes. On top of 35th anniversary edition volumes and art book you also get a patch with the iconic pill graphic. The box itself is also really cool. The only bad thing was the shipping of the set. My brother and I both preordered this and both of our shipping boxes were destroyed. There was hardly any package materials inside the shipping box to protect the collection. My box set has a ripped side panel (didn’t find out until I opened the box and the panel came off...) and my brother’s had extremely crushed corners. Luckily Amazon is okay with sending replacements to us. I’ll provide an update on the replacements’ conditions. Hopefully they’ll be better packaged because if not I would recommend buying this in person instead of having it shipped to you. UPDATE: The replacement collections Amazon sent are in pristine condition! They changed the huge shipping boxes to smaller ones, so the collection doesn't bounce around and get damaged. Hopefully they do this for all the future shipments of this box set.

I understand why some people are raving fans of Akira. It is dynamic. Akira is about a bit creepy kid and the future of Japan rests with him.

It feels like an ancient runic you accidentally stumble upon and feel unworthy to even touch it because of it’s overwhelming beauty. I had to sell a kidney to buy it but I think it’s worth it cause if THIS isn’t peak I don’t know what is.

بوكس سيت عظيم وبديت اقرا المانجا بسببه

It's a classic Manga. Hollywood is trying to make a live-action movie of it for years now. It came well packed and in mint condition. Thank U and keep up the good work.

He esperado adquirir esta edición de Akira por mucho tiempo, y definitivamente valió la pena. La caja es preciosa, las ediciones en pasta dura con sobrecubierta son increíbles. El libro de arte es un extra buenísimo. Tengo dos ediciones de panini en pasta blanda, las del box set son ligeramente más grandes. La diferencia es que está en inglés. La conseguí por $2,500 pesos. No es mucha diferencia de lo que me hubiera costado el pack de panini. Así que vale completamente la pena. Estoy muy contenta con esta compra.