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The second collected volume of Akira is essentially more of what we got in the opening just with even more action.



The story continues where we left off, even though we are mainly focussed on the hunt for Akira now. We're still not entirely sure who he is at this point, but hearing the fear everyone has of his powers makes you want to find out. Kaneda and Kei are less annoying now, too, but maybe that's just because they are too busy avoiding all the people that are out to take them down.

The questions that originally came up are beginning to be answered - we still don't know why the children with old faces look like they do, but at least we find out what they can do. And their sadness seems to come from a place of knowing that the world is going to be destroyed if Akira will be awakened...

I just wish Otomo was more concerned with his characters. While the main plot is captivating and engaging, all people playing a part in it feel a bit archetypical and we don't actually learn much about them as individuals. We've got a bad guy with power, we've got the bad guy pulling the strings, we've got the hero... I have no idea at this point where they're all coming from, what their intentions are and I don't see that changing anytime soon considering the pace the story is moving forward at.

I've had mild complaints about the art in the previous volume, which I would now like to take back - I think the art is a main reason of why this is such a page-turner, with every frame feeling so alive that occasionally I would literally forgot that I am reading and not watching the story unfold. I've got the next volume ready to be read and I'm excited for what's about to happen!