Akira Library

With the manga and anime Akira, Katsuhiro Otomo changed art and pop culture worldwide. Now some of the most admired illustrators and comics artists in the world have come together to pay tribute to this master, in a beautiful tribute art book.

An all-new, complete 35th anniversary hardcover box set of one of the most acclaimed and influential comics of all time, with the original Japanese art and right-to-left reading format for the first time! The science fiction epic that changed anime and manga forever is presented in six beautiful hardcover volumes, plus the hardcover Akira Club art book and an exclusive patch with the iconic pill design.

Akira is widely considered to be a pinnacle of the form - a work of astonishing power and visionary scope, with unsurpassed artistry. Featuring more than 100 full-colour, full-size title-page illustrations not included in the original manga reprints, as well as rarely seen alternate art, preliminary sketches, production drawings and a variety of posters, advertisements and products - all accompanied by commentary from Otomo himself - "Akira Club" is the ultimate companion to Otomo's masterpiece!

This book is the first of a two-volume compilation of the vast amount of storyboards drawn by Otomo himself during the production of Akira anime. Originally published in two volumes by Young Magazine's editorial department in 1988, it went out of print shortly after release and became a long-sought-after rare item. Now, it is finally being reprinted as the first title in the first phase of the “Katsuhiro Otomo Complete Works” series. This marks its first standalone release in over 30 years.

AD 2019: The year the world caught up to AKIRA. Two years before this milestone, author Katsuhiro Otomo worked with artist Kosuke Kawamura to enrobe a Tokyo city block in a collage of gripping moments from the manga that revolutionized an art form. Then, over the next two years, he did it twice more. The result: three electifying compilations of Otomo's art, meandering across the city.

The Akira Book is a complete critical study which includes chapters on: Katsuhiro Otomo’s other manga and movies; his inspirations and influences; the contemporary anime industry; and a section of the views of critics and fans. Every aspect of the Akira movie is explored (animation, sound, music, voices, story, themes, etc). Fully illustrated, including many images of the Akira movie, the Akira manga, Otomo’s other works in comics and cinema, inspirations, etc.