Akira Volume 4 [Paperback]

Well, creator Katsuhiro Otoma has taken the status-quo, and turned it upside-down with Volume 4. Neo-Tokyo is now a wasteland, with warring factions of savage survivors roaming the streets.....and Akira and Tetsuo as their King and Prime Minister, respectively. Tetsuo is busy creating an army of psychics to strengthen his reign, Kaneda is apparently dead, Kei and Chiyoko are desperately trying to protect the surviving "Children" (Akira's fellow psychic powerhouses), and the outside world is trying to figure out just what in the hell is happening in Tokyo.

The book is a non-stop thrill-ride, and Otomo's art continues to be breathtaking. I could have done without the almost continuous "Kei is about to get raped" motif (The series takes a MAJOR "Mature Readers ONLY" turn as of this volume), but aside from that minor quibble, Akira continues to be well worth the money. Highly recommended!

On with the story itself! Neo-Tokoyo has blown up once again, thanks to that Chile-god,Akira! (Actually, I think Nezu should be the one to blame; I mean, he's the one who fired the gun! The little gofer-faced weasel in the cheap suit!) Hey, if they rebuild Neo-Tokoyo, would it be called Neo-Neo-Tokoyo? Anyway, Now Akira and Tetsuo have joined forces and rule half of Tokoyo, with an army of trigger-happy mainiacs serving them! The other half of Tokoyo is "ruled" by the kindly Lady Miyoko and her priests, who run a temple for the sick and needy. Truth be told, I think Tetsuo and Akira couldn't give one hoot in heck what happens to their empire: Akira just plays with some toys and rocks, and Tetsuo spends the whole issue trying to get over his drug problem. The only person who really seems to care about the Empire is Tetuo's aide (we never find out his name).
Now, when Nezu died, I thought "Uh-oh. There's a gap of slimy evilness left open here. How will it be filled?" Luckily, Otomo is a genuis, and also saw this gap, so he filled it with this new villian. Now, everyone refers to this guy as the commander, but by no means does he look like an army guy: Instead, he's much, MUCH seedier. He basically has big, elvis style hair and wears a suit and tie. He's the type of guy who barks orders to guys who have lower ranks than him, but quivers in fear whenever Tetsuo shows up. As the story progresses, he grows steadly more deranged, and before long, he's leading the empire into a full-out assault against Miyoko, cruely slaughtering priests and sick refugeess. Basically, Otomo really wants to point out that this guy is EVIL, and he does it very effectivily. He's yet another obstacle our heroes have to get past in order to kill Tetsuo.

All in all, the story is very good, and I liked all the new baddies that were added (Tetsuo's aide, the big guy in the glasses, the ugly ape (as Yamada called him), and the birdman(the guy with the blindfold))Keep up the good work, Otomo!

oh, and on a side note, some people may dissapointed that Kanedea was not in this one. But, i think it was good maunever. This way, Kie is the star of this one, and therefore her character is developed a lot more.