Otomo The Complete Works #12

Plot

This first volume of the Otomo Complete Works edition of “AKIRA” includes the first 14 installments (up to page 279 of the first volume of the paperback) in their original published form.

Between 1982 and 1983, when Katsuhiro Otomo was 28-29 years old, he began serializing “AKIRA” in Young Magazine, which was in its second year of publication at the time.

This historic work, which had a tremendous impact on the manga world, is renowned for its level of completion. However, it was significantly polished by the author when it was compiled into paperback format.

With additions, corrections, deletions, substitutions, page and panel rearrangements, finishing touches, and new drawings, the version that was finalized and has continued to be read for 40 years since its first edition is the Young Magazine paperback version of “AKIRA.”

Notably, it is well-known that the opening illustrations for each serialized chapter were removed in the paperback edition. However, in this Ōtomo Complete Works edition, the purpose is to “arrange all the works by period to track the author’s changes over time,” and therefore, everything, including the opening illustrations, has been as closely restored to the original serialized state as possible and published in the “serialized version” before any modifications for the paperback edition.

Although some original drawings no longer exist and some parts cannot be restored to their serialized state due to direct corrections on the manuscripts, the mission of this complete edition is to “restore as much as possible to the state at the time.”

The “LIVE serialized version of ‘AKIRA’,” which had completely lost its visibility since the time of serialization, differs significantly from the “finished form of ‘AKIRA'” read in paperback. It perfectly recreates the excitement of its original publication! It is an essential, must-see first volume dedicated to all “AKIRA” fans. Additionally, this edition faithfully restores and includes the extremely rare first installment’s two-page color spread and the serialized color pages as they were at the time.