The font was once told to be Impact, but did not match the actual design. Tetsuo breaks open the underground cryogenic chamber and releases Akira, who turns out to be an ordinary-looking little boy. The Colonel arrives with the powerful drugs needed to suppress Tetsuo's violent headaches, extending Tetsuo an offer to join the project. He heads down to Akira's old cryogenic chamber beneath the stadium, carrying her body. Chapters 49–71, originally serialized from March 1985 to April 1986. He storms through Neo Tokyo in order to find Akira, carelessly using his psychic powers to harm the attacking military and civilians alike. Tetsuo’s most prominent characteristic is his inferiority complex. He retreats to Akira's cryogenic chamber beneath the stadium, carrying her body. Due to experimentation, the gene(s) for psychic powers were passed onto Tetsuo (skipping a generation). Examples include Ghost in the Shell and Armitage III. After the city's destruction, Tetsuo—entirely absent during the volume—meets and accosts Akira. The following day, Tetsuo enters the secret military base at the Olympic site, gruesomely killing any soldiers that get in his way. These increasing powers unhinge Tetsuo's mind, exacerbating his inferiority complex about Kaneda and leading him to assume leadership of the rival Clown gang. [61], The series has won much recognition in the industry, including the 1984 Kodansha Manga Award for Best General Manga. [71] Since the initial announcement, a number of directors, producers and writers have been reported to be attached to the film, starting with Stephen Norrington (writer/director) and Jon Peters (producer). Upon learning that Akira is being stored in a cryogenic chamber beneath Neo-Tokyo's Olympic Stadium, Tetsuo escapes the skyscraper with the intent of releasing Akira. As Kaneda and Kei ride through Neo-Tokyo with their followers, they are joined by ghostly visions of Tetsuo and Yamagata. He is perceived both by himself and others, somewhat, as a runt, though this is not necessarily a correct assessment of his character. The psychic trio, fearing he may cause Akira to awaken, try and fail to kill him, which encourages Tetsuo to instead seek him out. The trauma of Takashi's death causes Akira to trigger a second psychic explosion that destroys Neo-Tokyo. [8] The work has no consistent main character, but Kaneda and Tetsuo are featured the most prominently throughout.[9]. In volume three, a chain of events leads to the death of Takemi and the shock and horror this causes Akira results in another psychic explosion that leaves Neo-Tokyo a mess. [15] The setting was again used the following year in Domu, which was awarded the Science Fiction Grand Prix and became a bestseller. Akira and Tetsuo hold a rally at the Olympic Stadium to demonstrate their powers to the Empire, which culminates with Tetsuo tearing a massive hole in the Moon's surface and encircling it with a ring of the debris. [7] Concurrently with working on the series, Otomo agreed to an anime adaptation of the work, provided he retained creative control. This is also where the flashback sequence shows Tetsuo's reliance upon Kaneda since childhood. Crimes These increasing powers unhinge Tetsuo's mind, exacerbating his inferiority complex about Kaneda and leading him to assume leadership of the rival Clown Gang through violence. [64] It won a Harvey Award for Best American Edition of Foreign Material in 1993,[65] and was nominated for a Harvey for Best Graphic Album of Previously Published Work in 2002. This release was presented in the original right-to-left format, with unaltered original art and Japanese sound effects with endnote translations. The latter is best represented in the work by the morphing experienced by characters. The military, led by Colonel Shikishima, attempts in vain to stop him, fearing the threat of another Akira-sized disaster. Colonel Shikishima comes to the base and tries to talk Tetsuo out of his plan; Kaneda and Kei enter the base through the sewers and witness the unfolding situation. [8] It is considered a landmark work in the cyberpunk genre, credited with spawning the Japanese cyberpunk subgenre. Some time after the events of Volume 3, an American reconnaissance team led by George Yamada covertly arrives in the ruined Neo-Tokyo. [62] At an average manga magazine price of ¥180 at the time,[63] the 120 issues serialising Akira sold an estimated total of 120–180 million copies and grossed an estimated ¥22–32 billion ($170–250 million). Originally he had short, lightly-textured hair, but it grew as a result of his acquired powers, nearly reaching his shoulders when not standing up due to radiation. Tetsuo disappears in the subsequent explosion, and Kaneda and Kei come across Akira outside of the base. Kei/Kiyoko briefly does battle with Tetsuo and frees Kaneda. While exploring the ruins of old Tokyo, Tetsuo Shima, a member of the bōsōzokugang led by Shōtarō Kaneda, is accidentally injured when his bike crashes after … Its release in color led to the widespread adoption of computer coloring in comics. [69][70] In 2002 Bandai released a pinball simulation, Akira Psycho Ball for the PlayStation 2. After the Colonel uses SOL to attack the Empire's army, a mysterious event opens a rift in the sky dumping massive debris from Akira's second explosion...as well as Kaneda (who was thought to have died in volume 3). Tetsuo is a young man of below-average height, and is slightly underweight with a very low muscular body. Throughout the volumes, Otomo uses conventions of the cyberpunk genre to detail a saga of political turmoil, social isolation, corruption, and power. Similar to many other characters, Tetsuo's hair and eyes are a very dark brown. He then faces Yamada's team, but absorbs their biological attacks and temporarily regains control of his powers. Tetsuo’s fate is not elaborated upon by the end of the film. Kei's attack awakens Tetsuo's full powers, triggering a psychic reaction similar to Akira's. Tetsuo begins an agonizing withdrawal. Upon learning that Akira is being stored in a cryogenic chamber beneath Neo-Tokyo's new Olympic Stadium, Tetsuo escapes the skyscraper with the intent of releasing Akira. Meanwhile, Kaneda, Keisuke, Joker, and their small army of bikers arrive at the Olympic Stadium to begin their all-out assault on the Great Tokyo Empire. [4][32] The English-language rights to Akira are currently held by Kodansha Comics, who re-released the manga from 2009 to 2011 through Random House. Meanwhile, an international team of scientists meets up on an American aircraft carrier to study the recent psychic events in Neo-Tokyo, forming Project Juvenile "A". [77][78], "Akira (Akira)" redirects here. Although Neo-Tokyo is set to host the XXXII Olympic Games, the city is gripped by anti-government terrorism and gang violence. After his first escape he wears a white sleeveless shirt with dark blue-gray pants and gray boots. Meanwhile, Kaneda, Kai, and their small army of bikers arrive at the Olympic Stadium to begin their all-out assault on the Great Tokyo Empire. They also see the city shedding its ruined facade, returning to its former splendor. [citation needed]. Despite Kaneda's efforts to foster a brotherly relationship with him, Tetsuo feels like he is being bossed around and treated as a subordinate. Kei—accepting the role of a medium controlled by Lady Miyako and the Espers—arrives to battle Tetsuo. With the help of Kiyoko, Masaru, and the spirit of Takashi, Akira can cancel out Tetsuo's explosion with one of his own. "Boku" is a form of "I" that implies humble, soft masculinity, and, from confronting the Espers and Kaneda up until that point, Tetsuo has elected to use "ore", a hard, tough-guy masculine form of "I", instead. He was apparently surrendered by his mother and brought to an orphanage sometime after Kaneda, as shown in one of the flashback sequences in the film.