Akira Anniversary Box Set To Be Released In October

In celebration of the 35th anniversary of the manga Akira, Kodansha will release a box set of all seven volumes in hardcover.

Ask any American comic book fan to name three Japanese manga even if they have never read one and odds are they will mention Akira.

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Akira by Katsuhiro Otomo long ago transcended just being a Japanese phenomena. Fans of graphic literature the world over know the story of Tetsuo and Kaneda and it has become essential reading. The manga was originally serialized in Young Magazine starting in 1982 and was later collected into six massive collections. The books were later translated and released in the U.S. by Dark Horse Comics in 2000 and then by Kodansha USA.

In addition, Akira also helped usher in the birth of manga gaining popularity in the U.S. The series was colorized by Steve Oliff and released through Marvel’s Epic Comics imprint. It was the first exposure to manga for many American fanboys.

On top of all that, there is the Akira animated film. Based on the manga, it is thought of as one of the greatest animated films ever made. The few American fans who didn’t read the manga were converted into true believers by the spectacle of the film.

Check out the film for yourself.

Now, to celebrate the manga’s 35 anniversary, Kodansha is getting ready to release a box set of the manga in hardcover.

Due to hit shelves in October 2017, the Akira 35th Anniversary Box Set will include all six volumes of the manga in hardcover with all the original Japanese art. It will also have the manga published in the original right-to-left reading format for the first time ever.

The set will also include the Akira Club art book and an exclusive patch. All this will cost you $200, but given the material it is more than worth it.

I’ve read and re-read Akira more times than I can count. It isn’t just one of the best manga ever, it’s one of the greatest examples of sequential storytelling ever created. If you’ve never read Akira, it is long time that you change that.