AKIRA (アキラ^?) is a black and white serial manga or graphic novel by Katsuhiro Otomo. Set in a post-apocalyptic Neo-Tokyo, the work uses conventions of the cyberpunk genre to detail a saga of turmoil.^[1] Initially serialised in the pages of Young Magazine from 1982 until 1990, the work was collected in six volumes by Japanese publisher Kodansha.^[2] The work was first published in an English language version by the Marvel Comics imprint Epic Comics, one of the first manga works to be translated in its entirety.^[3] Otomo's art on the series is considered outstanding, and the work is a breakthrough for both Otomo and the manga form.^[1] An identically titled anime film adaptation was released in 1988, shortening the plot, but with its structure and scenes heavily informed by the manga and its serial origins.^[4]

The manga takes place in a vastly larger timeframe than the film and involves a far wider array of characters and subplots. Through the breadth of the work, Otomo explicates themes of social isolation, corruption and power.

Otomo's Akira projects – the manga and its film adaptation – marked his transition from a career primarily in the creation and design of printed manga to one almost exclusively in the creation, direction and design of anime motion pictures and television.