Akira is set in the post-apocalypse Neo-Tokyo of 2030, a vast metropolis built on the ashes of a Tokyo annihilated by an apocalyptic blast of unknown power that triggered World War III. The lives of two streetwise teenage friends, Tetsuo and Kaneda, change forever when dormant paranormal abilities begin to waken in Tetsuo, who becomes a target for a shadowy government operation, a group who will stop at nothing to prevent another catastrophe like that which leveled Tokyo. And at the core of their motivation is a raw, all-consuming fear. A fear of someone or something, of unthinkably monstrous power known only as "Akira".

Note: Won the 1984 Kodansha Manga Award for best general manga, won the Harvey Award for Best American Edition of Foreign Material in 1993. Was nominated for the Harvey for Best Graphic Album of Previously Published Work in 2002. Won the Eisner Award for Best U.S. Edition of International Material in 2002, the Eisner Award for Best Archival Collection/Project in 2002 and The Akira 35th Anniversary Edition won the Eisner Award for Best Archival Collection/Project in 2018.