Akira was a revelation for me the first time I watched it.
A high school friend got me a bootleg VHS copy of the anime, and it became my gateway into the world of anime and manga. This was back in 1995, around the same time Dragon Ball premiered on SIC and also the year I got Internet at home. What a decade that was!
Akira has always been, and will always be, my first and favorite anime movie. The artwork, the soundtrack, everything about it resonated deeply with me. Years later, I read the manga in English and was amazed to discover how different it was from the film. The anime was only loosely based on the manga, almost like an alternate version of the story. Given how expansive the manga is, it’s understandable that the full storyline couldn’t fit into a single movie. Even now, I still wish for a full Akira anime series that adapts the entire manga.
Yes, I’m a proud owner of Kaneda’s bike!
Earlier this week, I was dragged by my kids into our local FNAC, and I noticed Akira Volume 1 on the shelf. At first, I brushed it off. I’d seen this volume displayed plenty of times before. It was the JBC Portugal edition from 2018, which, as far as I know (though I might be wrong), never had the following volumes released. That was actually the second time Akira was published in Portugal. The first was back in 1998 by Meribérica / Liber, released in smaller, comic-style volumes.
This was the best thing to own in the 90’s before the DVD release!
But this time, something caught my eye: there were multiple volumes on display, which was unusual. That’s when I realized it was a brand-new edition! This time from Distrito Manga / Penguin Random House Portugal!
I was thrilled. The new edition looked fantastic (although not hardcover, unfortunately). The print quality was excellent, and being published by Distrito Manga (who are already releasing many manga titles in Portuguese) gave me hope that we’ll finally get the complete series.
Of course, I bought it and brought it home. It did not disappoint.
It’s wonderful to see iconic titles like Akira and Dragon Ball being reissued in Portugal with such quality and care, for both the works themselves and for the fans.
I’d say the manga scene in Portugal is really starting to flourish!
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