Tetsuo's power is growing, he has already escaped the military's clutches once which has led to the destruction of most of the other biker gags in Neo-Tokyo and the murder of Kaneda's friend Yamagata! The Colonel is struggling to balance the precarious equilibrium between the military and civilian administrations. Kaneda and Kei have been left in the military's custody. Quite simply Neo-Tokyo is about to explode! What were the experiments that the military tried? What is the source of the powers that the kids wield? Exactly how powerful is Tetsuo? And can the Colonel retain control of a city slipping further towards anarchy?

Now I know that may all sound a bit melodramatic, but I think it's important to try to get across the depth and scope of the storytelling of this series. After the dramatic ending of volume 1 when Tetsuo has finally accepted his designation as number 41 after decimating all the biker gangs of Neo-Tokyo, this volume picks up with more development of the political frictions that are threatening to tear the city apart. Not only is Nezu developed further (just from the character design you knew this guy was going to be no good) and the introduction of Lady Miyako sets the stage for the forces seeking the end of the military involvement as well as explaining more about the high level of interest in the Akira project.

As with the first volume the artwork and script/plot are of an exceptional quality. The plot and characterisation continue to impress, characters are changing within the new circumstances and growing as individuals. Already we can see the shifting allegiances that will shape the relationships mongst the characters in the later volumes. Of course the plotting is tight and exciting, but revelations and action sequences never see to be used at the expense of developing the characters. The artwork is of a similarly flawless level as the first volume. The Dark Horses editions run the first 3-5 pages of each volume with the painted art from Otomo with the rest of the pages being in the original publications black & white linework. This artwork is, for me personally much better than the coloured edition that was published by Epic and Titan. The clear linework appears to have greater clarity without any colour.

The pace of the story really does to speed up in this volume: we have psychic battles between Tetsuo and some of the shriveled kids, fans of the movie will remember the firing of the satellite SOL, and also the awakening of Akira. The plot threads are starting to come together, and it will have you hooked in from start to finish. It is also setting up for an action packed third volume. Really I am mad about this series, fans of the movie (and lets face it, who isn't?) will really enjoy this series as it is the same story on a much greater scope, but anyone who likes sci-fi tales and political intrigue will find this a worthy read.

10/10