It was the first anime movie to rock America; and without it anime may have never been as popular in the west. It was brutal and violent. A destructive epic of the cold war, it still elicits a real sense of dread and fear in me. It was Akira, and it's what made me fall in love with anime.

But the movie wasn't all of Akira. So today we're going to be looking at the other part of Akira, and if it could be better than the movie after all.

Most of the time the manga comes before the anime. For Akira this was the case until volume 3. After that mangaka Katsuhiro Otomo stopped to direct the movie. When he came back shifted the story to a more apocalyptic angle. This is the biggest change between the two, as it adds a new theme of survival and hope after the end. The original message and body horror are still there, creating a duality between hope and dread. Another advantage the writing has is more time to set up the story. This means we get to see more characters, and more of their reactions to the story. In the anime the characters were likeable but, hard to get invested in. Yet now with more time, the story makes them far more empathetic and interesting. In this regard, the writing is a huge win for the manga.

But, the manga does take a hit when it comes to conveying the grandeur of the story, albeit at no fault of its own. Akira is definitely an Epic, so being able to convey its big scenes is important. Now don't get me wrong, the manga still conveys all the beauty and terror of the story the best it can. It's just the anime has an advantage because of its medium.

Yet the manga still surpasses the anime. The writing improved upon to such an extent that it's clear which one is better. You should still watch the anime, but if you want to choose one to experience first, make it the manga. Which you can get here.