Akira - Ch. 38 - The Final Chapter

[MangaDex]

 

[Gambino]

not sure if i liked the ending or absolutely fucking hated it. Why did Kaneda and the others celebrate Akira when they weren't especially close to Akira in the first place? shit made no sense, and realistically it would be better for them to accept the aid. Nonetheless enjoyed this thoroughly

 

[djtws4e]

weak ending! stunning art though

 

[FirstDayRegister]

Typical Japanese manga, unsatisfactory and bad ending, last 4 chapters. Too many flaws in the mechanic.

 

[FluxUser]

The ending to me feels absolutely weak and forced. The whole cast of characters, who at this point have little or no meaning relationship with Akira, just all of sudden start to idolize and revere him. Everyone just decides to wallow in the destruction of Neo-Tokyo and embrace Akira. Kaneda is not one to bend to authority, but him proclaiming leadership and refusing the aid feels so illogical. 11/10 ending. The artwork is definitely one the best aspects of this work and more than alone makes up for the terrible ending.

 

[Ceildric]

So, Akira destroyed Tokyo killing countless people, triggered World War 3 and all of its consequences, and who woke up again only to destroy a large chunk of Neo Tokyo, killed countless more people in the process, and ushered in... months? ... of brutal living for the survivors. And somehow that qualifies him as an idol and NOT one of the big bads who most should loathe?

The ending, and really aspects of probably the last 5-10 chapters really felt poorly justified, especially if there was meant to be some kind of “message” to this piece.

I don’t know how to rate this manga. I loved the art style and thought the design was top notch. Everything about the art did its job and more from conveying action, drama, emotion, horror, the surreal, etc. The world really felt fleshed out too, and there was this great set of mysterious circumstances to unravel. There also were a lot of fun and/or interesting characters, though some were kind of inconsistent / unclear in their motivations.

But in the end the author did not seem to quite know how to wrap things up. Or maybe he just did not communicate clearly why we should forgive the likes of Akira and Tetsuo, while being critical of governmental or military forces trying to stop them (or even just provide aid). Or, for that matter, why should we overlook some of Kay’s and Miyako’s hypocrisy (inconsistently advocating peace and being vengeful, or promoting following one’s destiny but also making others die to protect you). Or why support a brat like Kaneda?

I found myself seeing justification for the government and military responses (Japanese and Western) as much or more than I did some of the “rebel without a cause” behavior of the protagonists, especially since said protagonists were often acting as if they had reason to be upset that someone else wasn’t bowing to THEM.

Wasn’t the preachiest manga at least and I couldn’t put it down, so probably will settle on and 8.

 

[RipinRippinGirl]

Man they really butchered this translation.

 

[Oleg_Mangist]

What a disappointing manga, wish I never read it. 3/10

 

[KoolAidMan240]

Kodansha's translation drastically improves the ending, this one hardly makes sense

 

[megasean3000]

People hated the ending? I thought it was awesome. I saw Kaneda and everyone using Akira as a symbol to scare potential invaders, and then rebuilding Tokyo together, not as a sick empire that Tetsuo would have created, but one of peace. After all, if they did let the scientists and army in, they’re going to want to study Akira and the psychics again. After that, it will just be yet another bomb on the city, ready to throw the world into chaos yet again. Kaneda and Kei assuming command of Tokyo ruins prevents history repeating itself. It might not be the most foolproof plan, but they’d be damned if they let Akira’s devastation repeat for eternity.

The only gripe I had was how Kei had psychic powers to rival Tetsuo when she moved the SOL, when before she was barely even keeping up with him. Even if the Number children all combined. But that’s a small gripe. Perfect manga. I can see why people revere it so.