The story has already been expounded, even if in a bit of a B-movie review style, by others here so I'll leave that out.

Shown by the magazine experience, it's perfectly possible to pick up the story starting with book 2 or 3 (though, not reccommended).. coming in any later might leave you a bit stranded. Best to treat it like Lord of the Rings and get the whole set. Better yet get someone else to buy it for you!

Next stop... Nausicaä, if it's still available :) oh joy!

Book number 5 of the Akira saga, and the post-apocalyptic action is still going strong! The US and other superpowers finally decide to act to eliminate Tetsuo and Akira, calling in the help of scientific geniuses from around the world. Meanwhile, Tetsuo is continually building his psychic powers, despite the fact that his ever-decreasing public appearances mean that the New Tokyo Empire is gradually losing supporters. Kei also starts developing her powers as a medium, and... Kaneda is back, seemingly from the dead! With this combination, you just know the results are going to be explosive, to say the least.

Some other old characters also make their return, for example the gang leader turned mechanic, Joker (check out his tyre-tread facepaint he's wearing when Kaneda is first reintroduced to him - a nice reminder of when we last saw him!).

Tetsuo himself becomes more and more destructive - first taking apart an aircraft carrier, then blasting a chunk out of the moon (!). Pretty soon, he finds his psychic powers are limited by his human form - cue a whole load of freaky transformatoins! Is there any stopping this raging juggernaught?! I guess we'll just have to wait for Volume 6 to find that out...

This is a great book, and a worthy addition to the ongoing Akira story. The quality of artwork and plotine is as high as ever, although there are one or two semi-noticeable spelling or grammatical errors. Weighing in at 413 pages, you're certainly getting your money's worth from this baby! Long-term Akira fans really MUST own this title, but for newcomers, I'd certainly recommend they start reading at Vol. 1, otherwise much of the plot of Vol. 5 would make no sense whatsoever! Also, although most Akira fans will already know this, it's worth mentioning there is a fair bit of blood and gore, among other adult themes, so maybe this is best not for kiddies or the easily offendable.

To sum up, another healthy dose of futuristic, apocalyptic, psychotic-psychic, high-octane mayhem from Katsuhiro Otomo! Get it while you can!