Yoko Umezawa Books

IN THE 21ST CENTURY, Neo-Tokyo has risen from the ashes of a Tokyo obliterated by a monstrous psychokinetic power known only as Akira, a being who yet lives, secretly imprisoned in frozen stasis. Those who stand guard know that Akira's awakening is a terrifying inevitability. Tetsuo, an angry young man with immense—and rapidly growing—psychic abilities, may be their only hope to control Akira when he wakes. But Tetsuo is becoming increasingly unstable and harbors a growing obsession to confront Akira face to face. A clandestine group including his former best friend sets out to destroy Tetsuo before he can release Akira—or before Tetsuo himself becomes so powerful that no force on Earth can stop him. An epic masterpiece of graphic fiction and the inspiration for its stunning animated adaptation, Akira is required reading for any enthusiast of science fiction, manga, and the graphic novel.

The series is about an orphan girl named Midori, whom is taken in (enslaved) by a traveling freak show. The freak show includes such unsavory characters as a mummyman, a snake woman, and a drooling man with no limbs. The owner of the freak show, the eponymous Mr. Arashi, is a strict man who allows his freaks very little freedom or joy in life. He is especially cruel to Midori. Midori works, not as a freak since she is normal, but as a sort of caretaker of the freaks.