Publisher Kōdansha announced that his classic manga Akira -- which debuted nearly 40 years ago -- is officially in its 100th printing

"Thank you for reading for such a long time," creator Katsuhiro Ōtomo told fans, as reported by CrunchyrollAkira was a serial in Weekly Young Magazine from 1982 to 1990 and then was collected in six volumes beginning in 1984. Marvel translated the series into English and republished it in digital color, in a 38-issue run under the Epic imprint from 1989 to 1995. Akira was the first manga translated into English for the Western market.

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The sci-fi action series was set in a post-apocalyptic Tokyo, which was demolished during World War III and re-established 30 years later. Biker gang leader Kaneda and a band of allies strived to save Neo-Tokyo from Tetsuo, his childhood friend. Because of a secret military experiment, Tetsuo became a powerful telekinetic who aims to revive Akira, the force that had flattened the city during the war.

Akira was adapted into a successful and acclaimed anime in 1988, directed by Ōtomo, although it pared away much of the original story. However, efforts to adapt the manga into a live-action film version have been stalled for nearly two decades.

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Source: Crunchyroll