Reviews

This manga was nothing short of revolutionary. I can only imagine Katsuhiro Otomo had a vision, and suddenly knew what future manga should look like. The character designs were out of this world, and immediately copied by his contemporaries (most notably Naoki Urasawa, or even in shoujo (Banana Fish)). Every detail in his artwork was breathtaking and a giant leap forward for the medium in general.
The pace picks up a few notches compared to any other manga of the time. And the psychological mindfuckery may seem normal to anime-lovers, but it wasn't ever done this effectively, until Otomo came along and added the intensity that was needed in existing manga about ESPers.

It was Akira that made Otomo so influential, but Doumu was first, and I'd even call it a more satisfying read. While Akira was lengthy and could be blamed for having one or two chase-sequences too many, Doumu is a short and powerful smack in the hypothalamus. It deserved all the credit and awards it got.

Akira will be remembered, but for me, Doumu gets the extra points for being Otomo's first longer work, introducing his suspenseful, intense and at times gory style, which fan boys appreciate so much in all their current favourite anime.

Also features: beautiful drawings of exploding buildings