Published as 2 separate volumes, the 2nd part of the storyboards for Katsuhiro Otomo’s AKIRA is the 2nd batch of titles to be released under the new Otomo The Complete works collection ( see the publish schedule for 2022 here ). If you haven’t already, definitely check out my review for Vol 1 here.

Vol 2 follows the exact same format as the first book, but appended at the end are a sizeable collection of NG storyboards ( comprising of both drawings that weren’t good either and also completed drawings that were left out of the cut for a better edit ), rough drawings and studies by Otomo while working on the final version.

(image below) The first few pages is a visual guide that walks the reader through some commonly used industry semantics; ie camera movement, frame sizes etc used during story-boarding.

(above & below) These are the only few pages in the book that feature colored images, and I believe they are the boards for the last few shots just before the end titles roll. I’m not entirely sure why they are put under the NG/ rough boards section; a more thorough read of the Japanese text will probably tell us.

Now this is interesting to see – a rough layout piece done by Studio Ghibli for AKIRA; perhaps they were subcontracted to handle some work, although I took a look at the end credits and did not spot their name ( or I missed it completely ) – https://t.co/9PRbxtySul pic.twitter.com/gaMYOvMNX1

— blauereiter (@blauereiter) April 16, 2022

(above) As with book 1 and Domu, this volume comes with a nice little bookmark as well as forms for a special gift upon purchase of the entire collection, but this is only applicable for those residing in Japan unfortunately.

Just like the first book, I have nothing but praise for both the technical aspects ( print / paper quality ) and of course Otomo’s ever astounding drawings. Both volume 1 and 2 are meant to be collected as a set to complete the reading of the film, and they come with my highest recommendations.

Availability : At the time of writing this review this title is only for sale from Amazon Japan; hopefully Marketplace stores from other Amazon countries will eventually carry it too. In the meantime, Amazon Japan ships internationally; use my How To Order From Amazon Japan post for a step-by-step guide.

“Akira Storyboards Vol 2 ( Otomo The Complete Works Edition ) 大友克洋全集” art book details :

Dimensions – 6.89 x 0.83 x 9.84 inches
Softcover with dust jacket, 408 pages
B&W with color on select pages, In Japanese language

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