First exposed to the anime as a young teenager, and later reading the manga in college, Akira had a profound impact upon me. I was (and still am) completely floored by Katsuhiro Otomo's magnum opus. How did he brainstorm such a unique, profound, and accessible storyline? And that art. How in the world did he accomplish it? And the movie? OMG.... (though the manga is a much more nuanced and "complete" story) Having recently moved to Guelph, and finding/re-reading the collected works from the main public library, I was motivated to hide our first "series", each cache dedicated to a unique character from Akira.
Takashi (aka No.26) - So this is kind where it all started. That chance encounter between Takashi and Tetsuo... So much hinged on that! Not to mention Nezu and his oh-so-misguided, er, mis-aimed shot. As one of "The Espers", there is a lot of tragic and remarkable background to shy and friendly Takashi. At the end of the day, he was both "just a kid" and also so much more than a kid....
Bee Bait