The Akiba: The Review

Japan Publications Trading’s 97 page glossy guide book The Akiba: A Manga Guide to Akihabara, much like Tokyo’s compact Akihabara district itself, packs much more into its small area than expected. Readers will find The Akiba informative, and prospective tourists will find it invaluable.

The Akiba is evenly divided between an informative short manga and conventional guides to the Akihabara district and its signature locations. The short, self-contained manga illustrates the story of Yoko Minamoto, a young woman who ventures into the unfamiliar wilderness of Akihabara in search of her boyfriend who visited the district but didn’t return home. (Don’t worry. Although the manga story does include a brush with danger, no harm befalls the characters, and Akihabara is typically perfectly safe for tourist visitors.) Readers used to the most popular manga titles in America may be briefly put off by illustrator Makoto Nakajima’s relatively realistic drawing style, which even incorporates occasional photo backgrounds – fitting for a manga story designed to introduce a real life location. While it’s not conventionally attractive, the manga art is practical and effective, and the story and characters engaging enough to keep readers interested.

The manga traces Yoko’s journey through Akihabara, pointing out locations of interest and introducing aspects of “Akiba” culture, although the illustrated story depicts, but doesn’t address the Japanese etiquette of bowing. To its credit, the manga story expands its focus beyond just the conventional anime and manga core of modern Akihabara, introducing readers to the district’s music scene, local police station, office buildings, electronics stores, and even a bit of the district’s history. For manga purists, the panels are arranged in Western style left to right, but sound effects are retained in original Japanese. References and Japanese jargon is extensively annotated by helpful footnotes. Although there’s a typo on the back cover (“servise” is spelled wrong), the interior translaton is natural and easy to read.

The rear half of The Akiba consists of a useful annotated map, an interesting brief but thorough summarized history of the Akihabara neighborhood, and full color illustrated thumbnail introductions to Akihabara area maid cafes, large retail stores, restaurants, computer and computer game stores, audio equipment stores, doujinshi retailers, cosplay specialty shops, collectible figure stores, video game arcades, and more. Each entry is provided by the retailer and structured to the consistent format of The Akiba book, which allows the entries to focus precisely on the individual strengths and specialties of each business. Furthermore, because The Akiba was composed in Japan and assembled from Japanese entries, it covers countless establishments that foreign visitors might easily overlook.

The fascinating entries briefly and concisely deliver a whirlwind tour of Akihabara. Casual readers will be amazed at the variety of establishments covered, and their unique services and characteristics. Tourists planning to visit Akihabara will appreciate the useful pointers toward businesses and stores to visit while touring the area. Because the book is so recent, current as of 2008, it’s especially relevant and useful to contemporary readers. The Akiba is a thoughtfully assembled visual guide to Tokyo’s Akihabara district, the world’s otaku mecca, that’s informative and enjoyable for any reader interested in otaku pop culture.