By Ira Ishida and Makoto Akane
Published by Media Blasters
Rating: 16 and Older

Anyone who has ever felt like an outsider can find reasons to cheer for these characters. Sure, they’re all otaku, meaning they obsess about hobbies some readers may not be all that interested in, occasionally dress up funny, or display certain anti-ocial tendencies. But this series is less about that, and more about the importance of finding a community in which our abilities are recognized and nurtured, and how that can help us grow into stronger people.

However, as serious as that last sentence may sound, Akihabara@Deep also has action, humor, and visually-exciting artwork. It has an overarching plot that’s refreshingly simplistic in delineating between good and evil: on one side are scrappy otaku like our protagonists, who seek to change the world through their passion and creativity. On the other is Digicap, an IT giant that crushes competition by any means, and wants to be part of a revolution that wipes otaku (whom they despise, of course) out of Akihabara.

Caught in the middle is Page, a young, gifted hacker still on probation for running amok on the web, brought by fate to the mecca of all things otaku. After helping employees of a maid café defeat a malicious computer virus, Page is invited by Akira, a cosplaying military fanatic, to help start up the titular venture with other, equally-gifted otaku. At first he balks, seemingly content to remain anonymous in real life, but eventually realizes, “Inside, I always wanted to be found. Not just me inside the PC screen. The real me.”

Unfortunately, no sooner does Page learn about Akihabara@Deep’s “secret weapon” software than it gets stolen by Digicap. What follows is a race to release the product first. Doubtless, endless panels of computer monitors and fingers rattling a keyboard would get boring, so writer Ira Ishida and artist Makoto Akane’s solution is visual metaphors. Save for one early instance when he’s “warming his fingers up,” whenever Page becomes immersed in a program, he literally falls into a sea of code, we see him piecing together a puzzle, that kind of thing. Likewise, when the main characters go on a quest via an online RPG, they literally enter that world. This represents one of the series’ many odes to “The Matrix,” which was clearly an influence, but it also keeps things interesting from an artistic point of view.

Meanwhile, on a story level, what makes Akihabara@Deep compelling is twofold: it’s watching the characters’ relationships with one another slowly evolve, and their venture taking shape. The kind of setbacks they suffer might bring anyone down, but the series is very much about perseverance, and how friendship can help weather any storm. Throughout the first two volumes, they get rocked by one obstacle after another—realtors who won’t rent to a bunch of otaku, ridiculing bullies, the death of a friend, etc. Fortunately, the bad tidings are always met by strong, occasionally violent resistance. It may seem excessive for Akira to kick some jerk in the head, or whip out a cap gun and blast somebody, but there is a satisfying sense of release, too.

Overall, Akihabara@Deep has a lot going for it, but there was a moment I realized three of the four main characters are relatively attractive, and wondered if the series could be accused of “mainstreaming” otaku. I really can’t speak for the creators, but perhaps they are just trying to show “dorkiness” comes in all shapes and sizes, and how that makes us all the more valuable to one another. After all, doesn’t it take different sorts of folks working together to change the world?

Volumes one and two of Akihabara@Deep are available now.