Illustrator and comic book artist Mulele Jarvis came to Tokyo just as he reached adulthood. It was five years after he had first discovered manga near his home in San Francisco, at Kinokuniya Bookstore, next door to Japantown: "That's where I found Katsuhiro Otomo's 'Akira.' I was so impressed by it, I decided I wanted to create Japanese comics instead of American ones."
A student at the San Francisco School of the Arts specializing in painting, Jarvis's choice was not some fan-boy's idle fantasy; he had been preparing for an artistic life since junior high, and he discovered his focus when he encountered "Akira."
"Back then, in 1985-86, you had American superhero comics which were just starting to explore art in the real sense, infusing Picasso and other famous artists into comics. You also had underground works, but there didn't seem to be any room for comics about real people in the mainstream, like in Japanese manga. I started reading so many realistic (manga) stories that manga truly expanded storytelling for me. At 15 or 16 years old, I decided, Japan is the only place I can do this style of comic, so I must go to Japan and learn from them."