"hakuai no hito" and "sutegataki hitobito", both serialized in the magazine "big gold", marked akiyama's transition towards employing more philosophical themes rather than the gag-based style he had used throughout his early career. akiyama also participated in creating a manga version of the bible, which was published by gentosha in 2005. the same year, he also published , a highly controversial manga which depicted the chinese as being obsessed with cannibalism and prostitution, and denied that the rape of nanking ever occurred. the book went on to become a bestseller in japan despite its incendiary content.