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Tetsuo Shima
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Birthday: July 29, 2004
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Age: 15
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Height: 5'4"
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Weight: 104 lbs.
Somewhat of an introvert, and possessing a severe inferiority complex, Tetsuo could be considered the main character in Akira. Abandoned as a child and raised in a life of instability, his one constant was his friend, Kaneda. They leaned on each other in their childhood days, and continued to lean as they grew up, eventually belonging to the same motorcycle gang.
Tetsuo's life was changed one night while out riding with the gang. Trying to avoid hitting Takashi in the middle of the street, he suffered serious injuries. Tetsuo was carted off by the government, and started to develop his psychic powers. Holding a grudge against the way he was treated like a nothing all his life, he goes on a rampage throughout Neo-Tokyo, trying to find out just what this "Akira" is. The truth turns out to be a shock, throwing Tetsuo further down the emotional spiral.
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Birthday: September 5, 2003
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Age: 16
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Weight: 116 lbs.
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Height: 5'6"
Egotistical, outspoken, and a womanizer, Kaneda is nearly the polar opposite of Tetsuo. He's the leader of their bike gang, and tries to show off in everything he does. On the night of Tetsuo's accident, Kaneda and the rest of the gang are taken in for questioning. While there, he meets Kei, whom he'll eventually be teamed up with.
Kaneda is independent, and has quite a defiance for the law. He's unwillingly been thrown into the middle of a battle between the government and a resistance faction. Seemingly obsessed with playing the hero and winning the woman, Kaneda makes it his duty to keep Kei and Neo-Tokyo safe from the maniacal Tetsuo. Even though his goal is to bring Tetsuo down, he can't shake the fact that it's his best friend, and he still owes some allegiance to him.
More irritable and ready-to-fight than any other members of Kaneda's gang, Yamagata is one of the more respected members. He's second in the chain of command, and is always ready for a fight. He was even on the front line during the battle with the Clowns. Yamagata meets his match when confronted with a drugged up, psychokinetic, resentful Tetsuo.
Kai is another member of Kaneda's gang. He dresses in preppy clothes to make himself look more intelligent. He is loud and outspoken like Kaneda, but also stuck in the gang's lower ranks like Tetsuo. Kai sticks by Kaneda all the way to the end, being one of the only other survivors of the Akira explosion.
Kaori
Kaori is Tetsuo's girlfriend. From early on in the movie, it's shown that they care for each other. After escaping from the hospital, Tetsuo runs to Kaori. He makes a comment that they should "Run away together." "Where to?" asks Kaori. "Anywhere. Someplace far away." Replies Tetsuo. This short dialogue sums up their relationship. Kaori shows nothing but love and compassion for Tetsuo. She refuses to leave his side, even up to the very end where he's more monster than human. It might not be the wisest choice, but she does it out of love for him.
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Ryu
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Birthday: May 31, 1992
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Age: 27
Ryu is a member of the same resistance group as Kei. They work together on their missions, along with a few other members. Mr. Nezu is also in with the group, although secretly, because he works for the government. Ryu is on the top rung of the resistance faction, and is in charge of researching all of the government's experiments, with the insider help of Nezu. Ryu plays a somewhat larger role in the manga series, and his character is slightly more in-depth. Kei refers to Ryu as her "brother". Ryu himself is a hardworking man, with 100% devotion to all his missions.
Mr. Nezu is a complicated little man. There's a reason he looks like a rat. He holds a seat for the government on the executive council, but he also works doubly against the government, helping out the terrorist resistance movement that Ryu and Kei belong to. When Kei and her group need to break into a government building, Nezu is the one to help them do it. He provides them with all sorts of inside information, while still maintaining the front of a government official. To each side, it seems as if Nezu is working for them. Truthfully, his only drive are his own selfish reasons.
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Kei
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Birthday: March 8, 2002
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Age: 17
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Height: 5'6"
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Weight: 111 lbs.
Kei is teamed up with Kaneda from early on in the movie, much to her dismay. She finds him loud and annoying at first, but then eventually grows quite fond of him. Kei, in a nutshell, is tough, but still sensitive.
Kei joined a resistance group earlier in life, after her brother died in prison fighting for what he believed in. She works alongside Ryu as a terrorist against the government. Her group was involved in the early abduction of Takashi. The mission failed. After pairing up with Kaneda, the resistance group decides that their next mission will be to gather detailed information on the government's new test subject, which just happens to be Tetsuo. With the help of Kaneda, Kei sets out to solve the mystery of Akira.
The Colonel is one of the few people who know the secret of Akira. A lifetime spent in the military following in his father's footsteps has given him special insight into the project. When his father was alive, he participated in the original Akira project before World War III. Now the Colonel has been left to deal with the mess.
The Colonel is a tough character; very untrusting of other people, and never admitting to being wrong. From early on in the movie, he is the man accompanying The Numbers. He is there to supervise Tetsuo's testing in the beginning, and to witness Tetsuo's rampage in the end. The Colonel tries to maintain the secret of Akira, while at the same time trying to control the maniacal Tetsuo. Eventually the secret is out, and the only thing left to do is to try and keep Neo-Tokyo safe from anymore harm.
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Birthday: Januray 28, 1958
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The Doctor is the head scientist in charge of human testing for the government. He worked on the project with the three children and Akira originally, and now his new subject is Tetsuo. Not caring much for the quality of human life, his goal is to gather as much scientific data as possible. The doctor is intrigued with the mystery of Akira, and will go as far as possible to solve it.
The Numbers
"The Numbers" refers to the three children with aged features and psychic powers. Pictured left to right, on the pictures page, is Takashi, Kiyoko, and Masaru. Respectively, they are numbers 26, 25, and 27. Akira is also a member of the group, being number 28.
Also referred to as espers, Takashi is the first of them to be seen. He is the one that caused the original accident on the highway in which Tetsuo nearly crashed into him on his motorcycle. Masaru is the other boy. He must use a hover chair to get around, because long ago his legs were paralyzed due to a bout with Polio. Kiyoko, the small girl, makes a prediction for Neo Tokyo early in the movie, saying that it will be "covered by a big shadow, and so many people will die." The three of them are part of the constant struggle against Tetsuo, right to the very end.
Akira
Not much is known about Akira. It is known that he was a fellow test subject with Kiyoko, Masaru, and Takashi. He was Number 28 in the series of experiments, and was by far the most succesful. When Akira reached a level of power that was unable to control however, he ceased to exist in this world, and all of his organs and tissues were frozen at near absolute zero for future scientists to try and solve the riddle of Akira's power.
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