Akira (manga) - Characters

Characters

Shōtarō Kaneda (金田 正太郎, Kaneda Shōtarō?)

Shōtarō Kaneda is the protagonist of Akira. He is a brash, carefree teenage delinquent and the leader of a motorcycle gang known as The Capsules. Kaneda is best friends with Tetsuo, a Capsule member whom he's known since childhood, but that friendship is shattered after Tetsuo gains and abuses his psychic powers. He becomes involved with the underground resistance and their member Kei, whom he falls in-love with. During the events of volume 3, Kaneda is enveloped by the explosion caused by Akira and according to Lady Miyako, he is beyond this world. Kaneda returns at the end of volume 4, and along Joker, Kaisuke and Kei, they take down Tetsuo. Shōtarō Kaneda was listed at #11 on IGN's Top 25 Anime Characters of all time.

Tetsuo Shima (島 鉄雄, Shima Tetsuo?)

Tetsuo Shima is the main antagonist of Akira. He evolves from Kaneda's best friend and gang member to Kaneda's nemesis. He is involved in an accident at the very beginning of the story, which causes him to display immense psychic powers. He is soon recruited by the Colonel and designated #41. However, Tetsuo's mental instability increases with the manifestation of his powers, which ultimately drives him insane and shatters his friendship with Kaneda. Later in the story he becomes Akira's second-in-command, before he begins to lose control of his powers.

Kei (ケイ?)

Kei is a member of a terrorist resistance movement led by the government mole Nezu, Kei is supposedly the sister of fellow resistance fighter Ryu, though it is implied that this is not really the case. Kei and Kaneda do not get along when they first meet, and Kei at first seems to view Kaneda with contempt. Later in the story, however, the two become increasingly attracted and fall in love with each other. Kei is a powerful medium who cannot use psychic powers of her own, but can channel the powers of others through her body. She is taken in by Lady Miyako, and plays a critical role in the final battle.

The Colonel (大佐, Taisa?)

The Colonel, sometimes known as Colonel Shikishima (敷島大佐, Shikishima Taisa?), is the head of the secret government project conducting research on psychic test subjects (including the Esper children, Tetsuo, and formerly Akira). Although he originally appears to be an antagonist, the Colonel is actually an honorable and dedicated soldier committed to protecting Neo-Tokyo from any second onslaught of Akira. Later in the story he appears helping an ill Chiyoko, and working with Kei. He is usually referred to by Kaneda as "The Skinhead", due to his distinctive crew cut.

The Espers

The Espers, also known as The Numbers (ナンバーズ, Nanbāzu?), are three children who are test subjects for the secret project. They have the bodies of children but chronologically are in their late 40's. Their bodies and faces have wizened with age but they haven't physically grown. They are former acquaintances of Akira, and survived his destruction of Tokyo. The Espers include:

• Kiyoko (キヨコ?): Designated #25

Kiyoko is an Esper who is physically so weak she is confined to a bed at all times, which is why her companions Takashi and Masaru are protective of her. She has the ability to use teleportation and precognition. In the manga, she is the one who predicted the demise of Neo-Tokyo and Tetsuo's involvement with Akira, but did not tell the Colonel the full story right away. In the anime, her role is the same, predicting Neo-Tokyo's destruction; however it is shown she is a close friend of the colonel due to her being confident enough to not only tell him of her predictions, but also tell him the location of Tetsuo. She is also shown to be a mother figure and leader to the other espers when it comes to decision making. In the end of the anime she summons Akira with the others to stop Tetsuo, and later with Masaru helps Takashi rescue Kaneda at the cost of themselves.

• Takashi (タカシ?): Designated #26

Takashi is the first Esper to be introduced when he causes Tetsuo's accident in self-defense. He has the power to use psychokinesis. Takashi is a quiet, softspoken boy who has conflicting thoughts of the government and the people who had sheltered him and his friends, which was why he had escaped the Colonel's facility; however Takashi is concerned for Kiyoko's safety, and that leaves him no choice than to stay. Takashi is accidentally killed by Nezu in his attempt to assassinate Akira, and the psychic trauma revolving around it afterwards caused Akira to decimate Neo-Tokyo with his immense powers. He is later revived along with the rest of the deceased Espers near the end of the manga. In the anime, Takashi's role is the same, except his accidental death is written out and instead is alive; at the end he, along with the other espers, summons their friend Akira to stop Tetsuo, and rushes into Akira's explosion to save Kaneda when the latter is caught in it.

• Masaru (マサル?): Designated #27

Masaru is overweight and is physically confined either to a wheelchair or a special floating chair because of developing polio at a young age. He has the power to use psychokinesis and is considered the "leader" among the three espers. He is braver than Takashi and is the first to attack Tetsuo when he tries killing Kiyoko. Masaru looks after the well-being of his friends, especially that of Kiyoko who is physically frail. In the anime, his role is the same as the manga, and the floating chair he rides is used as Kiyoko's transport. He also summons Akira to stop Tetsuo, and when Takashi is caught in Akira's explosion trying to save Kaneda, he and Kiyoko help Kaneda out at the cost of themselves.

Akira (アキラ?)

Designated #28

Akira is the character for whom the story is named. He has immense, almost godlike psychic powers, although from outward appearances he looks like a small, normal child. He is responsible for the destruction of Tokyo and the beginning of World War III. After the war, he was placed in cryogenics not far from the crater created by him, and the future site of the Neo-Tokyo Olympic Games. Shortly after being awoken by Tetsuo, he causes the destruction of Neo-Tokyo during a confrontation between Kaneda and the Colonel's forces. Later in the story he becomes Emperor of the Great Tokyo Empire. When he first appears, Akira has not aged in the decades he was kept frozen. Akira is essentially an empty shell; his powers have overwritten and destroyed his personality, leaving someone who almost never speaks or reacts to external stimuli, with a constant blank expression on his face. In the end he is shot by Ryu while psychically synced with the increasingly unstable Tetsuo. It is at this moment he is reunited with his friends and regains his personality.

Kai (甲斐?)

Kai, sometimes known as Kaisuke, is a high-ranking member of Kaneda's gang. He does not play a major role at first, but becomes more prominent later in the story.

Yamagata (山形?)

Yamagata is a member of Kaneda's biker gang who serves as Kaneda's right-hand-man. He is killed by Tetsuo's powers in the first tankōbon after attempting to shoot him.

Joker (ジョーカー, Jōkā?)

Joker is the leader of the Clown gang, a motorcycle gang made up of junkies and drug addicts. Joker plays a small role in the beginning, but becomes more prominent much later in the story as an ally of Kaneda and Kai. He wears clown face paint and often changes the pattern.

Nezu (根津?)

Nezu is a parliament member who is also the leader of the terrorist resistance movement against the government. He seems to be the mentor of Kei and Ryu, and purports to be saving the nation from the corrupt and ineffective bureaucrats in power. It soon becomes evident, however, that Nezu is just as corrupt, and that all he seeks to do is to seize power for himself. He later betrays Lady Miyako, as well as various other characters, as he attempts to take control of Akira. After losing Akira, he finds Ryu in a dark corridor with the boy in tow. He attempts to kill Ryu, thinking he is a member of Lady Miyako's group all along. Ryu, however, shoots Nezu. He fakes his death and later comes back. He later tries to shoot Akira before he can be taken into the Colonel's custody. He misses and shoots Takashi in the head, instantly killing him. He was in turn shot and killed by the Colonel's men.

Ryu (竜, Ryū?)

Ryu, sometimes called Ryusaku, is a comrade of Kei's in the resistance movement, he claims to be Kei's brother, but it is implied that this is not the case. As the story progresses, Ryu abandons his terrorist roots and becomes more heroic, working with George Yamada and guiding Kaneda to Akira's chamber where Tetsuo is held up, but battles with alcoholism. In the final tankōbon, Ryu shoots and "kills" Akira; elevator debris lands on him shortly afterwards.

Chiyoko (チヨコ?)

Chiyoko is a tough, heavyset woman and weapons expert who is involved in the resistance and eventually becomes a key supporting character. In rumors, she is claiming to be Kei's aunt

The Doctor (ドクター, Dokutā?)

The Doctor, sometimes known in other media as Doctor Onishi (ドクター大西, Dokutā Ōnishi?), is the head scientist of the secret psychic research project who also serves as the Colonel's scientific advisor. He belonged to the second generation of scientists overseeing the project after Akira killed the last. It is his curiosity and negligence for anyone's well-being that unlocks and nurtures Tetsuo's destructive power in the first place. When Akira is freed by Tetsuo from his cryogenic lair, the Doctor fails to get inside the shelter and freezes to death.

Miyako (ミヤコ, Miyako?)

Miyako, frequently referred to as Lady Miyako (ミヤコ様, Miyako-sama?), was a former test subject known as Designated #19. She is the high priestess of a temple in Neo-Tokyo and a major ally of Kaneda and Kei as the story progresses. Lady Miyako is also an initial ally of Nezu and gives Tetsuo a lecture on his powers. She plays an instrumental role in the final battle with Tetsuo at the cost of her own life.

• Sakaki (榊?)

Sakaki is an empowered and fond disciple of Lady Miyako. She is an unseemingly fast and strong girl, tomboyish in appearance, who is sent to battle the Espers, the military, Kaneda and Nezu in order to recover Akira. Sakaki only appears in the third tankōbon, in which she is killed by the military.

• Mozu (モズ?)

Mozu is a girl, plump in appearance, who is an empowered and fond disciple of Lady Miyako. She later teams with Sakaki and Miki to recover Akira. Mozu only appears in the third tankōbon, in which she is killed by Takashi.

• Miki (ミキ?)

Miki is an empowered girl, gaunt in appearance and third fond disciple of Lady Miyako. She only appears and in the third tankōbon, in which she is killed by Nezu's henchmen.

• The Monks

The Monks are aides of Lady Miyako who are in charge of running her temple; some of them have been trained to be enhancers and channellers of her power.

The Great Tokyo Empire (大東京帝國, Dai Tōkyō Teikoku?)

The Great Tokyo Empire are a small army which rises amid the ruins of Neo-Tokyo after its destruction at the hands of Akira, made up of crazed zealots who worship Akira as an Emperor for the "miracles" he performs, though the power lies squarely with his so-called Prime Minister, Tetsuo. Disorganized and unruly, the army rejects outside aid and wars with Lady Miyako's followers. Tetsuo secretly drugs the rations distributed to its members. At the end of the story, Kaneda and friends take the Empire's name and declare Neo-Tokyo a sovereign nation, expelling the American and United Nations forces that land in the city.

• Kaori (カオリ?)

Kaori is a young girl who appears late in the story and is recruited as one of Tetsuo's sex slaves. She is later becoming an object of his sincere affections. Kaori also serves as Akira's babysitter. She is later shot in the back by Tetsuo's Aide. Tetsuo attempts to resurrect her but fails.

• Tetsuo's Aide, known only by the title of Captain (隊長, Taichō?), is an opportunist posing as a fanatical devotee of Tetsuo who serves him as his aide-de-camp late in the story but secretly desires control of the Great Tokyo Empire. During the confrontation between Tetsuo and the U.S. Marines, he is caught in the crossfire and is killed by the bacterial gas Yamada uses.
• The Birdman is one of Tetsuo's elite psychic shocktroops. He wears a blindfold and is frequently standing atop ruined buildings and rafters, observing and reporting on the goings-on within the Empire's turf, and essentially acting as a security system. It is implied that his psychic powers allow him to sense sights and sounds from a great distance, further embodied by the all-seeing eye drawn on his forehead. Birdman dies when Yamada knocks him from his perch, causing him to fall to his death.
• The Eggman is a member of Tetsuo's shock troops. The Eggman is described as a fat, short man with glasses who encounters Yamada and the Marines at Olympic Stadium. He was friends with "Birdman", and managed to use his power to crush a Marine's heart before being executed by Yamada.

George Yamada (ジョージ山田, Jōji Yamada?)

Yamada is a Japanese-American soldier who is sent on a mission to assassinate Akira and Tetsuo in the latter-half of the story, after Akira has levelled Neo-Tokyo. Yamada plans to kill the two powerful psychics with darts containing a biological poison. He is later joined by a team of U.S. Marines to carry out the mission at the Olympic Stadium after it becomes the headquarters for Akira and Tetsuo's "Great Tokyo Empire". However, the biochemical weapons fail to harm Tetsuo, instead giving him temporary control of his expanding powers again, who proceeds to kill Yamada.

Project Juvenile A

Project Juvenile A was an international team of scientists who are appointed to investigate psychic events in Neo-Tokyo in the latter-half of the story. Project members include Dr. Dubrovsky, Dr. Simmons, Dr. Jorris, Dr. Hock, Professor Bernardi, and Karma Tangi.

Caretakers

Caretakers are the robots built by the Army to fight off invaders and contact survivors in the event of a nuclear war; they are introduced in the third tankōbon during martial law after Tetsuo frees Akira dispatching rioters. Later in the story, the Colonel uses a Caretaker to transport Kiyoko to Lady Miyako's Temple, and later another Caretaker is heavily modified to become Kaneda and Kai's assault vehicle on Olympic Stadium.