Codename #28 in the Japanese government's secret ESP project. An estimately 8 year old boy around whom the story revolves. Akira's power was so immense that he inadvertantly caused the destruction of Tokyo in 1988 and was secretly sealed afterwards in a cryogenic chamber underneath the destruction site.  *Manga Spoilers*    ~!Unlike in the animated feature, Akira makes an actual appearance in the manga. After his awakening by Tetsuo, he loses control of his power again as he witnesses his friend Takashi being murdered, and the destruction of Neo-Tokyo ensues.  Though he is known as the figurehead of the Great Tokyo Empire--which was established after the destruction of Neo-Tokyo--Tetsuo is actually the one in charge and he uses Akira to perform miracles with his power to control their followers. Kaori is then appointed by Tetsuo to keep him company and look after him.  Akira displays autistic behavior and has actually very few lines throughout the second half of the manga. Though in flashbacks he appears quite happy with the younger versions of Takashi, Masaru and Kyoko. At the end, he's shot by Ryu and joins with Takashi and his friends from the institute to absorb Tetsuo who had lost control of his powers.   Though Akira is gone, he still lives in the hearts of Kaneda, Kei and other survivor who begin to build the Great Tokyo Empire. !~

It's the year 2019, thirty-one years have passed since the start of World War III. A top-secret child with amazing powers of the mind breaks free from custody and accidentally gets a motorcycle gang involved in the project. This incident triggers psychic powers within one of the gang members, Tetsuo, and he is taken by the army to be experimented on. His mind has been altered and is now on the path of war, seeking revenge on the society that once called him weak. 
(Source: FUNimation)

9 of Japan's leading animators were asked to create a short segment that followed the theme of "Robots," for their inclusion in this film. Essentially, this "movie" is 9 short films, all independent of one another. The common element is human interaction with robots, namely the consequences of creating life with one's own hands, played in nine very different ways.
 
(Source: Anime News Network)
 
1. Opening (dir. by Atsuko Fukushima and Katsuhiro Otomo) 
2. Franken's Gears (dir. by Koji Morimoto) 
3. Deprive (dir. by Hidetoshi Omori) 
4. Presence (dir. by Yasuomi Umetsu) 
5. Star Light Angel (dir. by Hiroyuki Kitazume) 
6. Cloud (dir. by Mao Lamdo) 
7. A Tale of Two Robots (dir. by Hiroyuki Kitakubo) 
8. Nightmare (dir. by Takashi Nakamura) 
9. Ending (dir. by Atsuko Fukushima and Katsuhiro Otomo)

Welcome to Neo-Tokyo, built on the ashes of a Tokyo annihilated by a blast of unknown origin that triggered World War III. The lives of two streetwise teenage friends, Tetsuo and Kaneda, change forever when paranormal abilities begin to waken in Tetsuo, making him a target for a shadowy agency that will stop at nothing to prevent another catastrophe like the one that leveled Tokyo. At the core of the agency's motivation is a raw, all-consuming fear of an unthinkable, monstrous power known only as Akira.
 
(Source: Kodansha USA)