Akira is set in a dystopian Neo-Tokyo in the year 2019, decades after a mysterious event triggered World War III and led to the city’s destruction and rebirth. Beneath the neon lights and political unrest lies a secret government project focused on children with immense psychic powers, capable of reshaping reality itself. This fragile balance is disrupted when one such child escapes, setting off a chain of catastrophic events.
Amid the chaos, a group of teenage bikers becomes entangled in the military’s hidden experiments. After a violent encounter involving the escaped psychic child, Tetsuo Shima, a volatile and insecure member of the gang, begins to awaken overwhelming psychic abilities. Recognizing the danger he represents, the military captures Tetsuo and subjects him to brutal experimentation in an attempt to control his rapidly growing power.
The experiments leave Tetsuo physically and mentally transformed, amplifying his resentment toward a society that once viewed him as weak and insignificant. As his powers spiral out of control, Neo-Tokyo teeters on the brink of destruction once again. Caught between government conspiracies, revolutionary movements, and unstoppable psychic forces, Akira explores themes of power, identity, and the consequences of unchecked ambition in a haunting, visually iconic narrative.