Psychic Ability

Lore & Background

The history of this ability begins with the sudden destruction of Tokyo on July 16, 1988, caused by an esper known as Akira. Decades later, Colonel Shikishima and Doctor Ōnishi discover that Tetsuo Shima possesses powers identical to Akira's after he crashes into Takashi, a child who escaped from a secret government facility. This facility housed three espers: Kiyoko, Masaru, and Takashi, all of whom were subjects of the same program. The military attempts to contain Tetsuo, but his psychic surge is too potent; he escapes the hospital, kills orderlies blocking his path, and hunts for Akira, who is found in cryonic storage beneath the Olympic Stadium's construction site. When Tetsuo exhumed Akira's remains, sealed in jars for research, the resulting power surge caused him to mutate into a gigantic mass of flesh, consuming the stadium and triggering a singularity that mirrors the 1988 destruction.

In Their Own Story

During a violent rally against the rival Clown gang, Tetsuo Shima inadvertently crashes his motorcycle into Takashi, an escaped esper. This collision acts as the catalyst for Tetsuo's awakening; he is hospitalized but soon breaks free, driven by intense headaches and hallucinations. As he flees Neo-Tokyo with his girlfriend Kaori, the Capsules rescue them, only for Tetsuo to be re-hospitalized where fellow espers attempt to kill him via psychic projection. Failing to stop him, Kiyoko reveals that Akira could help control his powers. Betraying everyone, including Kaneda, Tetsuo hunts down the cryogenic dewar under the stadium. There, he defeats Kei, exhumed Akira's remains, and is confronted by Kaneda wielding a laser rifle while Colonel Shikishima fires an orbital weapon. Neither can stop him; his arm destroyed, Tetsuo mutates into a fleshy mass that consumes Kaori and the stadium before the espers revive Akira to create a singularity.

Reader's Guide

Psychic ability in this universe manifests as powerful telekinesis following severe physical or emotional trauma, specifically after contact with an existing esper. Tetsuo Shima represents the uncontrolled variable; his ability grows exponentially without training, leading to cellular mutation and loss of human form. The power allows for levitation, energy projection, and reality warping, visualized through hallucinations and physical distortions. Control is impossible without intervention from other espers or Akira himself. Colonel Shikishima notes that Tetsuo's abilities mirror Akira's, the source of the original 1988 cataclysm. The ultimate risk is total dimensional collapse; when Tetsuo loses control, he creates a singularity that draws him and Kaneda into another dimension, leaving Neo-Tokyo in a flooded crater.

Did You Know?

• The film was released in Japan on July 16, 1988, exactly thirty-one years after the fictional destruction of Tokyo that triggered the world war.
• Tetsuo's psychic abilities were first noticed after he collided with Takashi, one of three escaped children from a government laboratory.
• Colonel Shikishima considered killing Tetsuo to prevent another cataclysm similar to the 1988 destruction caused by Akira.
• The soundtrack drawing heavily on traditional Indonesian gamelan and Japanese noh music was composed by Shōji Yamashiro.