In 1988, a singularity destroys Tokyo. By 2019, Tokyo is rebuilt – now known as Neo-Tokyo – but is plagued by corruption, anti-government protests, terrorism, and gang violence and is on the verge of collapse. During a large protest, the hot-headed Shōtarō Kaneda leads his vigilante bōsōzoku gang against the rival Clown gang. Kaneda's best friend Tetsuo Shima inadvertently crashes his motorcycle into Takashi, an esper who escaped from a government laboratory with the aid of a resistance organization. The accident awakens psychic powers in Tetsuo, attracting the attention of a secret government project directed by Japan Self-Defense Forces Colonel Shikishima. Assisted by esper Masaru, Shikishima recaptures Takashi, takes Tetsuo with him, and arrests Kaneda and his gang. While being interrogated by the police, Kaneda meets Kei, an activist belonging to the resistance movement, and tricks the authorities into releasing her and his gang. Shikishima and his head of research Doctor Ōnishi discover that Tetsuo possesses powerful psychic abilities similar to Akira, the esper responsible for Tokyo's destruction. Takashi's fellow esper Kiyoko forewarns Shikishima of Neo-Tokyo's impending destruction. However, Neo-Tokyo's parliament dismisses Shikishima's concerns, leading him to consider killing Tetsuo to prevent another cataclysm. Meanwhile, Tetsuo escapes from the hospital, steals Kaneda's motorcycle, and prepares to run away from Neo-Tokyo with his girlfriend Kaori. The Clowns ambush them, but luckily they are saved by Kaneda's gang. During the intervention however, Tetsuo begins suffering intense headaches and hallucinations, and he is taken back to the hospital. Kaneda joins Kei's resistance cell after overhearing their plan to rescue Tetsuo and the other espers. At the hospital, the espers confront Tetsuo and after he aggressively fights back with his psychokinetic powers, which are beginning to make him egomaniacal and unstable, he escapes again. Kaneda, Kei, and the resistance group infiltrate the hospital and are drawn into Shikishima and the espers' attempt to stop Tetsuo. He overpowers them all and leaves the hospital after learning from Kiyoko that he can gain help from Akira, located in cryonic storage beneath the Olympic Stadium's construction site. Kei and Kaneda escape military custody thanks to Kiyoko, who is hoping to stop Tetsuo using Kei as a medium. Shikishima stages a coup d'état against the Neo-Tokyo government and directs all of its military forces to destroy Tetsuo. Returning to his gang's former hangout Harukiya Bar to obtain drugs to control his powers, Tetsuo murders Yamagata in front of bartender Kai; Kaneda arrives too late to save him and vows to avenge his friend. Tetsuo rampages through Neo-Tokyo, arriving at Akira' ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a9t4txtuEUI