Shotaro Kaneda:
Known only by his surname to his friends Kaneda is the leader of a powerful motorcycle gang. His friends consider him arrogant, and although he makes very quick decisions, and sometimes on the spur of the moment, he has the honed judgment of a leader. Although he seems very calloused and uncaring under the hard exterior he is a very caring. His best friend is Tetsuo, and strangely enough their friendship lasts through both of them trying to kill each other. He gets caught up in a terrorist group by following Kay, and is costar of the film along with Tetsuo.
Quote "Now you're King of the Mountain! But it's all garbage"!

Tetsuo Shima:
Tetsuo is the youngest of Kaneda's bike gang, and tends to be pushed around a lot. He resents this more than any of the others in the gang, and this is most poignantly seen during his descent into madness. In the beginning of the movie he is hurt by Takashi (#26), and taken by the military. Tests are performed on him and he is given powers much like those of the espers. Besides Akira he is by far the most powerful psychic in the story.
Quote "You think I'm a loser! It's not my fault I was smaller! Well there will come a day when I'll show all of you! Don't you forget it!"

Akira:
Akira is more of a god than anything else in the movie. Even physical death cannot stop him, as he has achieved a state of pure energy. He destroyed the original Tokyo and started World War III.

Colonel Shikishima:
The Colonel is never given a name in the Movie, only the manga. His father father participated in the original Akira project, and he feels somewhat duty bound to keep an eye on it. Although it seems at first that he is an unfeeling power seeker, upon closer inspection it can be seen that he never does anything that he thinks might act as a detriment to the city. He views the espers almost as his own children, and respects their feelings very much, although he knows that he might have to destroy them for the greater good of mankind.
Quote "It's not a soldier's duty to make policy. I follow my orders."

Kyoko:
Kyoko is one of the 3 original surviving test subjects (excluding Akira). She is #25. Because of the strain her ability of precognition puts on her she is bedridden. Although she is quite intelligent, she is no more an adult than she looks, despite her age. The tests have in this way affected her mind. She is the only psychic (again excluding Akira) with the power of precognition. Like all the espers she is blue, wrinkled, and has the body of a child.
Quote "Then the city was covered with a shadow, and it began to crumble..."

Masaru:
Masaru is test subject #27. He is by far the most adult of the group. At a young age not long after his testing began he contracted polio. This is why he is confined to his floating 'wheel' chair. Because of his less childlike ways he is the leader of group. Although he seems not to like Tetsuo very much he respects the other espers feelings and welcomes the newcomer into their family.
Quote "This chapter is finished."

Takashi:
Takashi is test subject #26. As a result of the testing he is slightly retarded, and tends to let others make decisions for him. As seen in a flashback scene, however, he is still able to call up the power to do things which would require a massive amount of intelligence, such as drawing the schematics of a computer chip... by looking at the casing of the computer.
Quote "Kyoko says that it's very dangerous for big people like you to use the power. You could get in big trouble!"