The main protagonist, he is brave and sometimes dim witted and regarded among his friends as flamboyant and highly egotistical, but he is always rebellious which makes the others in the gang look up to him. Leader and Founder of motor cycle gang from some vocational school. He befriended Tetsuo when they were young and they remained friends up until the events of Akira. On the night of Tetsuo's accident, Kaneda and the rest of the gang are taken in for questioning. While there, he meets Kei, whom is apparent that he is attracted to her but she and her group use him to get into the government building holding Tetsuo. He's unwillingly been thrown into the middle of a battle between the government and a resistance faction. Not interested in politics, but seemingly obsessed with playing the hero and winning the woman, Kaneda makes it his duty to keep Kei and Neo-Tokyo safe from the maniacal Tetsuo. Even though his goal is to bring Tetsuo down, he can't shake the fact that he was his best friend.

Kaneda's Bike

One of the most famous and iconic images in Akira is Kaneda's motorcycle, a sleek looking, sport motorcycle. Its recognizability is due, in part, to the placement of the bike on many of the different posters for the film. In the manga, the bike displays an old Honda logo. In the film, it displays a BMW logo. Unlike the bikes of the other members of The Capsules and The Clowns gangs, Kaneda's bike is a sport bike with a shell covering the inner components and a distinct red finish. Conversely, most of the other gang members' bikes are constructed in classic chopper style, placing the engine and other components open and visible.

When the movie was released, a full-scale reproduction of Kaneda's bike was made as a showpiece for advertisements. According to "Akira Club," the bike's whereabouts "became unknown" after being sent to England for a publicity campaign.

Birthday: September 5, 2003

Age: 16

Blood type: Unknown

Height: 5'6

Weight: 116