Shotaro Kaneda (Film)

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Articles About Shotaro Kaneda
AKIRA	Manga - Film

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“	That's Mr. Kaneda to you, punk!	„
	~ Kaneda to Tetsuo

“	He's not your friend, he's ours! If somebody's gonna kill him, it should be us!	„
	~ Shotaro Kaneda

Background

Shotaro Kaneda is the main protagonist of the AKIRA film. He is the leader of The Capsules, a gang of high schoolers who ride along the high ways of Neo-Tokyo and rebelling against the law. He was also a friend of Tetsuo, acting as a brother figure to him before Tetsuo would encounter an esper and begin developing psychic powers.

This dropdown contains the synopsis of Shotaro Kaneda’s story. Read at your own risk as you may be spoiled otherwise!

Early Life Like most of the characters in the story, Kaneda's early life is largely not shown in the film. However, behind-the-scenes materials describe his childhood. His parents owned a laundry business, and he had a brother four years younger than him, who was born with a disability and frequently visited treatment centers. The stress of this seems to have gradually caused the family to fall apart- their father collapsed from fatigue, Kaneda had to change elementary schools due to his brother changing treatment centers, and then his mother ran off. From ages eight to nine, the family lives off of government assistance, and eventually, due to his father's turn to alcoholism and being deemed unfit to care for the children, Kaneda is sent to an orphanage, separated from his little brother who stays at a hospital. Kaneda had been living at the orphanage for half a year when Tetsuo arrived there, whom he quickly befriended by retrieving Tetsuo's toy which had been stolen by bullies. The two of them spent about a year and a half together there, before Kaneda turned eleven and graduated, forced to go to a boarding middle school and leave Tetsuo behind. Middle school is where Kaneda began showing signs of a defiant attitude, and while his grades were above average, he was a fully-fledged delinquent by thirteen. At fourteen, he got in trouble with the law and was expelled, getting sent to Eighth District Youth Vocational Training School. At the Vocational School, Kaneda met Yamagata, and eventually formed a motorcycle team the next year. Not long after, Tetsuo and Kai transferred to the school and joined as well. During a fight with The Clown Gang, Tetsuo becomes victim of a motorbike accident caused by the sudden appearance of Takashi crossing the Old Tokyo road. After that, Kaneda and the rest of his gang are arrested by government forces who interrogate them because of the events.

Codex Statistics

Tier: High 10-B, 9-C on his bike and with most weapons, 9-B with explosives, Higher with Arasaka HLR-12X Heavy Laser Rifle

Name: Shotaro Kaneda

Origin: AKIRA Movie

Sex: Male

Age: 16

Classification: Leader

Species: Human

Occupation: Student, Member and Leader of the Capsules

Status: Alive (Remains alive and well despite being within Akira's nuke)

Alignment: Chaotic Neutral (Kaneda is the leader of the Capsules, which is a gang that rebels against lawful authorities and causes mischief around Neo-Tokyo. Stole military-grade weaponry to challenge Tetsuo Shima in combat)

Dimensionality: 3-D

Attack Potency: Above Average Human level (Is a notably fit teenager who can fight others and has defeated several other gang members in the past), Peak Human on his bike (Due to the speeds he can travel at, Kaneda can hit with much greater force) and with most weapons (Kaneda's gang has several makeshift weapons for combat. Kaneda also had control over a hover bike with a minigun turret attached to it), Wall level with explosives (The Clown Gang possesses makeshift explosives that can generate explosions of this magnitude, which the Capsules should have in their arsenal), Higher with Arasaka HLR-12X Heavy Laser Rifle (This particular rifle fires highly charged lasers that burn through targets and can ignite structures to create explosions)

Durability: Above Average Human level

Striking Strength: Above Average Human Class

Travel Speed: Athletic Human physically (Kaneda is a gang leader high school student with a notable physical physique), Superhuman on his bike (Kaneda can ride his bike in combat which can travel between 70mph and 150mph), Higher with hover bike (The hover bike can move visibly faster due to its enhanced mobility)

Attack Speed: Superhuman physically (Kaneda could jump atop a moving motorcycle and kick the driver off in two motions with remarkable ease and skill), Supersonic with hover bike (The hover bike can fire rounds of bullets at speeds of about 853 m/s), Speed of Light with Arasaka HLR-12X Heavy Laser Rifle (Kaneda's Arasaka HLR-12X Heavy Laser Rifle fires laser rounds fast enough that Tetsuo has trouble dodging them)

Reaction Speed: Superhuman (Could physically react to a motorcycle moving at swift speeds and was able to jump off a moving motorcycle and stick his landing)

Stamina: Above Average (Kaneda traversed Neo-Tokyo and chased after Tetsuo for a full day and two nights without much sleep)

Range: Standard Melee physically, Extended Melee with makeshift melee weapons, Several Meters with makeshift bombs (The Clowns have bombs that can destroy entire cars), Hundreds of Meters to Kilometers with hover bike and Arasaka HLR-12X Heavy Laser Rifle (The hover bike fires turret rounds at high speeds, whereas the Arasaka HLR-12X Heavy Laser Rifle fires laser rounds that can travel across an entire stadium)

Intelligence: Average Intelligence academically (Is a high school student who was noted to have good grades), Gifted in combat (Kaneda has been in several fights with opposing gangs and is highly adapt with military grade firearms despite having only just learned how to use them. Kaneda quickly learned how to correctly and efficiently fly a hover bike in just a few minutes)

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Powers and Techniques

Human Achievements and Social Influencing (Kaneda has garnered a reputation amongst his peers which allowed him to form and lead one of the most prominent gangs in Neo-Tokyo. Kaneda is also highly skilled at riding his motorcycle to the poing of intimidating other drivers with his daring skill), Vehicular Usage (Land Vehicles; Kaneda can drive a motorcycle with great skill, and does so alongside his fellow gang members. Furthermore, Kaneda has shown enough skill to drive without using his hands and firing a weapon. Air Vehicles; Quickly learned how to fly the hover bike and use its weapons to his advantage), Weapon Usage (Hammer Usage, Spear Usage, Explosives, and Firearms; The Capsule Gang has used a variety of makeshift weaponry from spears to metal mallets and even makeshift flasks and bombs. Kaneda later stole a Arasaka HLR-12X Heavy Laser Rifle and used it to fight Tetsuo), Superhuman Precision and Acrobatics (Kaneda was able to jump atop a moving motorcycle and kick the biker off in less than a second. Can hit Tetsuo Shima after he had developed his powers to a great extent), Hand-to-Hand Proficiency (Kaneda has developed skills in combat due to various scuffles and street fights he partook in)

Minor Penetration Damage (Physical Penetration; Various makeshift close-range weapons owned by the Capsules are designed with slightly sharper ends for tearing metal), Fire Manipulation and Explosion Manipulation (Opposing gang the Clowns have access to makeshift molotov cocktails which create large explosion upon detonation), Light Manipulation, Heat Manipulation, Durability Negation, and Penetration Damage (Bladed Penetration; Stole and now primarily uses the Arasaka HLR-12X Heavy Laser Rifle in combat. This particular laser fires highly concentrated heat-based lasers that can pierce through flesh with ease and ignite materials enough to cause large explosions)

Superhuman Speed (Kaneda's bike can travel and likely exceed speeds of 154kph and was stated to have twelve-thousand RPMs, with the hover bike likely going much faster than it), Electricity Manipulation (Electricity Surge; Kaneda's bike generates electricity around itself when active on the roads), Flight (The hover bike is capable of flying several dozen meters in the air), Curtain Fire and Penetration Damage (Physical Penetration; The hover bike has a minigun turret attached to its front body. Miniguns can fire three-thousand to four-thuusand rounds per minute)

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Equipment

• Kaneda's Bike: Shotaro Kaneda's bike is a futuristic, high-tech motorcycle and an iconic feature of the series. As the group's leader, he is entitled to have the most technologically and aesthetically-advanced vehicle. The bike is capable of traveling around 155kph, and is mobile enough for Kaneda to effortlessly drive around a ruined stadium.

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  Kaneda's Bike

• Arasaka HLR-12X Heavy Laser Rifle: Kaneda's Arasaka HLR-12X Heavy Laser Rifle is a military grade weapon he stole from a group of deceased soldiers, which he uses with the soul intent to kill Tetsuo Shima. As the name implies, the weapon fires highly concentrated heat-based lasers to pierce through targets with ease.

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  Kaneda's Arasaka HLR-12X Heavy Laser Rifle

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Other

Standard Tactics: Kaneda prefers to use his bike in combat, as it grants him great speed and ability to move around his opponent or get in close. He'll either opt for his makeshift weaponry, or use his iconic Arasaka HLR-12X Heavy Laser Rifle. If he has the ability to use outside resources, he will use them.

Weaknesses: Shotaro Kaneda is a rather brash person who often acts now and thinks later. Despite this, he is incredibly skilled at using his environment to his advantage.

Gallery

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  Kaneda with the Arasaka HLR-12X Heavy Laser Rifle

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  close shot of Shotaro Kaneda

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  Kaneda aiming his Arasaka HLR-12X Heavy Laser Rifle at Tetsuo

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  Kaneda featured on the AKIRA digitally remastered box art

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  Kaneda performing the iconic "AKIRA slide"

Battle Records

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