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Tetsuo full name Tetsuo Shima (島 鉄雄, Shima Tetsuo), is the main antagonist of Akira.

He evolves from Kaneda's best friend and gang member to his nemesis. He is involved in an accident at the very beginning of the story, which causes him to display immense psychic powers. He is soon recruited by the Colonel and became a test subject known as No. 41 (41号, Yonjūichi-gō). It is mentioned that he is Akira's successor; however, Tetsuo's mental instability increases with the manifestation of his powers, which ultimately drives him insane and he ruins his friendship with Kaneda. Later in the story, he becomes Akira's second-in-command, before he begins to lose control of his powers. Eventually, Kei battles Tetsuo, unlocking his full power and triggering another psychic explosion. Akira, watched by his fellow Espers, absorbs Tetsuo's explosion by creating one of his own. With Akira and the espers, he ascends to a higher plane of existence.

Tetsuo is voiced by Nozomu Sasaki in Japanese, Jan Rabson in the 1989 Streamline English dub, and Joshua Seth in the 2001 Pioneer English dub.

Creation and conception
Tetsuo is named after Tetsuo Shikishima, Dr. Shikishima's son in the manga/anime series Tetsujin 28-gō. According to Franchise Creator Katsuhiro Otomo, he has stated in the Akira Club book that it could be said that Akira is based on Tetsujin 28-go (Akira himself is referred to as "No. 28" by the scientists experimenting on the espers).Tetsuo’s most prominent characteristic is his inferiority complex. Despite Kaneda's efforts to foster a brotherly relationship with him, Tetsuo feels like he is being bossed around and treated as a subordinate. On the surface, Tetsuo has a rather fierce temper, is rather impulsive, and tends to make rash decisions. Like all other members of The Capsules, he has little to no respect towards authority figures. However, it is likely that he chooses to hide insecurity and sensitivity behind this aggression. This can be inferred through the way he is characterized in flashbacks, especially when compared to Kaneda at the same age. Thematically, Tetsuo represents the destructive potential of power in the wrong hands.

Appearance
Tetsuo is a young man of below-average height with a slight, top-muscular build and no bangs. He has slight darker skin and a large forehead. Psychic powers alter his appearance; his short, slightly textured black hair grows, shortens, and becomes white. After losing his right arm at the end of the second volume, he creates a bionic arm to replace it for much of the story but recovers later his lost human limb.

He wears a light-colored hoodie with pants, he also wears boots at the beginning of Volume 1. Near the end of Volume 1 he changes into a white tank top, but he keeps his pants and boots. In Volume 2, he wears his 2nd outfit from the 1st Volume at the very beginning but later changes to a hospital gown after being admitted to the lab again. After hearing about Akira, Tetsuo escapes from the lab again and puts on a fur jacket, white pants, and dress shoes (as seen to the right). Tetsuo finds Akira, but is then thought to be killed at the end of Volume 2 by the SOL Satellite. Akira is then taken in by Kaneda and Kei.

Tetsuo is then never seen throughout most of the 3rd Volume until the very end, where he finds Akira again after Takashi had been shot and killed by Mr. Nezu. Tetsuo is seen in a ripped up trench coat, and ripped pants, it appears he also is wearing boots. I’m Volume 4, you can see Tetsuo with Akira working as his right hand man. Tetsuo is seen wearing a t-shirt, a cape (probably red), sweat pants, and is wearing shoes that resemble the shoes he wore with his hospital gown in the movie.

In Volume 5, the cape he donned is now gone about halfway through the manga, and he cut his hair after growing it out is Volume 4. In Volume 5, Tetsuo also begins his monstrous transformation after ravenging the moon for an assembly, and a fight with Kei. Tetsuo’s hair also grows back incredibly fast, but it becomes white in the process. I’m Volume 6, Tetsuo becomes a giant blob after losing control of his psychic abilities.

In the Animated Film, Tetsuo wears a bulky light blue parka/anorak, similar to what is seen in the manga. In scenes where he rests in the government hospital, he wears a regular patient's gown. After his first escape he wears a white sleeveless shirt with dark blue-gray pants and gray boots. He then dons a worn red cape, ripped from a Resistance flag during the latter half of the film, after breaking out from the hospital a second time.

Character overview
The manga's first volume opens with Tetsuo, along with Kaneda and their biker crew, riding down to the old city and area where the original Akira explosion took place. It's decided afterward that the group would race back to Harukiya, and Tetsuo take the initiative to get ahead of the group, giving exposition on his cocky attitude and inferiority complex beneath Kaneda. Going at a very fast speed, Tetsuo is caught off guard by Takashi, who is crossing his path before he can stop. Coming to a near-collision with the boy, Tetsuo's bike explodes, leaving him unconscious. He is taken by an ambulance shortly after, without elaboration to his gang regarding where he was being taken. He appears at school a day later, being happily greeted by his friends but not explaining what happened in his absence.

It's revealed that Tetsuo was scheduled to an appointment to the hospital, which Tetsuo ignores as he decides to join everyone as they ride their motorcycles through the city, causing the police to chase after them. Attempting to lose the police by splitting up, Tetsuo trespasses unknowingly into a rival biker gang's territory where he is ganged up on until Kaneda, with the rest of the Capsules, come to save him. Tetsuo, furious about needing to be saved, begins to assault one of the bikers who first attacked, intended to kill him. He is stopped by Kaneda, which pushes him to aggressively voice his feelings towards being ordered around by him. The following day while at school, Tetsuo is called down to meet with Colonel Shikishima, where he makes excuses about his intent to visit later. The scene ends with Kaneda being spotted by the Colonel, who comedically runs away to avoid confrontation.

A later scene shows an examination being performed on Tetsuo to determine his potential to awaken "the ability". After being placed in a room, he begins to gain a headache as his powers come to fruition. When his headache becomes unbearable, he escapes outside, psychokenetically killing a doctor who attempts to stop him. While walking outside, he encounters the same Clown member who he before tried to beat to death. He defends against the biker's attack using his powers, mentioning his head is hurting, before using his power to kill him as well. Tetsuo, still suffering from his head pain, requests that the rest of the Clown gang supply him with the "drug", and after displaying his powers and asserting superiority to the then-leader Joker, he assumes a position as the new leader.

After becoming The Clowns' leader, Tetsuo sent them after other gangs to buy, con, and steal their drugs. The other gangs team up to defeat them, led by The Clowns' rival gang, the Capsules. A mistake in their plan leads to Yamagata being cornered with Tetsuo, so Kaneda intervenes. He hesitates to shoot, so Yamagata tries but is killed. Kaneda then shoots Tetsuo, who retreats, but is pursued. Kaneda drops the pill he got from Masaru in shock when the Colonel arrives. Tetsuo consumes it and, shockingly, survives. He eventually agrees to go with the Colonel to his facility where he was once again examined and becomes Member No. 41 of the project in the eyes of the military.

In the facility he is subjected to corresponding experiments and becomes victim of an attempted murder by Kei, who is under the control of the Espers, who fail. Tetsuo is prompted to face the trio in person, where he recognizes Takashi as the one who caused his motorbike accident. The psychic trio try to kill him again, which again fails. During such fight he finds out where Akira is and sets off to find him. His actions end up awakening Akira, and he breaks in to his holding chamber and releases him. During an attack by the military responding to the breach, the satellite weapon SOL is activated and fired down on Tetsuo. He loses an arm and is presumed dead. However, it is later revealed he survived and was able to replace his lost arm with a mechanical one he created.

After some time passes he finds Akira, who has destroyed Neo-Tokyo once more as result of a sudden reaction to Takashi's death, and takes him away. Later he rules over the ruins of Tokyo in Akira's name, with the help of an aide and his men. He calls this rule The Great Tokyo Empire. During this time more exposition is shown in his character through various scenes, including changes in his appearance which reflect his stability and increase in power control, and scenes highlighting his dominant and controlling nature. Of these scenes include when he snaps at his aide despite his pleads for help in the raid on Lady Miyako's temple, the instance when he is inquired of his odd aversion to the song Low Rider by War (originally referenced to in Volume 3) and responds violently, or how all around him feel inclined to refer to him as "Master". This period of time is also when his powers come into their peak, and he becomes capable of flying to and defacing the moon. He also becomes a boyfriend of sorts to Kaori, who he will casually meet with at times and shows a more tender, weaker, albeit not at all more loving side to.

In time, he fights against Kaneda again. During the battle, he also has to face the US military who try to assassinate him and fail to do so. Finally, he witnesses Kaori's death which leaves him devastated. Shortly after that, Tetsuo begins to mutate more rapidly over his controlled powers while Akira, under the influence of the psychic trio, activates a final explosion. This blast marks the end of Akira, Tetsuo and the remaining Espers, swallowing all of them in its wake to finally cancel out their powers during the boom. Kaneda was trapped within Tetsuo during this event and caught glimpses into his memories and past, letting the two make peace with one another before Kaneda is pulled free by Kei.

Reception
Tetsuo appearance in the Animated Theatrical Film was ranked #13 in Paste magazine's Top 20 greatest Anime Villains with the article stating "Despite his insanity, one can’t help but feel for him: a disaffected young man lashing out at a world that had long since discarded him and, in doing so, grooming a monster unlike any that they had known before.