Kei (Akira)

Kei (ケイ "Kei") (real name unknown), sometimes called Kay, is a fictional character who appears as a major role in the manga, "Akira" and the adapted 1988 anime movie of that work, also called "Akira". The storyline for Kei in the manga diverges from her storyline in the film.

Basic information

A young woman whom Kaneda meets on his quest to find Tetsuo. She is a member of an anti-government organization that Ryu and Nezu are also involved in. She is seemingly better looking in the manga, and appears to be somewhat older than Shotaro Kaneda, just as he appears younger in the manga. She falls in love with Kaneda as the story progresses.

Role in the storyline

Personality

Kei's role in the Resistance is important because she is completely loyal to its cause and to Ryu. Her character is far more developed in the manga, where she plays more than a 'hard-to-get' love interest for Shotaro Kaneda. She is strong willed and is the one to discover that Lady Miyako is an Esper too. Miyako helps Kei channel her thoughts and discovers she is a conduit for the Espers' telepathy. Kiyoko does this in the movie and Kei communicates with Kaneda and Tetsuo. She works closely with Chiyoko, a physically strong and resilliant resistance fighter and they look out for each other.

Comparison with the manga character

Kei is introduced in the manga having stylized hair or wearing a wig, and meets Kaneda in Harukiya's bar, when he gets in the middle of a conversation with Ryu, attempting to flirt with her. Ryu knocks him down and both escape. In the movie, she is introduced during a protest, while Ryu and his group are in the pursuit of Takashi; she later meets Kaneda at the police precinct, being both arrested the night before. As no major incident occurred, Kaneda is released, and sneaks Kei into his group, so she can be released too.

She is a more confident and focused person in the manga, willing to do whatever it takes to keep moving forward, but at the same time very cautious and suspicious. After shooting a policeman in the sewers (in both versions), in the manga she kills him showing no hesitation; in the movie, she is somewhat shocked, and Kaneda has to make her fall to senses.

Kei's relationship with Kaneda is somewhat different in the versions. In the manga, Kei is constantly annoyed by Kaneda's traits and behavior, but with the time and the circumstances they slowly fall in love with each other. In the movie, since the feature time is faster, their relationship is not deeply explored, and she seems somewhat apathetic towards Kaneda. She eventually builds more confidence with Kaneda.

In the manga, Chiyoko is a heavy influence on Kei's self-confidence. As Chiyoko does not appear in the film, Kei is much more assured of her actions.

Both in the movie and in the manga, Kei is a medium of the power of the Espers. In the manga she has some power of her own, which she uses to unleash Tetsuo's powers; her battles with him are far more graphic than in the movie. She also uses them to rescue Kaneda from being absorbed by the universe created by Akira and the Espers. The main difference is that in the manga she is manipulated by the Espers to fight and kill Tetsuo in three separate times, two of them where she is actually self-aware and willing to do it; her awareness during the manipulation on the movie is not instated whatsoever.

External links

* [http://www.bbakira.co.uk/characters/resistancech.htm BlueBlade AKIRA]