Now, I hesitate to give a synopsis of Akira because if you haven't seen it, you are not an anime fan, it's required watching. I personally am not a huge fan of this particular movie but the Otaku Yakuza will kill me if I don't say Akira is the greatest ever. Anyway, for those living under a rock, the movie opens with what appears to be a nuclear bomb being dropped on Japan. Then suddenly we flash forward a few decades and see the city rebuilt and focus on a biker gang led by Kaneda. Tetsuo is sort of Kaneda's little brother and hates living in Kaneda's shadow, but there's nothing he can do about it because that's just the way it is, there is a pecking order, Kaneda is on top, Tetsuo is on bottom and this will never change. One night, Tetsuo nearly crashes into a kid on his bike but then a strange thing happens, his bike explodes and the military pick up Tetsuo and the kid he almost hit. Kaneda in his possessive big brother way, tries to find Tetsuo, assuming the fool got himself into trouble and needs Kaneda's help to get out of it. Kaneda has no idea how right he is and gets himself mixed up with the cult of Akira. He ahs no idea who these people are or what they are doing, but he has the hots for this one girl and believes they will help him find Tetsuo. Meanwhile Tetsuo wakes up in a hospital and appears to have hallucinations, but the truth is even stranger, the weird things he sees are actually the psychically controlled puppets of the espers. For those who do not know, an esper is one who uses ESP or extrasensory perception. I don't know what lazy linguist came up with this term, but it's definitely a word now. Anyway, there are three espers, four if you count Tetsuo because he now has his own psychic abilities. This is a big problem because the last thing you want is a disgruntled, angst-ridden teenager with an inferiority complex to suddenly have the power to do ANYTHING with his mind. First he breaks out of the military facility then he goes on a rampage across the city looking for Kaneda as if to say "Who's the little brother now? I'M GOD!" As everybody freaks out and panics, Kaneda never seems to get past the idea that Tetsuo is his little bro and no matter how much of the city he rearranges with his mind he just needs a good smack upside the head. So Kaneda badasses his way after Tetsuo on his bike leading to the big showdown where we discover the horrible truth, that wasn't a bomb at the beginning of the movie, that was Akira, another esper who, like Tetsuo lost control, and if they don't stop Tetsuo, the city will go nuclear again.
Speaking of espers, they are definitely indeed a part of 7th Moon. For once I am actually going to go over an aspect of 7th Moon, namely power levels, and give a preview of content yet to come. Power levels are very important in anime, every major franchise build up their heroes, Super Saiyans in Dragon Ball Z, Jinchuriki and Sharingan in Naruto, Zanpakuto releases in Bleach. 7th Moon is no exception. As with any series, humans are the base level, and then we step things up.
Level 1-Superhuman 7th Moon created a generation of superhuman individuals using genetic engineering and cybernetics to push them to break the Physical Limit of human abilities. There are three individuals who actually have both genetic engineering and cybernetics, Hidariude, Baz, and Aka, but this does not make them more powerful than those who only have one or the other because each cybernetic component comes at the expense of an organic component and therefore the advantage is balanced. Still, the superhumans are far beyond anything any normal human is capable of, each in their own unique way.
Level 2-Esper Once one has surpassed the physical limit, the next step is the Mental Limit and develop the power of extrasensory perception, which in the context of this story includes precognitive abilities and telepathy. The espers also demonstrate electrokinesis, pyrokinesis, and geokinesis. I have to be honest, it may seem like these powers are just put on as deus ex machina to make them invincible and provide plot armor, but I actually went to great lengths to limit their abilities to only what was practical for story purposes. Douji is the only one that is truly godlike. Hidariude, Keisei and Kichiku are the only other espers and Hime seems like one too, but she lacks extrasensory perception and therefore she is not a true esper, just a psychokinetic maniac with superhuman level abilities she has no way of controlling, making her very dangerous.
Level 3-Shintai Once one has surpassed both the physical and mental limits, the final step is the Spiritual Limit which involves possession by a spirit. Because it requires synchronised cooperation between two beings it is very hard to control and therefore unlike the previous two stages it can only be maintained temporarily. Hidarude, Douji, and Hime are the only people who can do this and only with ghosts and dragon spirits. Hime skips a step of course and this is like Gotenks going Super Saiyan 3 or Vegeta going Super Saiyan 4. Of course, Hime is extremely volatile because she is incapable of controlling this power in any way.
Now the previews...
Level 4-Zen 1(Arhat) This an ability unique to Hidariude, the ability to connect to Keisei, Kichiku, Douji, Shinryuu and all of their past lives back to Kyutsume, Bakeneko and Nyudo. The total number of souls involved is 108 and that is the factor by which his power is increased. His aura flares visible and bright from the immense amount of energy overflowing from his body, his strength, speed and senses all increase, he can use all three psychokinetic abilities, even in tandem and he can levitate. However, this puts an extreme strain on his mind and body, so he can not maintain it for very long.
Level 5-Zen 2(Buddha no Yang) This is Hidariude's ultimate form, a form so powerful it will only happen once. For this, he goes beyond his personal circle and draws energy from everybody in the world, increasing his power by an estimated factor of-wait for it-OVER 9,000! Even higher, three billion! Of course there is no way to hold this for longer than a final attack, but it will be awesome!
So, you wanna read my book now?
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