As a child, Kaneda lived in the same orphanage as Tetsuo, whom he befriended shortly after his arrival there. In their teens, they become members of a bike gang called The Capsules, of which Kaneda is the leader. During a chase with a rival gang, Tetsuo is severely wounded in a collision with
Takashi, while Kaneda and the rest of the gang are arrested by
Colonel Shikishima's men and taken in for questioning. While there, he meets
Kei, a female resistance member whom he takes a liking to. He attempts to hit on her by following her around, which leads to him saving her life twice. When he discovers that Tetsuo has gone on a murderous rampage with his new-found psychic powers, he makes it his mission to personally end him, both because he feels responsible for him as his friend and in vengeance for
Yamagata's murder. He finds Tetsuo and provokes him into a brawl, which continues until the Espers awaken
Akira, whose appearance destroys
Neo-Tokyo. Kaneda is dragged into the field of energy teleporting Tetsuo away, but the Espers rescue him at their own cost. He holds the final remains of Tetsuo's physical presence, a small glowing orb, in his hands and says his last goodbye to his friend before riding into the city's ruins with Kei and
Kaisuke.