Art- it was friggin awesome when it came out, people need to keep in mind that this show was released in 1988! If you don't like the style, that's personal taste, but it's simply unfair for people to rip on the film for looking "dated." I have always enjoyed the messy intricate looking tech you saw in older anime, the characters aren't "beautiful" but they really weren't Supposed to be. It's a bunch of teenage biker punks, kids deformed from drugs and medical experiments, and otherwise normal people. The characters are easily recognized though, reasonably well fleshed out in most cases, and interesting.
Tetsuo's inferiority complex is something I've seen in real life (sans super powers) and his reaction to suddenly gaining power over others (amped up by his drug use) and the results of him going overboard are pretty realistic and make sense.
Kaneda seems to feel responsible for Tetsuo more than anything else, and is determined to deal with him when saving him is no longer possible. Though he is the protagonist, he's not an incredibly interesting character by himself, a hormonal skirt chaser dragged into terrorist plots and eventually into things far beyond his understanding while trying to get a date.
Kei...I really don't know why Kaneda is so persistent, she's completely absorbed in her terrorism and has all of the personality of your average doorknob.
The rat man politician- he's every politician ever, with a face that fits the role.
There's a lot going on behind the scenes in this film, the manga goes much further and much deeper into things. While I recommend watching this to anyone who likes anime that isn't about little girls and such, if you find yourself confused and/or wanting to know more about the Akira world, read the manga.
That said, the film by itself is one of my favorites.
