Most people who are new to sushi and sashimi start with tuna. When it's raw, tuna has a meaty, clean, and not-too-fishy taste. The light, white fish like halibut and sea bass have the same mildness in flavor, but we seem to be more familiar with tuna.
But when you sidle up to the sushi bar, you can't just ask the sushi chef for "tuna." You might as well go to Morton's and ask for "cow." Just like a side of beef can be a London broil or a filet mignon, so too does a tuna have different cuts.
Maguro is a general Japanese term similar to the general English word "tuna." It can be a yellowfin, a bigeye, and if you're lucky, bluefin.
Akami refers to any of a few cuts of tuna along the backbone. Not that you'd ever need to use these terms at the sushi bar, but senaka is the highest quality of the akami, followed by sekami, then finally seshimo. We're most familiar with this as the deep, blood-red meat that has an almost beef-like quality.
Or if you're Mrs. Lachey, like chicken of the sea.
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