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“ | My whole life, up until now, I don't think I cared about anything. It didn't matter to me whether I myself or anyone else died. I was only living because I hadn't died yet, and had no particular reason to be alive. So I thought. I always had trouble understanding people who cling to life. And I didn't get what it meant to die. Murder is outlawed in Bl@ster. It's the reason why I decided to join Igura. (Keisuke: Not to shake off your false accusations?) |
„ |
~ Akira to crazed Keisuke about why he joined Igura. |
“ | I don't like hanging around with others for no reason... But if it's a person I don't mind being near me, I want to stay with them. At some point, spending time with you became a part of my everyday life. I didn't seek anything from you. What I really wanted to say was - all you have to do is remain there, remain yourself, remain Keisuke. | „ |
~ Akira to Keisuke about their relationship. |
Akira is the main protagonist of Japanese BL visual novel Togainu no Chi, its television anime adaptation, two manga adaptations and a novel.
A former test subject at Nicole Experiments and a champion participant in a street fighting game known as Bl@ster, Akira was falsely accused of a murder by military agents Emma and Gwen and sent to a lawless city of Toshima (known as Tokyo before Third Division), where he would participate in Igura, a game of collecting tags by fighting people to death. Unbeknownst to Akira, his actual purpose was to draw out Nano, a living escaped weapon lurking around the city. As the game progresses, Akira soon meets myriad of strange people with whom he either forms friendship or hostility.
He is voiced by Kohsuke Toriumi in PS2 version of the visual novel, anime adaptation and drama CD, who has also voiced Kiba Inuzuka in Naruto, Fei Long in Street Fighter Alpha 3, Strider Hiryu in Strider 2 and Capcom X series, Phoenix Wright in Ace Attorney, Kiyotaka Ishimaru in Danganronpa, Gilbert Nightray in Pandora Hearts, Naze Turbine in Mobile Suit Gundam IRON-BLOODED ORPHANS, Guido Mista in JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Vento Aureo, and Naoto Shirogane in Persona 4.
Appearance[]
Akira is a handsome young man in his early twenties, with fair skin, lean and muscular build, messy dark-silver hair and greenish-blue eyes, standing at 5'8 ft or 173 centimeters tall. In the main game, he is dressed in an orange T-shirt, light-grey jeans, white high top sneakers, and a black bomber jacket with white fur at the hood. Different endings show him wearing different outfits; for example, in Keisuke's good ending, he is shown wearing a white buttoned shirt and white pants, and in Shiki's good ending, he wears a leathery black coat or greenish-grey military outfit with a hat and high boots in Shiki's bad ending.
Personality[]
Akira is an introverted man who generally acts cold and uncaring, even towards his closest friends. He was known to have no friends and not speak to anyone in the orphanage until he rescued Keisuke from his bullies, making brunet desperately crave his attention to feel special. As he would grow up to become a champion fighter in Bl@ster, Akira always searched for thrill in fights, yet found none and would always crush his opponents within seconds without so much as a hint of emotion. Due to years spend in this street fighting community, Akira became an expert fighter capable of analyzing and predicting person's moves based on their body language.
A journey to Toshima changed Akira greatly. No longer was he unbeatable as he was pitifully defeated by Shiki on his first night and once even injured by thugs enhanced by the drug known as Line. He never begged for his life, even when Shiki pressed a sword up to his throat. As noted by Keisuke, Akira discovered that he likes beating his opponents senseless with his bare fists, as much as the latter would deny it. His injury once caused him to become frustrated of his friend, yelling at him things he did not mean and causing Keisuke's already fragile mental health to dissolve and push him to take Line in order to impress him. Given the savage nature of Toshima's inhabitants, Akira's attitude combined with his beaty often gets him into trouble, as many people want to see him vulnerable and frequently attack him.
Despite his hardhearted exterior, Akira does care for his friends. Even after Line-crazed Keisuke savagely beat him, mutilated his penis with a screwdriver and raped him to unconsciousness, Akira still cared for him and tried to talk him out of his addiction, to the point where he watched over and nursed Keisuke back to health after the latter had a convulsion due to ingesting Akira's blood. Akira would also show compassion to Takeru for his noble goal to provide money for his sick daughter and mourn his brutal death at the hands of Keisuke.
Powers and Abilities[]
- Line neutralization: Due to being a part of Project Nicole, Akira's blood contains enzymes that act as an antidote to Nicole Virus, and by extension, a drug known as Line, which grants person ingesting it superhuman strength capable of crushing skulls and shattering the ground, moving fast enough to disappear from human eyesight and dodge bullets, as well as track targets based on smell from large distances away, all depending on person's compatibility with it and coming with constant physical pain and increased aggression. If anyone who have consumed Line ingests a bit of Akira's blood, they would suffer powerful convulsions and either lose their lives, or at best stay practically paralyzed for days before returning to health. However, if someone takes enough portion and concentration of Line, they would become immune to Akira's blood, as demonstrated by Keisuke in his second bad ending.
- Street fighting proficiency: Thanks to years spend in Bl@ster, Akira is a master of street fighting capable of taking down multiple opponents physically larger than himself non-lethally within seconds. It is implied that due to being a test subject at Project Nicole, Akira possesses enhanced physiology, as he can take blows from both Line-enhanced Keisuke and Takeru, even briefly pinning the former to the ground during their final match. He was also strong enough to block a katana from Shiki with only a knife, as well as hold his own against otherwise invincible opponent. However, he is nothing compared to the Executioners and would be overpowered and raped to death should he foolishly try to engage with them.