Akane Kurokawa

Biographical Information

• Name: Akane Kurokawa

• Gender: Female

• Height: 163 cm (5'4")

• Age: 19

• Occupation: Actress

• Affiliation: Hydrangea Theatrical Company (Former), Lala Lai Theatrical Company

• Relatives: Unnamed mother, Osamu Kurokawa (Father)

• Relationships: Aqua Hoshino (Ex-boyfriend), Kana Arima (Rival)

Summary

Akane Kurokawa is a major supporting character in Oshi no Ko. She is a top-class method actress affiliated with the Lala Lai Theatrical Company that was introduced as Aqua Hoshino's co-star in the reality dating show LoveforReal.

Akane ended up being saved by him when she got caught up in a scandal caused by an on-set incident, and went on to become his girlfriend for the plot of the show. Even when she was hesitant about starting a business relationship with Aqua, she decided to continue it, deducing that Aqua needed something from her and wanted to return the favor for saving her.

Even after learning of Aqua's identity as Ai Hoshino's son and his desire to avenge her death, she stayed by his side. Unfortunately, Aqua ultimately chooses revenge over her and ends their relationship, prompting her to resolve to stop him before it is too late.

In the end, though unable to stop Aqua, she took solace in at least having been able to save his soul, as he sacrificed himself not for revenge but to protect his loved ones.

Appearance

Akane is a young woman of average height. She has teal eyes and slate blue hair with turquoise gradients.

For her outfit in LoveForReal, she wears a crisp white long-sleeved shirt with a pointed collar, layered underneath a black V-neck sweater vest that fits snugly over her torso. A dark blue tie is neatly knotted at the collar of the shirt, peeking out from beneath the vest. Her lower body features a pleated gray school skirt that falls to mid-thigh. She completes the look with black knee-high socks that reach just below her knees and simple dark maroon loafers on her feet.

At the beginning of the story, her hair was short, above her shoulders. However, from the Tokyo Blade Arc onwards, she began to appear with long hair, covering almost half of her back, and later on, she would then appear with chest length hair that is slightly wavy at times.

She is considered to be very beautiful by several other characters, such as Ruby Hoshino, Abiko Samejima, Yoriko Kichijouji, and Kana Arima.

Personality and Backstory

During the beginning of the reality dating show LoveforReal, Akane was presented as a shy and reserved girl, which caused her to have a lot of trouble standing out on the show and many questioned whether she was a real actress. Soon after, it was revealed that Akane is out of her element if she does not have clear instructions on which character to play and, given the nature of a reality show, the lack of a script did not allow her to exploit her full potential.

Mem-cho and Yuki, other co-stars of the show and Akane's friends, suggested she create a character of her own to play on the show to protect herself from criticism. When Akane wondered what kind of character to play, the girls pressed Aqua to reveal his ideal girl. Aqua, without much thought, ended up describing Ai. Her friends encouraged Akane to accept the challenge of playing Aqua's ideal girl and she, as a gesture of gratitude for helping her solve her scandal, accepted.

Thanks to her studies in profiling, psychology and a natural talent for understanding characters, Akane managed to play the legendary idol Ai Hoshino to perfection.

She is very hard-working and determined with every job she gets. When looking to take on a role, she makes sure to study and understand the character doing a complete background, to the point she plays it perfectly. She has been described by many as a genius actress despite being very young.

During the Tokyo Blade Arc, more sides of the complex and fascinating character that is Akane were revealed. Thanks to her intelligence and incredible investigative skills, she was able to deduce that Aqua and Ruby were Ai's children, a secret that no one had been able to discover for over 15 years.

Akane is also a highly empathetic person who cares deeply about others. When she discovered Aqua's secret, Akane respected his privacy and did not mention to him that she had already deduced the truth. Instead, she hugged and comforted him while the boy was going through a difficult time, which caused a true bond to form between them, and they stopped being just a business couple. Akane's sweet and kind side should not be mistaken for naivety. When Aqua confessed to her that he became an actor to get close and kill someone in the entertainment industry, Akane didn't judge him. Instead, she offered Aqua to be her ally and help him kill that person.

At the time, Akane thought that taking revenge on his mother's murderer was what Aqua needed to overcome the pain of his past, as Aqua himself also believed the same. However, after the final scene of the Tokyo Blade play, where Aqua, with Akane's help, realizes that what his heart really desires is to see his mother again (a wish that will never be fulfilled), the boy begins to question his motivation for revenge. Finally, after finding out that his father was dead, Aqua ends up abandoning his plans completely, and he confesses to Akane that what he wants now is to lead a normal life. She vows to do everything she can to protect Aqua's new found peace.

When Akane and Aqua officially started dating, Akane became much more open. She asked Aqua to pamper her after a busy day and thanked him for all the little actions he did to show his feelings. Aqua would fetch her with an umbrella on rainy days, respond to her text messages as soon as possible, and praise her for her hard work. All these small actions made Akane feel grateful and satisfied.

When Aqua found out that his father was still alive, he ended his relationship with Akane, fearing that she would get into dangerous situations because of him.

Skills & Talents

Akane is a talented actress who is noted to be the immersive type of actor who get into her roles, which indicates she specializes in method acting. This is clearly demonstrated after she decides play the role of Ai Hoshino during the later portions of LoveforReal. After intense studying, Akane is able to replicate Ai's demeanor fastidiously (from her mannerisms, speech patterns, and even thought processes), so much so that she effectively bewitched Aqua and was capable of triggering thoughts of Ai in others immediately after looking at her. Through her research, she was able to accurately deduce that Ai's situation at the time.

Akane is also very observant, as shown after seeing a video of kid Aqua Hoshino, she can tell that he was not putting his soul into his performance but just reciting the lines. This ability is not limited to her studying her roles, as she is able to use the same skills to make deductions, for instance, she is able to piece together Aqua's relationship with his late mother upon receiving little details surrounding his past.

However, her preference for method acting does have its limitations such as during the stage adaption of Tokyo Blade. Early on, due to the changes made to her character in the script and with little to draw from the source material, she has problems getting immersed into her character.

Akane is also an accomplished cook, capable of concocting a full-course savory dinner, for which Taishi Gotanda's mother commented to Aqua that 'this one's a keeper'. She gained these skills after attending cooking courses with her mother and cooking at home.

Career

• Film: The 15 Year Lie
• Television: We're About to Fall in Love for Real
• Theater: Tokyo Blade, Thorn Sisters

Dating Reality Show

Being a quiet and reserved girl, she decides to sign up for the Reality Show "We're About to Fall in Love for Real" along with other teenagers, including Aqua. Seeing that she does not stand out much in the program, she decides to develop a false enmity and rivalry with the fan favorite Yuki. In an impulse of emotions, she ends up scratching the face of the model, who immediately knows that Akane did not do it on purpose and forgives her. However, the viewers and internet users did not take it the same way and began assaulting the young girl with hateful messages and flaming her on many different social networks. From death threats to insulting her character and even wishing that she would die.

Akane unable to handle the hate comments she received. After reading all the comments, she has reached her breaking point and resolved herself to commit suicide. However before she jumps off a bridge onto the highway, she is grabbed and saved by Aqua, who gently embraces her and promises that everything will be alright.

After the near-incident, all her colleagues join together to prepare a PV to the social networks of the program with different scenes that were never broadcasted but show Yuki anda Akane being friendly with each other to alleviate the hatred towards Akane. Aqua takes charge of the operation and the plan works out as public opinion sways back in favor of her.

Akane imitating Ai Hoshino Knowing how Aqua saved her life and reputation, she becomes grateful to him. In the final episode of the reality show, Aqua kissed her and the two became the “official couple” of the show. Off camera, Akane asked Aqua why he decided to pair up with her and he told her that the reason was due to his interest in Akane as an actress (this was a lie, as Aqua's real intention was to use Akane's incredible talent to get more information about Ai [6]) That answer seemed to satisfy her, as she agreed to have a business relationship with Aqua.

Later in the story, it is revealed that Akane always knew Aqua was lying. However, because of the gratitude she felt towards him, she decided to say nothing and let Aqua continue with his plan to use her. In the end, Aqua himself never went through with it, as he and Akane became very close during their time together and a true bond was formed between them.

The First Concert

After the new B-Komachi's first performance, Akane and Aqua meet up for a work date and start discussing about Tokyo Blade, a popular manga which is going to get a 2.5D stage-play adoption. Akane asks Aqua if he would take the job or not, Aqua replied with a "yes" and continues to say who is he cast as.

Suddenly, Kana appears and interrupts their date. She proceeds to teach Akane not to post pictures on social media in real-time, as it can indicate their current location which can cause trouble.

After Kana leaves, Aqua suggests Akane to get along with Kana, but Akane refuses due to long-term animosity between the two of them. She stated that she won't lose to Kana, and she just got her chance to do so in the Tokyo Blade stage play.

2.5D Stage Play

After an initial meeting where the everyone involved in the Tokyo Blade stage adaptation introduce themselves. Akane decides to lend Aqua a hand as performing on the stage is her main job, and she feels the need to return his favor for what he did during their time on LoveforReal. As the script-reading progresses, Akane cannot help but notices Kana's performance and tries to work out why Kana's performances has become "sharper" then usual.

On the third day of the Tokyo Blade rehearsal, Akane notices that Aqua has also seemingly focused on Kana's performance, and asks if that is what he is doing. Aqua acknowledges with a "yes", and informs Akane that if she performs as she has done so up to this point, she is going to lose by a wide margin. Upon hearing Aqua's comments, she decides to take on his suggestions and begins rehearsing her dialogues.

When Akane begins to rehearse, the director stops her, telling her to match the atmosphere around her. Heeding the direction, she attempts on the line again. This new attempt leaves the director satisfied but Akane believe performing in such a way is entirely different from source material. However, she understands some of the changes are unavoidable since the manga series are basically different than a stage-play adoption and the original author of this series has also approved the script, so she has no choice but to continue acting this way.

Later on, Akane has the opportunity to ask the scripwriter Goa about the differences of the character she is portraying compared to the source materials, and received explanation from both Goa and the director Toshirou Kindaichi about the need to truncate the nuance of said character for the benefit of the play itself since they have limited runtime. She also greets Abiko Samejima, the original author of Tokyo Blade as she visits the set, and witness her outburst as she demands the script to be rewritten in its entirety.

Due to Abiko's demands, the rehearsals are cancelled for the time being, which troubles Akane since she wanted as much rehearse time as possible since they're performing on a stage-around. An offhand comment by Aqua made Akane realize that Aqua is not aware of the differences between normal stage and stage-around, and she invites Aqua to join her in watching a stage-around show with her in guise of a date. After the show finishes, Akane is elated to find out that Aqua finds the stage-around enjoyable. As they discuss about the strengths of the stage-around, they are approached by Sumiaki Raida who is in charge of the show they just watched, and they talk about the current Tokyo Blade script situation.

Akane later joins Aqua, Kana Arima and Melt Narushima to visit Yoriko Kichijouji, to help with Aqua's plan to help Goa and resolve the situation with Abiko and the script. She talks with Yoriko about her work and her friendship with Abiko, and at the end, she asks Yoriko if she can help by talking Abiko out of firing Goa. However, due to their long-standing friendship, Yoriko cannot agree to help, and Akane watches as Aqua ask her to give something to Abiko.

As the situation resolves, and the script finished being rewritten, Akane can be seen happily reading the new script. She is delighted to see that her character, Sayahime, now matches perfectly with her interpretation. At some point during the rehearsal, Kindaichi demands Aqua to have an emotional acting to fulfill his character. Akane tries to help him by leading him on, but Kana interrupted her. She and Kana has a disagreement regarding emotional acting, and she looks surprised as Aqua fell down to the floor.

Akane attends to Aqua as he takes a minute to recover, and she calls Taishi Gotanda to pick him up. Taishi is surprised to learn that Akane is his girlfriend, and explains about Aqua's situation to her, stating that he has not recovered from a deeply painful trauma he received during childhood. As Akane watches over a sleeping Aqua, she heard him mutter Ai's name. She connects the dots and realizes that Aqua is Ai's secret child. Akane cries as Aqua wakes up, and she hugs him, stating that she will always be his ally no matter what, and share his pain.

Private

As another showing of the Tokyo Blade stage play is over, the cast plans to have drinking party to celebrate. Akane excitedly search for bars that can reserve on the same day, and can be seen enjoying herself on the party.

After a while, the Tokyo Blade stage play finally ended, and Akane and Aqua has another date where they talk about Aqua's trip to Miyazaki, and Aqua invited her to join as he wanted to talk to her about something. Akane deduces that Aqua wants to break up with her during the trip, and asks him to talk about their relationship right now instead. They walk around, talking about the nature of their relationship, until they reach the same bridge where Akane almost jumped off from. Akane then reveals that she is aware that Aqua was trying to use her, but her feelings for him has now grown to the point where she is willing to kiss or even have sex with him, as she hugs him from behind. Aqua is unsure that what Akane has for him is a romantic feeling, but he is also unsure about his own feeling for Akane.

They discuss a bit more regarding their feelings, and Aqua finally opens up about the recent developments in his life, and how his revenge is over as he found out recently that his father is supposedly dead from his half-brother Taiki Himekawa. Akane however notices something off from his explanation, before excusing herself from the conversation. As she walk away, she pieces together a possibility that the father Aqua thought is dead is not the same person that he is looking for. Akane worriedly debate with herself over telling Aqua about her deduction, even though she doesn't want Aqua to live for revenge again, as he is now free from that burden.

Mainstay

Six months after the trip to Miyazaki, Akane's career took off as she becomes a lead actress in an upcoming movie along with roles in several TV dramas. It is also revealed that Aqua and Akane are now in a real relationship.

When Akane and Aqua officially started dating, Akane became much more open. She asked Aqua to pamper her after a busy day and thanked him for all the little actions he did to show his feelings. Aqua would fetch her with an umbrella on rainy days, respond to her text messages as soon as possible, and praise her for her hard work. All these small actions made Akane feel grateful and satisfied.

When Aqua found out that his father was still alive, he ended his relationship with Akane, fearing that she would get into dangerous situations because of him.

Scandal

As the news about Aqua and Ruby's connection to Ai Hoshino is revealed to the world, due to Aqua bartering the information in exchange of burying the scandal involving Kana, Akane looks on in silence, and mused that Aqua, and whatever he is planning, now cannot be stopped.

Movie

The casting of The 15 Year Lie involves Akane as she is invited to meet up with Frill Shiranui and Ruby and have a three-way interpersonal audition for a lead role in the movie. Akane is suspicious of Frill's intention to have this audition, and at first refuses to be involved in such matter after an unsatisfactory answer by Frill to her questions. Frill however reveals that Aqua is involved in the production as an actor, and Akane agrees to be involved in the audition. As the audition starts with Frill's performance on the theme of "lies", Akane gives a silent praise to Frill's talent and acknowledge her pull as an actress.

After watching Ruby's performance and give a small praise, Akane takes on a performance by pretending to be Ai Hoshino, and accused Frill of rigging the audition to favor Ruby, because she's guessing that this is an audition to determine who's going to play Ai Hoshino in the movie, which surprised Ruby.

Friends

• Aqua Hoshino: Initially, they develop a pseudo-relationship after being involved in We're About to Fall in Love for Real and showing an actual kiss scene in its final episode.[1] They have been seen together on various dating sites and posted many pictures online to appease their fans. After Aqua saved her on the bridge and spearheaded the entire PV video, which saved and improved her reputation, she began fostering romantic feelings for him.

Their relationship develops further upon Akane's suspicion that Ai and Aqua are, in fact, mother and son. Wishing to support and stay by Aqua's side, they have become something more than just a "business couple". Akane was even willing to put herself at risk by helping Aqua achieve his goal of 'killing someone'. Similarly, Aqua promises to fulfill his duty as her 'boyfriend' by protecting her and helping her achieve her goals. He was willing to show her his past videos, which he adamantly kept hidden from others while she cooked and stayed by his side after he collapsed from PTSD.[2]

Regarding Akane's future, Aqua was planning to break up their fabricated relationship as he couldn’t stomach the idea of using her for his selfish desires. Sensing his change of demeanor, Akane realized his intent before he spoke and shared how she knew all along that Aqua had ulterior motives for their relationship. She was grateful that he saved her from her attempted suicide, understanding that it was out of kindness and not of deception. He even went as far as to save her reputation, even though it brought no benefits to him. Combining all these factors further amplified her feelings toward him.[3] She embraces his back on the bridge where he saved her. She shares how she doesn’t mind kissing or having intercourse with him.

Aqua voices how he never felt any romantic feelings for her and asks if she genuinely harbors feelings for him. She tried to answer with conviction, but gave an irresolute explanation as she couldn’t completely understand and verbalize her complicated feelings since Aqua is her first boyfriend. Furthermore, she reasons that their relationship is unique as they skip the basics and adapt as they go on. However, the two things she is unwavering about are her wish to be his strength and to share his burdens. She shares how she isn’t against breaking up if he desires it and how she thought he needed someone to share his burdens with. Thus, Aqua explains his reasoning for finding out his father was already deceased and that he was free of his quest for vengeance.

After listening to him, she excuses herself as she feels unwell. On the way home, Akane pieces his story together and finds a loophole that Aqua was unaware of. She was in a dilemma. He might throw himself back into his revenge with no concern for his health if she told him. She knew Aqua well enough and of his desire for a simple answer to his quest so he could move on. With these conflicting feelings, Akane continues pondering about the best way forward.[5]

Aqua apologizes to Akane for forcing her to witness a grotesque scene. Akane refutes that it was not his fault though he remains adamant, apologizing once again. Akane emphasized that the fault lies with the murderer and that Aqua should not shoulder a burden that was not his. Aqua reveals that he planned to use Akane to find that corpse as he believed in her. He thanked her for finding it, but his guilt was apparent.

He lambasts himself for always using her like with his father and now to find the corpse, as he apologizes again. Akane kneeled to see his downcast face and reiterated that she knew all along. He is kind and tries to shoulder everyone's burden. She genuinely wants to be with him but does not want to hold him back, thinking it is best if they separate. Tears began to drip uncontrollably down her face as she tried to hide it from Aqua.

She did not want him to see her like that, nor have their farewell be so poignant. She at least wanted them to end off on a light note. She scolds herself for always crying as Aqua finally stands up. He recalls all she did for him, all the good and fun times and the dark and sad times. He began wiping her tears as he stated that he wanted to have a real relationship with her this time, declaring his new wish was now to keep her safe. He then gave her their second kiss, free from ulterior motives, unlike the first time, this time not to use her.

The day after, Akane still visualizes the event as she relaxes in the hot spring, and wonders whether they are officially dating as a man and a woman. When Kana joins her and expresses how Akane shouldn’t play along with a dating show romance anymore now that she’s becoming more famous, Akane rejects it and says it is no longer a dating show anymore before leaving.

In the six month following the Miyazaki trip, it was shown that Aqua and Akane had been officially dating for half a year while unofficially dating for more than a year. The couple would not see each other often during that interval due to their respective jobs, but they frequently called to update one another on their ongoings while also planning dates.[7] Akane would invite him many times to her most important ceremonies. During their alone time, Aqua would playfully bite Akane's food as she frantically says it is hers[8], or pat her while saying she has worked hard[9].

In their earlier month as a real couple, Akane knew Aqua had a 'philandering cad-like' aura around him. Thus, she watched him and had to rein him in whenever he went overboard. When Akane states that she was aware that Aqua is attracted to Kana, she avoided thinking about the reason why Aqua decided to be with her instead of Kana, implying that the answer might have been an unpleasant one. Yet, Akane didn't care, as Aqua was very kind to her, whenever it rained, he would invariably travel to her studio and escort her back with an umbrella. He would always answer her texts after reading them and comforted her when she complained about being tired from work, just like a concerned boyfriend, he would tell her to bathe and sleep early before work.

Akane states that Aqua was a good boyfriend, and that was all that mattered to her. Even though Akane mentions that Aqua had not seen or contacted Kana for a long time, she admits that Aqua went too far and was overly conscious, which slightly annoyed her. But Akane implies that she can accept it if this was Aqua's process of coming to terms with his feelings. Akane mentions that she is happy that Aqua is trying to be straight with her, and said that Aqua, who is a liar, was doing his best not to lie to her and that she greatly appreciated it. She expresses that if Aqua ever cheated on her with another girl, she would kill him.

Months afterward, Aqua realized that his mom's murderer may still be alive; Akane was among the first to notice his subtle change. She began researching and committing most of her time to identifying the killer, successfully discovering his age, name, and affiliation. She knew that Aqua would take matters into his own hands, wanting to murder the killer directly, and so she resolved never to let them meet, wanting to bring the killer to justice herself. She promises never to allow the person who messed with Aqua's life to get away with it. She spent countless hours gathering information, talking to old acquaintances, and successfully pieced together the address with the aid of Aqua's old director and mentor.

At some point later, Aqua calls her amid her investigation, noticing from her voice that she’s tired and has become suspicious that she’s doing something in the background without informing him. Akane excuses herself by saying that she’s on a diet, to which Aqua says she is skinny enough and that he'll like her no matter what she looks like when she fears becoming fat, causing her to blush. She was grateful to Aqua and was extremely happy nowadays that they could go out together openly. Aqua, in turn, became emotional, saying she had saved him ever since they met, that someone beautiful like her acknowledged and willingly got close to him. He loves how she would tell her when things are wrong and that he doesn’t want to let go of these days when she’s by his side.

He was insecure and wanted Akane to tell him what to do. He laid his entire vulnerability bare to her and asked if he should live happily with her now after forgetting the past, despite knowing the reality of his mother's death. Anxiously waiting for her reply, Akane's following sentence shocks him. She defines their relationship as two independent people who got close to one another through challenging times. He is not her property, and neither is she his.Despite their relationship being strained, it still consisted from genuine trust and love, which she finds extremely meaningful. She tells him that this important choice is for himself, not something he can easily ask even his girlfriend for the correct answer. However, she prefaces by saying that no matter his choice, she will always be with him, never letting him be alone, even if he tries to. She reiterates how she will carry his burden with him, making him thank her with a face about to break down.

After ending the call, she knows how Ai's death still haunts him. She knows that one day he will indeed be free and that she will never let anyone get in his way of freedom and happiness. That was her role as his girlfriend, believing that this future was soon. Once everything is settled, they can finally go to their favorite places again, eat delicious food, and go on another trip with just the two. Suddenly, a man appears, and she is pushed down into falling down a flight of steps.[11]

Aqua then appears and successfully saves Akane in the nick of time while looking distraught and sweating profusely. The passerby quickly apologized for knocking on her and ran off. Akane calls Aqua her hero, as he is always there when she is in danger. She voices how she thought she was deliberately pushed, causing Aqua to note her phrase. He then begs her not to do anything dangerous for his sake. Akane also notices his phrase, sensing something amiss as if Aqua knew her location without her telling him. He praises her acuteness as she rips her keychain, finding a tracker. She reprimands him for planting it without her permission and asks when he did it, finding out it was just after their show ended.

He had put it on her initially, in case she ever came into contact with the 'culprit', but hadn’t removed it after they became official. Akane was heartbroken as she failed to gain his complete trust and establish an equal relationship. If he had told her beforehand, she would have consented and willingly carried a hundred of it if necessary. However, she was angry that he did not see her as a person, but as a pet or property, choosing to use instead of trust her. He reasons that she would have taken all needed precautions against him if he did so and would have confronted the culprit alone instead of with him. He saw the knife she was carrying in the flowers as she reasoned that it was for protection since they had to meet a former murderer.

Listening to her attentively, Aqua tells her not to be involved in this case any longer. He promises to remove the tracker on her and to respect her privacy from now onwards. She began crying as she said she would go to hell with him if he asked her to. He tells her that he has no intention of dragging her down into such a place with him as he will proceed alone, releasing her from having anything to do with this situation. Akane picks out Aqua's change when he initially wanted to use her when they unofficially dated, but now he’s being kind to her. She tells him he is taking the wrong turn as he left first. Above all else, Akane was disappointed in herself for being unable to save Aqua, her only wish, as she continued weeping. Aqua reflects on Akane's actions and thanks her for all she did. However, those happy days have to be discontinued as he sets his sights on Hikaru Kamiki. Now, he is free from worrying about dirtying Akane's hands or ever putting her in danger again.[12]

Despite wanting to leave her alone, Akane would ultimately join the film depicting his mother, The 15 Year Lie. During their reunion, Akane says she has made her mind up and that she would stop his plan with Aqua responds with a smirk, challenging her to go ahead and try.[13] She even followed him when he visited Ai's mother and reminded Aqua that she would stop his plan before telling him that they should head home.

At the beach where the cast celebrate the end of filming, she called him out for isolating himself. When Aqua asked Akane if she feels awkward being around him, she affirms that she does. But she needs to look out for Aqua, lest he might try to kill Hikaru reminding him, if he did, everyone he cares about would be sad. Akane then assures Aqua that his father will surely face social sanctions following the movie's release. Afterward, she reflects on her only wishes for him to be happy, implying she still cares and wants the best for him, despite their differences.[15]

She is later confronted by Kana, who saw her having a conversation with Aqua. In response, Akane states that all she wants is for his own happiness like a mother to her child and that she has settled all of her feeling when they broke up. Seeing Kana clearly has feelings for Aqua, she then tries to match her with Aqua by pushing Kana to confess. When Kana refuses and runs away, Akane persist with her attempt by coming to her apartment and offering her tips to win him over. When Kana questions her motive, she replies that the next person who goes out with Aqua must win her approval. Later she reflects on what has transpired, the plan is to get Aqua a girlfriend to make it harder for him to pursue revenge.

Yuki Sumi: Akane and Yuki were initially at odds during their early episodes in LoveforReal, Yuki being competitive in stealing the show. However, after a misunderstanding and Akane nearly committing suicide, they worked together and became good friends, often joking and pushing Akane to do more with her relationship with Aqua. Akane didn’t realize how much she mattered to her perceived rival, but after Yuki tearfully reprimanded her for her silly actions, she now greatly treasures her as a close friend.[17] Their fans supported them after seeing a picture of them hugging and rekindling their friendship.[18] Akane is the first to be aware of Yuki's first relationship with another boy and actively supports her after realizing their positive chemistry.

Mem-Cho: Akane and Mem-Cho are co-stars on LoveforReal. During their time on the show, Mem-Cho being the oldest of the female contestants keeps a look out on the well-being of her co-stars. Akane was a particular concern for her since she seems to struggle a little during her time. During the storm, Mem-Cho is the first to notice her missing and starts looking for her.[17] Since then, the two are rarely seen interacting with each other but they remain friends as Mem-Cho has come to see her performance for the stage play Tokyo Blade. [20]. The two would also work as co-stars again for The 15 Year Lie.

Ruby Hoshino: Despite being Aqua's girlfriend, Akane does not meet Ruby until the trip to Miyazaki. At their first meeting, Ruby is over the moon to finally meet her. Ruby instantly praises her beauty and cuteness and Akane promptly returns the gesture while remaining humble, complimenting Ruby as someone much prettier than herself, causing Ruby to beam in delight. However much to her embarrassment, Ruby then proceeds to call her "sis" and asks whether she will be marrying her brother.[22]

Upon catching up with Hikaru's assassination set up attempt on having Ruby, his own daughter to be killed by Fuyuko Niino, Akane disguised as "Ruby" to further secure the real Ruby's safety.

Showbiz

• Kana Arima: Akane was a childhood fan of Kana and even tried to replicate her idol; however, after meeting her in real life, things were not as flowery as they seemed. For their first meeting when they were still kids, Akane was extremely excited and nervous to meet her.

Upon being perceived as Kana by a manager, she was shocked to find out that the audition was just for public image and that Kana was already chosen beforehand. Choosing not to believe that her idol resorted to such underhanded tactics to win, she was further stupefied when Kana readily admitted and supported it since she received more work. Kana then called her an 'ignorant brat' and taught her the truth behind 'match fixing'. Kana then threw Akane's hat on the floor and told her to stop imitating her before saying she hated people like her the most. Although Akane was affected by her words, she diligently studied and bought numerous books just to understand Kana's feelings.[24]

Years later, Kana would come to respect Akane and see her as a rival, ever since witnessing her kiss with Aqua. She holds this grudge to the point where she berates Aqua and calls him a "philandering cad.", despite the two's relationship being purely professional. Aqua has agreed to give his full support to Akane to defeat Kana. Kana greatly envies Akane for her role as Aqua's girlfriend, who takes care of him after he collapses and stays by his side.

Akane on the other hand would come to understand that Kana did so to find acceptance and acknowledgment from others, she is also aware of the fact that Kana was putting on an act and was not the person she once adored. Instead of shining brightly and inspiring others, Kana chooses to degrade herself to the standards of others to find acceptance. She declares that, at present, she resents the current 'Kana-chan' and will prove, using her performance, what Kana could have been, a person whose performance could capture everything. Her wish would be granted when Aqua's action thrust Kana into the spotlight during the stage adaptation of Tokyo Blade. She is both excited to witness Kana's acting as well as trying to win against her. Immediately after the first performance and unbeknownst to each other, they both declare themselves to be the inferior actress and telling others that their rival are the true genius.[25]

Despite finding out that Kana went with Aqua on a date, she did not hold it against them, despite Kana's constant boast about the incident. Akane didn’t want to control Aqua's movements nor ignite flames with Kana. Instead, she cautioned Aqua to be more careful about where they go as it might leave a negative image of Kana's future prospects as an idol. The two grow closer later on and start to put aside their differences, despite Kana still somewhat acting like a Tsundere towards Akane. Furthermore, Akane also advises on Kana on her attire for the B-Komachi's video, showing that she still cares about Kana despite her petty attempts to make her jealous.[26]

By the time they become co-stars for The 15 Year Lie, the two have somewhat become accustomed to each other and the bitterness in their words have mellowed somewhat;[27] The two are even able to hold a normal conversation about the movie without throwing insults at each other.[14] However Kana's determination to beat Akane remain just as strong, as shown by her conversation with Nino in order to better prepare for her role.[28]

Following the conclusion of filming, the cast spend the day off by going to the beach. Kana accidentally stumbles on Akane having a private conversation with Aqua and she misinterprets Akane as still in love with Aqua. She then encourages Akane to get back with Aqua by pointing out Akane's positive traits but also inadvertently reveals her own infatuation in Aqua as well. Akane is surprised to see Kana starting to weep as she talks about Aqua. In return Akane explains that she has put her feelings to bed when the two of them broke up. Akane then argues Kana is a coward and that she should confess her own feelings, only for Kana to run away embarrassed. Akane for her part, refuses to let the matter go and she goes to Kana's apartment to continue pushing Kana to confess. To egg her on, Akane states she will try to win Aqua back if Kana does not make a move by Christmas.

• Frill Shiranui: Frill casually mentions that she follows LoveforReal as she knows someone from the show[30], this is later revealed to be Akane. As both of them are actors of the same age bracket, the two know each other. But nothing is shown until their Interpersonal Audition along with Ruby as candidates for the role of Ai Hoshino in the movie, The 15 Year Lie. Between the two of them Frill is the more in-demand due to her connections but she admits that Akane is the better actor. However, she wants Ruby to play the role so she purposely challenges both to eliminate Akane while she on the other hand doesn't want the role.