Shigeru Akagi

**Shigeru Akagi** (赤木しげる, *Akagi Shigeru*) is the main protagonist of both JJBA: Ultimate Survivor I, and makes frequent appearances in JJBA: Ultimate Survivor II as a source of emotional inspiration for his adoptive son Kaiji Akagi, who navigates his way through his various gambles the way he thinks Shigeru would have done it.

## Profile

### Background

Shigeru was born in 1945, Tokyo, and met his now-boyfriend Tatsuya Wakabayashi in 1960 when Shigeru was forced into playing a Japanese mahjong with some other employees at the toy factory he had to work at to get by on a daily basis. Tatsuya was the son of the landlord of the complex he lived in at the time and frequently came to watch the matches, curious, and after Shigeru played once, approached him, praising his stealthy tricks and cheats. Shigeru was impressed that Tatsuya, someone who didn't play Japanese mahjong at all, was able to figure out the how's and why's behind Shigeru's cheating, and offered to help him learn to actually play rather than observe.

Shigeru was almost kicked out of the complex in 1961, not having quite enough money to pay for everything since his boss paid him less merely because he didn't like him, but Tatsuya offered to let Shigeru live with him instead. He agreed, moving into the small apartment, and fulfilled his promise to teach his now-roommate how to play properly. He was pleased with how quickly Tatsuya learned to play and though Tatsuya wasn't nearly as clever, quick-witted or lucky as Shigeru, they often played together to kill time. At some point from 1962 to 1964, the two entered a romantic relationship.

At some point from 1958 to 1965, Shigeru took up a bet on whether or not he would die by stabbing himself through the neck with an arrow that was offered by European man and won, earning himself a large amount of money as well as a ghost he found no one else could see, except Tatsuya, who apparently had a strange ability, Stand, of his own without knowing it.

In 1965, after Shigeru went to meet his impostor (*that's awfully sus*), Tatsuya scolded Shigeru for leaving without telling him, but it is then revealed they decided to move out together. For the Washizu game, Tatsuya displayed complete confidence in Shigeru's ability to play, but was openly anxious over the blood-loss part of the game. He was relieved Shigeru got out alive but was sympathetic toward his boyfriend's lamenting over winning by default rather than by the rules of the game itself.

Shigeru, Tatsuya, and Osamu Nozaki travelled together for a long time until the three of them were about 30, when they came across a 6 year old in Tokyo who kept bothering his mother about learning to play mahjong because she always played it with other people. Shigeru recognized her as someone he had one a match against a few years ago, Tatsuya recognizing her as an old friend. It was an awkward four-way exchange, but the woman was indeed happy to see Tatsuya and invited them for dinner. After spending a few years in Tokyo the trio became family friends of the Ito's, in 1981 both parents were killed by a passing Stand user who worked for another yakuza group.

Complying to their will, Shigeru and Tatsuya became the Ito kids, Kaiji and his sister's, new parents. At this point Osamu had moved to his own home, not wanting to impede on the two's space forever, but remained a close friend in equally close contact.