Akihiko Sanada

* PMP
* PRMA

## First Appearance

### Debut

Puella Magi Persona - Chapter 2 (Main)Persona Record: Magi Arena - Chapter 3 (Supporting)

**Akihiko Sanada** is a supporting character in Persona Record Series and one of the main protagonist of Puella Magi Persona. He is a student at Gekkoukan High School and a former member of the Specialized Extracurricular Execution Squad and he is member of the Shadow Operatives.

## Background

Akihiko Sanada is the captain of the Gekkoukan High School boxing team and, along with Mitsuru Kirijo and Shinjiro Aragaki, one of the original members of SEES. He and Shinjiro grew up in an orphanage together with Akihiko's little sister, Miki, who died in a fire that destroyed the orphanage. Devastated by her death and feeling powerless that he could not save her, Akihiko vowed to become stronger. He took up boxing so he could learn how to fight, becoming a champion student boxer in the process.

Shinjiro and Akihiko remained friends after Miki's death. However, an incident occurred during an early SEES mission which put a strain on Akihiko and Shinjiro's relationship. Shinjiro's Persona went berserk while combating a Shadow, killing an innocent bystander (Ken Amada's mother) in the process. Feeling guilty, Shinjiro immediately left SEES. Akihiko used the incident as a springboard to focus even more on his strength and fighting the shadows. He began to criticize his friend for retreating when others needed his help. Throughout the game, Akihiko repeatedly tries to talk Shinjiro into joining SEES again. When Ken Amada joins the party, Akihiko, with the aid of Minato Arisato, forces Shinjiro to join.

During the events of the Strength and Fortune full moon battles, Akihiko is unsettled and distracted by the absence of Ken and Shinjiro. He later realizes the date: October 4, the day Shinjiro's persona killed Ken's mother. He leaves the others in search of Ken and Shinjiro, finding them both behind Port Island Station along with Strega member Takaya Sakaki, who has interrupted Shinjiro and Ken's conversation and intends to kill them both. He has already shot Shinjiro and was aiming to shoot Ken, but Shinjiro stops Takaya from killing Ken by taking another bullet despite knowing that Ken has made a vow to kill him to avenge his mother's death. Shinjiro's last words are a request that Akihiko take care of Ken, and he states that his death is how things should be.

Mourning the loss of his friend, Akihiko nonetheless finds himself amazed that Shinjiro could face death so bravely and vows to face difficulty head on. This resolution causes his Persona to evolve into into Caesar. He is one of the first to express his determination to fight Nyx, despite knowing she cannot be defeated.

Akihiko remains loyal to Minato and SEES until the end of Nyx's defeat. When Minato confronts Nyx's true form Death, Ken's voice is the first heard, worrying that there's nothing they can do. Akihiko's voice is then heard consoling Ken and SEES, saying that they can't give up and they must believe in him. On Graduation Day, Akihiko remembers the promise SEES made and runs to him on the roof.

## Appearance

Akihiko has short silver hair, hazel eyes, and wears a white band-aid above his left eye. Oddly enough, he still wears the bandage years later in *PRMA*.

He wears a slightly modified school uniform of the Gekkoukan High School, where he replaces the standard jacket with a red sweater vest (long-sleeved for winter, short-sleeved for summer). Additionally, he wears black gloves.

In Persona Record: Magi Arena, He has another band-aid on his right cheek, a cross shaped scar on the left side of his head, and stubble. He wears brown pants, and the left thigh of his pants is bandaged, while the right has several tears on it. He wears reddish brown mixed-martial arts gloves and a matching cape. He does not wear a shirt, and he seems to have been injured by a huge animal, as he has three scars on his chest, and a few scars on his arms as well. In addition, he carries a machete, a bottle of water, large knife and an Evoker with him.

## Personality

A cool and well-respected upperclassman, Akihiko is serious and determined, as well as cracking small jokes on small occasions. Of all members of the group, he is the most prone to sarcasm, one instance being if Minato to him while he and Junpei are taking a break from studying for first semester midterms, stating that Junpei isn't studying for his exams as Mitsuru told everyone to go back to their routines. He tends to show his excitement for a big challenge, something that eventually rubs off on Junpei. He is eager to train and fight, often to a fault. When he is injured due to a fight with one of the twelve full moon Shadows, he will repeatedly express interest in fighting despite being unable to. This draws criticism from Mitsuru, who views Akihiko's eagerness to fight as if he treats their work. At one point, Yukari even accuses him of caring more about having a good fight than doing the right thing. However, Akihiko is a kind young man who will go out of his way to help someone, which is shown when he was willing to take any chance to save Fuuka from Tartarus despite having never met her before, even after Junpei and Yukari pointed out that she had been there for ten days (or ten hours from her perspective) and most likely couldn't have survived.

Akihiko also has an aggressive side, which he usually demonstrates when dealing with Shadows. He never gives up and always tries to get stronger in order to protect what is dear to him and feels guilty for not being able to save his sister, Miki, from the fire. As he puts it, he knows what it's like to feel powerless and he never wants to feel that way again, though this often results in him overworking himself due to feelings of self-doubt. Akihiko is also shown to be very smart, if not quite on Mitsuru's level, as he is consistently shown to get good grades and often picks up on things that Mitsuru misses, like giant Shadows appearing during the full moon and why Fuuka disappeared. He even tells Minato that a strong mind is just as important as a strong body. He is also very competitive; despite not being particularly interested in picking up girls, he willingly goes along with Operation: Babe Hunt, treating it like a "match" and even getting disappointed when they had no luck. Afterwards, it takes six months for Junpei to get him to admit defeat, after which he takes most of the group out for ramen.

He acts like an older brother for the younger S.E.E.S. members.

While generally caring and straightforward, Akihiko can be quite abrasive at times, such as when he pretty much forces Shinjiro to come back to S.E.E.S. shortly after Ken joins the group. He also expresses deep distrust and hostility towards Metis, even more so than the rest of the party, as he fully expects her to turn on them again at any time and even suspects her of having an ulterior motive for protecting Aigis. He can be blunt and isn't above making a harsh comment to someone, even to a friend, a trait he shares with Mitsuru. However, Akihiko is also shown to be scared of Mitsuru, and greatly dreads being on the receiving end of one of her "executions."

Akihiko is often depicted as aloof, and, in some cases, completely unaware of his fanbase of female students, who often follow him around school. He finds this irritating and will sometimes complain to Minato about it, saying they talk so much that they give him a headache. This is due to the fact that he is extremely shy and awkward when around girls, to the point that he is incapable of talking to any girl outside his teammates.

According to Shinjiro, Akihiko is actually quite the crybaby. Whenever Shinjiro did something wrong when they were kids, even with good intentions (such as stealing a doll so that Miki could have a toy of her own), Akihiko would attack him while crying the entire time. He hides how sensitive he is by responding logically to everything, which leads to his severe bluntness at times. Around Shinjiro, Akihiko also shows a childish side to him, such as getting more excited than Junpei at the prospect of eating Shinjiro's cooking for the first time. He also fights with Shinjiro (sometimes physically) over the smallest things, which Mitsuru often has to break up akin to a mother disciplining her children.

After Shinjiro's death, Akihiko is reminded what it's like to feel powerless, just like he had experienced with the death of his sister. Over Shinjiro's grave, he admits that he was a fool to believe that he could protect anyone if he was strong enough and that power was all he really cared about, to the point that it had become an obsession. It's then that he realizes that he can't keep blaming himself and decides to move towards the future, which triggers the evolution of his Persona. This resolution allows him to help Ken recover from his own breakdown, which was caused by him temporarily losing his reason for living e.g. vengeance for the death of his mother. Both become closer as a result of this event, and learn to accept the loss of the people they loved. While initially conflicted when he learns about The Fall, he ultimately decides to try and defeat Nyx, even admitting to Ryoji Mochizuki that he doesn't care if it's impossible.

## Abilities

Akihiko's Persona is Polydeuces and Caesar. In battle, He fights with gloves and knuckles.

## Relationship

### Minato Arisato

Akihiko's junior and fellow team. Akihiko will give advice and take care of him as his older brother.

### Shinjiro Aragaki

Akihiko's childhood friend and fellow team. The two fought so often that Mitsuru had to dissuade both of them like a mother forbid children all the time. Even though Shinjiro had died, Akihiko still loved and cared for him like his biological brother.

### Mitsuru Kirijo

Akihiko's Middle School Friend and fellow team. Mitsuru and Akihiko are always working and planning as a team.

### Tsuruno Yui

A Magical girl. They Both Have an Understanding With Each other to Become Stronger, so that's what made them want to be friends, and Also they are Both Reckless. Akihiko always looked up at Tsuruno like she was a part of him.

### Tart/Jeanne D'Arc

A Magical girl friend from the French past. In Puella Magi Persona, Ken enters a dream world with the team until he meets Tart and joins her to save Minato, who has been kidnapped by the magical girls on the British side.

## Trivia

* Akihiko's Persona, Polydeuces, is a something of a giveaway towards his connection with Shinjiro if looked at in small depth. Polydeuces - other than being a celestial body - is another name for Pollux, who is one of the Gemini Twins with the other being Castor, the latter of whom is the Persona for Shinjiro, both of which share a similar physical stature, facial build, and focus on sheer strength.
	+ This connection also gives away Shinjiro's fate; Polydeuces was immortal and Castor was not, and in their myth, Castor dies (in response, Polydeuces requests to share his immortality with Castor, which leads to the two brothers forming the Gemini Twins constellation).
* Akihiko is left-handed, thus his fighting style represents a southpaw stance, but when using gloves Minato Arisato uses an orthodox style. He is also one of two Persona-users who use his left hand when handling his Evoker (the other being Jin Shirato of Strega).
* Akihiko sports a Caesar haircut like his final Persona, Caesar.

## Gallery

AkihikoConcept art of AkihikoAkihiko's WeaponAkihiko using an EvokerShinjiro dies beside Akihiko