Seijūrō Akashi

> No one has the right to defy my orders, NOT EVEN MY OWN PARENTS!!!
>
> Akashi to Murasakibara after awakening the Emperor Eye, "We no longer"

**Seijūrō Akashi** (赤司 征十郎 *Akashi Seijūrō*) is the point guard and captain of Rakuzan High. He was also the captain for Team Vorpal Swords and Teikō Junior High, commanding leadership over the Generation of Miracles.

## Appearance

Akashi is of average height and build, which in comparison to the other players around him, makes him appear even smaller. At 173cm tall, he is the shortest member of the Generation of Miracles and the fourth shortest player in the entire series (ahead of Kuroko, Koganei, and Furihata).

Akashi has spiky, bright red hair befitting his name. During the opening ceremony of the Winter Cup, he personally cut his bangs with a pair of scissors in order to keep it out of his eyes. In EXTRA GAME, he has since grown his hair back out and has mostly returned to his prior appearance.

Akashi's eyes are the same color of his hair and have uniquely vertical pupils. In his original personality, both eyes are the same red color. In his alternate personality, his left eye is instead an orange color, giving him complete heterochromia.

Akashi wears the white and light blue Rakuzan High jersey with the number 4, typically wearing his jacket over his shoulders rather than through the sleeves. In EXTRA GAME, he instead wears the white and cardinal jersey of Team Vorpal Swords with the number 4.

## Personality

As the only child of an prominent family, Akashi experienced a strict upbringing from the moment he was born and was taught to always stand above the rest. This caused him to adopt the same merciless winning mentality as his father and develop an extremely strong, almost inhumane level of self-discipline that has led Akashi to appear calm and unwaveringly confident in nearly every aspect of life. He regards victory not as something to be sought, but as something as simple and vital for survival as breathing.

Akashi is most notably in possession of two separate, distinctive personalities, both of which refer to themselves as Seijūrō Akashi. This split began in Akashi's fifth year of elementary school, following the death of his beloved mother and the severe workload forced onto him by his increasingly strict father. Around this time, Akashi specifically noticed that he acted differently at home compared to when he was at school.

While the separation between these two personalities became increasingly clearer with time, Akashi did not fully switch from one personality to the other until his third year at Teikō Junior High. In the face of near defeat, Akashi was crushed by his ingrained expectation of victory and forced to split in order to win and to remain ahead of his teammates. His original personality was subsequently pushed to the furthest reaches of his consciousness and did not reawaken until his game against Seirin High. Both personalities are fully aware of one another and are even able to converse if need be.

### Original Personality

Akashi's original personality is most clearly identified with his use of the personal pronoun 俺 (*ore*) and his monochromatic red eyes. This is the personality that Akashi was born with and the one considered to be his "true" personality.

Initially, Akashi's personality was that of a person who respected his teammates, while still holding that winners-mentality. Akashi also cared and appreciated his fans that gave him daily support and focused solely on teamplay with his team. He also referred people by their last name as a sign of respect and was overall less menacing.

The real Akashi personality manifests and returns once the second Akashi cracks and falls apart when his Emperor Eye was defeated by the coordination and teamwork of Kuroko and Kagami. Though the original Akashi wanted the second Akashi to fail and lose the match, he decides to take over his rightful place. Once reawakening, Akashi refers to his teammates by their last names once more, giving support (which shocked them) and compliments to their plays, and boosting their morale to the point where the Rakuzan Basketball team was able to enter the "Zone" alongside him. Alongside this, Kuroko notes that because he is the original Akashi, he has also become much more dangerous and more skilled.

Once being defeated in the Winter Cup, Akashi is hurt by his first loss, but thinks of it as a beginning for something much greater and swears that he and his team will become victorious in their next encounter and as a result, became far more approachable as a person as an apology for his prior personality (likely hinting that he no longer feels as pressured to maintain perfection and with such a weight off of his chest for years, only strives for improvement).

Akashi was shown in the Kuroko no Basket: Kiseki no Game to be extremely caring and considerate towards his former teammates. He constantly reminds them of doing things the right way, even in the way they eat and take care of their digestive system. It was much near the point of nagging that Daiki Aomine even called him "mother" jokingly.

### Alternate Personality

Akashi's alternate personality is most clearly identified with his use of the personal pronoun 僕 (*boku*) and his heterochromatic eyes, with his right eye being red and his left eye being closer to orange or yellow. This was the personality in control of Akashi during his first appearance in *Kuroko no Basuke*.

Akashi when first appearing in the series is shown with an extremely intimidating and condescending personality. He is able to control the Generation of Miracles as their leader as they all submit to his requests. Akashi has a certain level of respect for all of his teammates, former and present, and has utter faith in their abilities. Due to the way Akashi grew up during childhood, he developed a strong winners-mentality, believing that winners get everything in life while losers are denied all. Because of the fact that he has never faced defeat before, victory itself is something that he is bestowed upon. Akashi views himself as absolute in power and skill and grows extremely violent when anyone disobeys his commands as shown when he tried to stab Taiga Kagami with the scissors he borrowed from Shintarō Midorima when Kagami disobeyed him. However Kagami revealed that he could sense Akashi already knew he could avoid it.

In his Middle School years, Akashi developed a second personality that twists on the original personality. This personality showed extreme hubris and does not tolerate those that belittles him or defies him, stating that those who serve him or earns his respect can look him in the eye. He also stated that if Rakuzan High lost to Shūtoku High during the Winter Cup, he would gouge his eyes out and give them to his teammates. The reactions from all of his teammates and Midorima implied that they knew Akashi would actually do it, something that Kazunari Takao noticed. When the original personality of Akashi is confronted at the possibility of defeat against fellow teammate Atsushi Murasakibara, the second personality becomes the dominant personality and also activates the **Emperor Eye** skill for the first time, allowing him to seize victory. This second personality would later sever core teamwork aspects and viewed that coordinated teamplays were not the way to victory, which eventually led to Tetsuya Kuroko leaving the team, and being soundly dominated by Seirin High in his last moments of dominance over the original Akashi. He also referred to his teammates by their first name, rather than their last name. This Akashi personality has his right eye - red and his left eye - orange.

In spite of their prior conflicts, both of Akashi's personalities have come to be on good terms, especially when deliberately called upon during the Vorpal Swords vs. Jabberwock game. From there, the said other Akashi also grew to be more considerate and amiable akin to the original Akashi, fearing that his prior position as an enemy and his own playstyle would not mesh with his current team. With this newfound trust between both personalities, the other Akashi was able to adapt more to team play and directly help raise his teammates' morale (while still being as imposing as he was before towards his enemies).

## Skill

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As captain of the Teikō Junior High basketball team, Akashi led the team to consecutive victories and they would later be known as the Generation of Miracles. At Rakuzan High, he became the captain of the basketball team as a freshman. Kiyoshi Miyaji comments that this is highly unusual as upper-class students would not normally surrender their position to a first year, and also the fact that the 3 Uncrowned Kings (who are known to be prideful individuals) follow his orders without question, this shows his extraordinary leadership skills. Akashi is shown to be very fast and an excellent ball-handler.

According to Masaaki Nakatani, the way Akashi played in the first quarter of Rakuzan vs Shūtoku is similar to how one would play shogi, with Akashi assessing the situation before he makes his move, indicating that Akashi is a skilled tactician. Akashi's plays are extremely well-designed, as it was revealed in the Rakuzan vs Shūtoku match that everything that had occurred was all a part of Akashi's plan. During the match, Kazunari Takao states that Akashi's perfection as a point guard is undeniable. Akashi has also been seen to successfully shoot three-pointers. In the same match Akashi easily beats Midorima in a one on one isolation with ease. Akashi has also similarly beat Murasakibara in a one on one. Akashi has also beaten Kagami in a one on one.
Upon reawakening of his real self against Seirin High, Akashi displays his perfect playmaking by giving smooth passes. Takao compliments him as the 'ideal point guard' even if his shooting were not to be mentioned. Akashi is the only member of the Generation of Miracles who has awakened his ability forcefully. His awakening occurred during his one-on one-match against Atsushi Murasakibara where he activated his **Emperor Eye**, along with the second personality which resided within him. It would seem that the two personalities each have their own special skill.

Akashi's playing style differed based on what personality was the dominant one. Though the real Akashi personality has become the dominant one, his attitude when under pressure is like that of the second personality such as when Seirin successfully unleashed the "Direct Drive Zone".

Also upon entering the zone, he managed to overtake Taiga Kagami and Seiren's team. Akashi is seen beating Kagami while both were in the zone though the situation was when Kagami was already using the zone for most of the game's quarters, and as such Kagami required Tetsuya Kuroko's help to beat him.

In Kuroko no Basket: Extra Game Chapter 6, The real Akashi can switch to the other Akashi personality in order to use the Emperor Eye to its full power. In Kuroko no Basket Extra Game Chapter 8, the other Akashi decides to vanish and transfer his full skill to the real Akashi which allows him to use the full power of the Emperor eye without needing to switch personalities with the other Akashi.

### Emperor Eye

First revealed in the 3rd quarter of Rakuzan High vs Shūtoku High, Akashi's *eyes* are capable of observing every movement of his opponent, thus predicting the opponent's next move. When activated by the second personality, a glowing ring manifests in between his eyes. The Emperor Eye when used at its maximum potential, displays a glowing ring around the iris of the eye. Even without the glowing ring, Akashi is seen to still have Emperor Eye active.

According to Atsushi Murasakibara, his **Emperor Eye** (天帝の眼 *Enperā Ai*) can see the smallest details of a person's movements, including their breathing, heartbeat, sweat, muscle contractions, etc. With this, he can time his actions perfectly to nullify the opponent's movements, sabotaging whatever tactics the opponent tries to execute. All offenses are predicted beforehand and all defenses crumble before his eyes In short, he can "*see the future of his opponent's moves.*"

It's revealed in Chapter 6 of Kuroko No Basket: Extra Game that Akashi cannot fully utilize the Emperor Eye like the other Akashi. However, the original Akashi can still utilize Emperor Eye as well but to a lesser extent, to the point where the glowing ring around the iris is almost never shown and only shown for a moment before disappearing again. This is because the Emperor Eye isn't the original Akashi's special talent but rather the other Akashi's talent. In order to use the Emperor Eye to its fullest potential, the real Akashi must switch to the other Akashi personality.

#### Complete Emperor Eye

In the fourth quarter during the game between Team Vorpal Swords and Team Jabberwock, Emperor Eye was thought to be inferior to Gold's Belial Eye but the other Akashi thought otherwise. He thought the possibility that the Emperor Eye isn't inferior but rather incomplete because they were split apart. In order to stop Gold, he sacrificed his existence to transfer his full skill to the real Akashi in order to unlock the full power of the Emperor Eye without needing to switch personalities. He stated that once the Emperor Eye merges with the real Akashi's court vision, which is used to make perfect passes, he will gain a power equal to or greater than Nash. Eventually, Akashi was able to gain the same eyes as Gold's Belial eye. With his Complete Emperor Eye, Akashi was able to perceive the best possible pattern from Gold's movements which lead Akashi to successfully steal the ball from him at that moment.

* **Wide Field of Vision**: Akashi can easily see openings in defenses, as shown when he passed the ball through Kazunari Takao's guard. Also, similar to the *Hawk's Eye*, Akashi's vision covers his blind spots, allowing him to easily avoid a screen from Shinsuke Kimura.

* **Triple Threat Penetration**: Akashi's eyes can capture the moment when his opponent goes into *Triple Threat*, the most basic form in basketball. It is the form that sets up all three motions: shooting, passing, and dribbling. Almost any move a player attempts to make will start from that stance. By using his **Emperor Eye**, Akashi can read the opponent's movement and proceeds to intercept the ball before they can react. Against Akashi's superb speed and reflexes, the opponent can't even afford to move.

* **Ankle Break Dribble**: Akashi can perform the *Ankle Break*, a high-level speed dribble that disrupts his opponent's balance and makes them stumble to the ground. This situation occurs when the opponent's center of gravity is on their pivot leg while they're turning. Players collapsing due to this rarely occurs under normal circumstances. However, with his **Emperor Eye**, Akashi can predict the moment his opponent is unbalanced, allowing him to perform this technique with little difficulty.

### Zone

Similar to Daiki Aomine, Akashi has displayed the ability to willingly enter the Zone. This was first shown in the fourth quarter of the final match during the Winter Cup, where he was able to stop Taiga Kagami (who was also in the Zone) when he was *starting* his dunk, revealing his increased reaction and accuracy time. Additionally Akashi in the Zone was noticed to be able to outrun Kagami (who at that time already stayed in Zone that depriving stamina for much longer) on a fastbreak. During their one on ones while both were in the zone Akashi dominated Kagami. It was also shown that like Kagami's Zone, Akashi's Zone also possess a sphere of defense of equal size. Akashi upon first entering the zone willfully easily beat his teammates the Uncrowned Kings in a 3 on 1 game, leaving them on the ground out of breath while Akashi was fine.

The trigger for Akashi to enter the Zone is when he decides to abandon his teammates to win and wishes to grasp victory by himself instead.

### Perfect-Rhythmed Plays

Compared to the rest of the Generation of Miracles, it is revealed that Akashi has a second ability. An ability that is on par with or even greater than the **Emperor Eye**. According to Shintarō Midorima's hypothesis to Tetsuya Kuroko, the Emperor Eye was forcefully activated by Akashi through the pressure of losing against the one-on-one with Atsushi Murasakibara during their third year in Teikō Junior High. It is speculated by the latter that this skill belongs to the *other*Akashi, instead of the original Akashi. However, the original Akashi can also utilize Emperor Eye as well to a lesser extent to the point where the glowing ring around the iris is almost never shown and only shown for a moment before disappearing again. This is because it depends on the ownership, rather than not being able to use it. The real Akashi needs to switch places with the other Akashi to gain its full power, as it is, in fact, the other Akashi's skill.

Against Seirin High, Akashi revealed his second ability, which is Perfect-Rhythmed Plays. With his full court vision using the Emperor Eye and perfect playmaking, Akashi can grasp the situation and send accurate passes at whim. While it appears that this is just a normal play, Shoichi Imayoshi who plays the same position thinks otherwise and could not help but call Akashi a "monster." The main reason is that Akashi setting his teammates for perfect plays creates a perfect rhythm and brings out the best to each of his teammates. In other words, his second ability is to draw out their true potentials.

The condition is the exact opposite of the other Akashi's Zone. Instead of abandoning his teammates to grasp for victory by himself, the real Akashi grants them access to a Zone-like state. While Akashi noted that he just got back to his original state in the Zone and will never go beyond that, the same couldn't be said for the other four as they are revealed to have entered that state, though it is noted to be only around 90%, a step before the Zone. It is also worth noting that the colors of the electricity emitted in the eyes of the other four are the same as Akashi's, which make it seem like Akashi is sharing his Zone to his team.

However, this comes with one weakness that was mentioned by Kagetora Aida and lampshaded by Akashi himself in that due to all members being put in the Zone this way, the entire team will likely deplete their stamina too soon which will put Akashi's team at a massive disadvantage if done too early during a match. As a result, it's likely best saved for the match's ending quarter.

### Streetball Handles

Akashi can dribble the ball at a high level that is hard for the defender's eyes to follow, making it very hard for them to steal. This technique also has the ball moving at such quite a high pace with the use of many feints, confusing the defender. This helped him pass the ball out of the range of Gold's Demon Eye, by passing the ball behind his back to Daiki Aomine. The crowd described Akashi as a natural born streetballer when he performed this. He also had flashy passes based on streetball, notably an elbow pass to Eikichi Nebuya.

### Additional Attributes

* **Situational Analysis Speed**: Akashi's mental prowess when judging a scenario and making split second decisions is extremely fast. This allowed him to switch from a lay-up to a pass almost instantaneously against Shintarō Midorima.
* **High Physical Prowess**: Aside from being highly intelligent on- and off-court, Akashi also possesses an extremely good physique, which accounts for his jumping power. This is proven when despite being only 173 cm, Akashi is still capable of performing an alley-oop with Chihiro Mayuzumi to dunk the ball in. Notably, he scores over both Taiga Kagami and Teppei Kiyoshi, who are at least 15 cm taller than him, though he did catch both off guard due to Mayuzumi's misdirection. He is even able to use his jumping power for defense to stop Kiyoshi's dunk (while being in the Zone).

## Quotes

* "*In this world, winning is everything; winners are validated and losers are denied. Until now, I've never lost at anything, and I won't in the future. Since I always win, I'm always right. If you oppose me... I'll kill you, no matter who you are.*
* *"The only ones who are allowed to look me in the eye as I speak are those that serve me. No one that opposes me is allowed to look down on me. Know your place."*
* *"You too, Tetsuya. You'd better be prepared, if you're planning to fight me. I'm the one who first discovered your power. You'll come to understand what that means."*
* *"My orders are absolute."* “僕の命令は絶対だ。”　*"Boku no meirei wa zettai da."*
* "*I am absolute. I can see the entirety of the future. It is but a simple matter to change it.*"
* *"Sleep now, Veteran Kings."*
* *"Winning is everything. The victors writes history. The losers are wiped from it."*
* *"You're beginning to annoy me. The fake and the original...to have you compare them is most vile."*
* *"I'll only loosen my grip when you're all completely dead."*
* "*To all of you gathered here, in this place...I will show you the difference in our positions.*"
* "*And thus, by witnessing my glorious form, you should now realize... That your defeat is absolute*."
* "*We can't go back to being teammates. And what happens, the sins I've commited can't be erased. In that case, it would be best to shoulder the burden of my sins, and continue onward as their enemy.*"
* "*I wonder if it's because my opponent is Kuroko... That I have the drive to continue playing. This urge to* *win is beyond my control*."
* *"I've lost. It's the first time since the day I was born. So this is.... Defeat. How cruel... There is an inexplicable pain in my chest. I don't know if I am able to maintain my composure until the line-up."*
* *"Your head is held too high" from the original “Zu ga takai zo (頭が高いぞ)”, often said when using his technique to make his opponents kneeling down. Sometimes is also translated as "Lower your head" or "Know your place."*
* *"A plate can never be fully restored once it has a crack, But if it is still usable, what we have now will suffice."*
* To Team Jabberwock:*"We'll bring an end to this!! Bring it on Jabberwock!!!"*
* Akashi's other self to Akashi:*"...It seems this is the only way... You understand already. Nash is strong. At this rate, we'll lose... I will vanish. I will return everything to you, so you can return to being a single being... I have confidence... You'll no doubt be able to gain a power equal to or greater than Nash... Don't worry... I was able to have a parting gift as grand as getting to play with everyone. Thank you."*
* To Team Vorpal Swords after awakening:*"This is the last battle! We'll definitely win!"*

## Etymology

* The name **Seijūrō** means "conquest, subjugate, attack the rebellious, collect taxes" (征) (**sei**), "ten" (十) (**jū**) and "son" (郎) (**rō**).
* Seijūrō's surname **Akashi** means "red" (赤) (**aka**) and "officer, boss" (司) (**shi**).
	+ The kanji "赤" (**Aka**) in his name means "*red*", hinting to his hair color.
	+ The next kanji "司" (**Shi**) means "*office*"*,*as in a department of government.

## Trivia

* On the first character poll, Akashi ranked 29th, with 26 votes, before he even made his appearance. He ranked 18th on the second poll with 263 votes and on the third poll, Akashi ranked 1st with 6276 votes (Tetsuya Kuroko ranked 2nd with 3505 votes). This is the first time someone other than Kuroko has come first.
* Akashi may be inspired by the NBA players Jason Williams and Steve Nash as all three are excellent in passing, handling the ball, and shooting.
* In the original databook, CHARACTERS BIBLE, an early character concept sketch of Akashi is seen. His current hairstyle and the one in middle school are drawn, together with three other alternate hairstyles.
* At the time when Akashi's face hasn't been revealed yet, he sometimes appeared very mysterious and cool with his face covered, e.g. throwing a shogi piece in that air and catching it dramatically. This was made fun of in the bloopers, when he failed to catch the piece. Other intimidating actions also failed in other bloopers.
* In the manga, Akashi's full face wasn't revealed until chapter 113, in the anime, his full face could be seen in the 2nd Opening and a reference in episode 22 made by Shun Izuki (with both eyes red).
* In the second drama CD, Akashi states that he dislikes beni shōga (pickled ginger).
* It is shown through a flashback that Akashi can play both the piano and the violin.
* Akashi addresses the other Generation of Miracles and his Rakuzan teammates informally, calling them by their first names. This is notable because most of the characters always address each other with their last or family names, with very few exceptions.
* According to Fan Disc 2, Akashi's type of girl is elegant.
* According to the *CHARACTERS BIBLE:*
	+ Akashi's alternative job choice is to be a professional shogi player.
	+ His hobbies are Shogi, Go (Wei-qi), and International Chess.
	+ His specialty is horse riding.
	+ His favorite food is tofu soup.
	+ His motto is "*Quick and decisive*".
	+ He hates disobedient dogs because they don't listen to him.
	+ His type of girl are girls who have dignity.
* According to *KUROFES:*
	+ The player Akashi has his eye on is Kuroko.
	+ Akashi and Kuroko were planned to be siblings before Fujimaki canceled the idea. The two have similar hairstyles due to the original concept of them being related.
	+ When his father found out about the 2nd place in the Winter Cup, according to Akashi, he was upset.
* In a Q&A section in the manga, it is revealed that:
	+ Akashi was 158 cm (5' 2") tall upon entering Teikō.
	+ Akashi lives alone with his father, who is extremely wealthy and raised him with 'excellency-in-all-areas' mentality to be called deserving in their household.
	+ Akashi's *best subject* in school is labelled as *everything*.
	+ Akashi says that he often goes horse-riding on days off.
	+ He started basketball because he finds it fascinating how a player has to use both intellectual and physical skill to play the game.
	+ He got along with Midorima the most during their days in Teikō Junior High.
	+ When he was asked who he got along with the least, he answered Aomine, since Aomine's rowdiness was often difficult to deal with.
	+ He said that he doesn't have a specific fond memory in junior high, and that he enjoyed hanging out with the basketball club.
	+ In his current club, he gets along the most with Mibuchi.
	+ He often plays shogi, with an opponent or solo.
	+ When asked about his weakness, he says that he doesn't have any in particular.
	+ Akashi concludes with saying that basketball is a way to improve himself.
	+ He hates wakame, because he dislikes seaweed.
	+ Despite being a first year, he is the student council president at Rakuzan.
	+ The horse he always rides is called Yukimaru, a white horse that was born on a snowy day and is of the same age as Akashi.
	+ In volume 30 of the manga, it revealed Akashi is unable to make jokes.
	+ He inherited his mother by looks. His father's name is **Masaomi** (征臣) and his mother's name is **Shiori** (詩織).
	+ He has 8 workers in his house.
	+ His mom made food while she was alive. After her death, a hired chef makes amazing food.
* In Q.266 of the Manga, it is revealed that:
	+ The Akashi family, according to tradition, has always been strict. It was an Akashi's duty to achieve victory.
	+ Akashi's father is extremely strict as well.
	+ Akashi started his education at a very young age. His work load was so much that even adults would’ve complained bitterly. He also didn't have his freedom.
	+ His mother was his moral support and got him through a cruel childhood. She convinced his father to give him a little bit of freedom. His mother eventually died when Akashi was in his fifth year of elementary school.
	+ After the death of Akashi's mother, his father became stricter than before. His school training increased as well.
* In the extra story *Momoi's Presentation, Once Again!* in the 6th *Replace Plus* volume it's revealed that:
	+ His favorite basketball player is Magic Johnson
	+ His favorite actress is Audrey Hepburn