Akira Fudo

Akira Fudo, a shy teenager, lives with Miki Makimura and her family since his parents have died. Akira's best friend, Ryo Asuka, asks him for help since Ryo's late archaeologist father had claimed to discover the existence of demons hidden in society. Ryo contends that by seeking out demons and becoming like them, they can defeat them. Ryo takes Akira to a nightclub and attracts the attention of demons by drawing blood. In the ensuing melee, a demon known as Amon—the Lord of War, also called the "Beast of Hell"—consumes Akira. However, Akira manages to hold on to his own self-identity while assimilating Amon's character traits and powers, and becomes known as Devilman. Throughout the series, Devilman fights against many types of demons.^[10][11]

In time, the demons launch a world war against humans, which triggers mass panic and paranoia across the planet. Akira attempts to fight the demons by assembling together a band of other humans who have taken on demon-like qualities like himself. But when Ryo makes his true allegiance to the demon race known by lying and portraying Akira as normal demon possessing Akira's body, Miki's parents are arrested by the government. To make things worse, a crazed mob murders Miki and her brother and Akira sees their corpses on display. Enraged, Akira kills the humans in retribution. Akira goes on to fight Ryo, who reveals himself to be a disguised Satan. 20 years after the extinction of the human race, Akira engages Satan in battle, after which both of their army's are destroyed and he dies at the hands of Ryo. His dismembered body remains lies on a rock next to a mournful Satan as God's angels descend upon earth.^[12]

Go Nagai also wrote the manga Shin Devilman in which Akira and Ryo time-travel and encounter General Custer and Adolf Hitler. In the anime, Akira and his father are killed while mountain climbing in the Himalayas, and Devilman chooses Akira's body as a cover to disguise himself. As a result, Akira—now Devilman's host—is brought back to life, but gains a wild streak from the warrior's spirit that Devilman possesses. In the manga Amon: The Darkside of the Devilman, Akira, after witnessing the brutal murder of Miki, loses control of his humanity and allows Amon to take control of him.^[13] Akira later defeats Amon in combat and rejects Satan instead of fighting him.^[14] Another manga, Devilman: Strange Days, explores the armageddon and formation of Akira and Satan's sides.^[15] A live-action film was released in 2004, Devilman. Hisato Izaki played the role of Akira. Akira is also the main protagonist in the anime primarily based on the original manga, Devilman Crybaby.^[6]

At the end of Violence Jack, the protagonist, Jack, is revealed to be Akira Fudo himself after being resurrected by Ryo "Satan" Asuka, which is then followed by Akira about to continue his battle with Ryo.

In the crossover film Mazinger Z vs. Devilman (1973), both Akira and Koji Kabuto from Mazinger Z team up to face an army of demons led by Dr. Hell. Akira is tortured by the demons for being a traitor. However, Koji saves Akira, although Hell and Ashura escape alive. The movie ends with Koji and Akira on good terms.^[16]

In the original video animation series Cyborg 009 VS Devilman, the original Cyborg crew led by Dr. Gilmore find themselves in conflict with Akira, a strong demon believed to be in league with the war-profiteering terrorist organisation Black Ghost. Meanwhile, a bigger threat emerges when Dr. Adams, a Black Ghost scientist unleashes his new line of high teen Cyborg models against 009 and his friends.^[17]

Akira Fudo has been a popular character. He was ranked fifth in Mania Entertainment's "10 Most Iconic Anime Heroes" written by Thomas Zoth, who commented that "Shonen manga developed a dark tone with Devilman's graphic violence, casual blasphemy, and theme of using evil itself to fight evil".^[18] A character designer from SNK admitted that Devilman was an influence in designing Kyo Kusanagi, the protagonist from the fighting series The King of Fighters '94.^[19] However, SNK artist Nona said he found it difficult to design Kyo as a heroic character, as he did not view Akira Fudo's portrayal fitting of a hero.^[20] Despite finding the manga's beginning weak due to Akira and Ryo's long discussions about demons, The Fandom Post praised the handling of Akira as it was different from other types of manga fighting series. The reviewer also found Akira's fighting scenes interesting due to the gruesome fate of his rivals.^[21]

Anime News Network initially referred to Akira as an appealing hero based on his kind demeanor, but criticized his relationship with Miki due to how she berates these traits. As a result, when Akira becomes a more violent person due to absorbing Amon, the review believes Nagai was expressing the idea of a man undergoing growth but still retaining his kind self. Although Akira and Ryo's relationship is not fully explored, the review felt there was a homoerotic tension between them that was interesting for readers.^[22] Jason Thompson from ANN stated that Akira's inability to save Miki and her family plays "like a visualization of a child's nightmare".^[23] Neon Genesis Evangelion director Hideaki Anno said the mecha Evangelion Unit 01 was influenced by Devilman.^[24] Anno said that Devilman's scary facial expressions were the basis for the mecha alongside Mazinger Z.^[3]

Critics also focused on Akira's portrayal in the animated versions of Devilman. The Anime Review praised his transformation into the Devilman based on the visuals provided by the studio. However, this review criticized Akira's relationship with Ryo, as Ryo comes across as planning a different agenda but Akira is never against him.^[25] ANN agreed in regards to long-awaited Devilman transformation but found Akira's motivation to fight devils simplistic. Nevertheless, he found Akira's fights to be well-developed.^[26] The Spinning Image enjoyed Akira's alternate take in the original video animation Amon: Apocalypse of Devilman due to how Akira's grief over the death of Miki causes him to lose his humanity and become possessed by his inner demon, Amon. Spinning Image enjoyed the amount of violence that occurs when Amon takes control of Akira and how in the climax the two split to decide who will be the dominant Devilman.^[27] Mania noted there was a major contrast between Akira and Amon's characterizations due to the latter lacking compassion for anybody, in contrast to the kind Akira who loses his composure during the armageddon. However, he criticized the lack of an ending in the OVA, as it ends with Akira facing Ryo, similar to the original manga.^[28]

The anime adaptation Devilman Crybaby provided a different portrayal of Akira which was discussed by the media. Kotaku enjoyed the larger focus on Akira and Ryo's closer relationship. This was further explored by how in the story Ryo/Satan discovers his affection towards Akira but starts grieving in the final scene when he realizes he has killed him, a scene not featured in the original manga.^[29] Bloody Disgusting liked the way Akira drops his black-and-white morality when realizing there are demons who also have their own humanity, and while also realizing Ryo's true nature when he reveals to the world the existence of demons. Akira's further relationship with Miki and her death at the hands of humans rather than demons were noted to be too tragic, as Akira is tortured by seeing the remains of her corpse.^[30] The Verge enjoyed Akira's characterization as both a capable fighter and a caring person when becoming a Devilman. Like Kotaku, Verge enjoyed the relationship Akira has with Ryo.^[31]

Anime News Network found Yuasa's take on Akira "strangely empathetic" due to Akira's sensitive demeanor, in contrast to Nagai's version in which he constantly cries, most notably when he starts understanding the demons. Griffin Burns's performance as Akira was praised.^[32] Salkowitz of Forbes described Akira as a too different person when becoming Devilman while still retaining his humanity.^[33]