Akira Yuki
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- Jay Momet (Virtua Quest)
- Tony Schnur (anime)
- Takenobu Mitsuyoshi (Virtua Fighter)
- Shin-ichiro Miki (Virtua Fighter 2–present)
- Shohei Abe (Goonya Fighter)
| Akira Yuki | |
|---|---|
| Virtua Fighter character | |
 Akira Yuki in Virtua Fighter 5: R.E.V.O. | |
| First game | Virtua Fighter (1993) |
| Created by | Yu Suzuki |
| Voiced by |
|
| In-universe information | |
| Fighting style | Bajiquan |
| Nationality | Japanese |
Akira Yuki (Japanese: 結城 晶, Hepburn: Yūki Akira) is a fictional character in Sega's Virtua Fighter fighting game franchise, debuting in the original 1993 game. Akira appears as a playable character using Bajiquan in every game in the series; he strives for perfection and relentlessly works to master his techniques. To perfect his skills, Akira seeks worthy opponents to fight. Besides Virtua Fighter series, Akira appears as a guest character in Dead or Alive 5, the crossover fighting game Dengeki Bunko: Fighting Climax, and Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing. In the anime adaptation of the series, Akira is portrayed an immature fighter who seeks his grandfather's approval while fighting several criminals. During the series, Akira forms several friendships with his fellow fighters.
The game designer Yu Suzuki created Akira Yuki due to his fascination with Bajiquan, which he researched during production of the first Virtua Fighter game. Suzuki also planned to use Akira as the protagonist of a spin-off game based on the series that would focus on a revenge quest, but it was scrapped in favor of Shenmue. Akira was portrayed by several voice actors.
Akira has been a popular character; game designer Tomonobu Itagaki described him as an early 3D fighter whom he tried to emulate. Akira became famous with gaming journalists due to the difficulty of emulating his fighting skills; the character has been criticized by writers who found his design derivative from other fighting-game characters, most notably Ryu from Street Fighter. Responses to his characterization in the anime were mixed; nevertheless, Akira has been described as the series' mascot.
Despite being the signature character of Virtua Fighter, Akira was added late in the game's development as the final addition prior to release.[1] The series' co-creator Yu Suzuki had a growing interest in te Chinese martial art Bajiquan, leading to the character's creation.[1] Akira replaced Siba, a Arab character who was originally intended for the game but was removed.[2] The model for Akira was Masaaki Satake.[3]
Suzuki's favorite manga character was Ryuchi Matsuda's Kenji; Suzuki was particularly impressed by a scene about the character Li Shuwen that was depicted in the spin-off. Kenji's protagonist, Go Kenji, also learns Bajiquan. After creating Virtua Fighter, Suzuki met Matsuda and was deeply moved by the experience. Matsuda told Suzuku how the motions he created for 'Ferocious Tiger Gobazan' differ from real-life techniques. Many of the characters other than Akira were inspired by manga and martial artists.[4] When developing the game, Suzuki visited a Chinese Kenpo temple to research; the grandmaster taught him Hakkyokuken, which helped him further develop Akira.[5] Akira became Suzuki's favorite character due to his fighting style and philosophy.[6]
Sega worked on a commercial for the game with martial artist Rickson Gracie; its premise was no one had ever defeated Gracie, but he finally meets his match in Akira Yuki. When they talked, Gracie was humble and was the perfect "Samurai" type. That situation is a strong memory for Suzuki.[7]
In 1996, Sega AM2 began developing a role-playing game (RPG) with the working title Guppy for the Sega Saturn console.[8] This became Virtua Fighter RPG: Akira's Story, starring Akira. AM2 planned a "cinematic" approach that included voice acting and elaborate combat sequences.[9] Suzuki researched locations in China, and constructed four acts with the themes "sadness", "fight", [sic] "departure" and "starting afresh". In this version of the story, Akira would overcome his grief following his father's death, travel to China, defeat an antagonist, and begin a journey with a new friend. Suzuki recruited a screenwriter, a playwright and film directors to write the story.[9] In 1997, development moved to Sega's upcoming console the Dreamcast,[10] and the Virtua Fighter connection was dropped in favor of the new intellectual property (IP) Shenmue with a new lead.[11]
Akira was redesigned for the upcoming Virtua Fighter game. Producer Riichiro Yamada stressed the importance of expanding the cast while reimagining the legacy fighters, citing Akira's redesign and the importance of giving the characters a sense of reality that evolves them past their classic incarnations. He brought parallels to other protagonists such Ryu from Street Fighter 6 and Kazuma Kiryu in Yakuza: Like a Dragon whose designers try to redesigned and bring successors after several intallments. Yamada said they aged Akira, who represented the original generation and contrast with the designs of the new characters. He felt the fandom's response to Akira has always been positive.[12]
In the first Virtua Fighter Akira is voiced by Japanese composer Takenobu Mitsuyoshi.[13] Starting with the sequel, Mitsuoyoshi was replaced by Shin-ichiro Miki, who provided his talent in every work,[14] with the exception of Goonya Fighter, where he is voiced by Hiroshi Abe.[15] In Virtua Quest, Akira is voiced by English actor Jay Momet,[16] while Tony Schnur took the role for the anime adaptation.[17]
