Akane Owari

Akane Owari (終里 赤音 Owari Akane) is one of the characters featured in Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair and a participant in the Killing School Trip.

Akane has the title Ultimate Gymnast (超高校級の「体操部」chō kōkō kyū no “taisō-bu.”)

At the end of the game, Akane and the other survivors managed to escape to the real world and remained stay at Jabberwock Island.

Akane returns in Danganronpa 3: The End of Hope's Peak Academy - Side: Despair as a student of Class 77-B enrolled in Hope's Peak Academy with the other Remnants of Despair.

Appearance
Akane is a tall young woman with an athletic, curvaceous physique. She has tan skin, brown eyes, and unkempt, shoulder-length chestnut hair. During her high school years, she had long hair.

Akane wears a short-sleeved white shirt with the top few buttons undone, exposing a large amount of cleavage. The bottom button also appears undone, exposing her navel when she moves quickly. She also wears a red miniskirt and cream-colored sock-less loafers.

As the Ultimate Despair, Akane has the same short hair. She has a white coat with ripped sleeves. In addition to that, she only wears a black tube top and black shorts, making her stomach and six pack visible.

Personality
Akane has a fiery personality and she loves fighting, which lets her get along very well with Nekomaru Nidai. However, she is very lazy and unmotivated. She dislikes planning, training and routines, but has a remarkable talent for inventing her own moves. Despite her easygoing and aloof personality, she is loyal and protective towards her friends.

Akane's mood can swift very quickly. She can bounce between bored, to happy, to angry, and to happy again. She seems to think that punching things is the best way to solve problems. She is eager to challenge someone to fight her and she respects those who are physically strong. Sometimes, her hot head can get her into trouble.

Akane is also extremely fond of food and she can eat almost anything. She claims that food is the most important thing, because "If you don't eat, you'll die." She also thinks that eating is very important so you can regain your strength. While her hungriness is often played for laughs, it has some darker undertones. She says that she quickly loses her energy if she doesn't eat and she just gets more hungry if she eats just little. Her eating can even appear compulsive and sometimes it's hard for her to stop.

Although Akane seems to have a rather serious attitude, she may say some quite out-of-place statements. Even during Class Trials, she tends to say random statements that only vaguely relate to the murder. She isn't the most intellectual member of the cast, being easily confused by complex words, misinterpreting insults and figures of speech, and generally defaulting to violence (or threats thereof) to solve problems. However, it should be noted that her gut feelings are never wrong and she can sometimes say things that end up being very important.

Akane is also very gullible, often easily believing things people say such, as shown as she easily believes people's lies in Class Trials and is surprised when others tell her that they're lying. This has often been exploited by Hiyoko Saionji, who used her to investigate the motel room in Chapter 3 when she didn't want to do it and as mentioned in one of Hiyoko's free time events, tricked her into eating flowers.

In Akane's dark past, sexual harassment was the norm for her and as she is rather clueless, she doesn't seem to be aware of just how bad and wrong it is. She can mention her past experiences in a very casual way, which confuses and disturbs others. For example, she thinks it's completely normal to let someone to do something specifically to her breasts, and she quite often offers this either as a way to apologize or reward someone. She also sees no problem in getting naked in front of others. She does, however, get easily embarrassed about romance or if she has to wear clothes she considers silly.

Due to her past, Akane can also be forgetful of people's personalities, as shown when she mentioned in the first Class Trial that the Ultimate Imposter was a jokester, only to be corrected by Kazuichi Soda. She also tends to forget people's names; for instance, she frequently forgets Hajime Hinata's name, calling him "Hank", "Harvey", and "Hector".

Akane claims that she never gets worried about anything and she is generally very carefree. In actuality, she believes that hesitation and worry is a sign of weakness and she hates being weak. She forces herself to be strong and believes that real strength is showing no weaknesses at all. She believes that she has to be strong alone and that she can't rely on anyone else. After spending time with Nekomaru and Hajime, she begins to think about what it really means to be strong and weak.

Akane is intrigued by the world, as it's huge and "full of treasure". Due to her background, she is content with and appreciates food and buildings many others would consider "crappy". Since she used to take care of her younger siblings, she is very protective of "hungry small things" and she is sometimes strict about safety. She is also terrified of ghosts, but she keeps this a secret.

History
[Warning: Several spoilers follow this section!]

Prior to the Tragedy
As a child, Akane lived in a very poor area where people were dying frequently. In the mornings, it wasn't that rare to find dead bodies. Because of this, she never bothered to make close friends, or even learn any names (it's also possible that she developed her fear of ghosts because of this). Akane was regularly starving and as a result, she values food more than anything. She was also beaten up at times. Through all this, no one helped her and she learned to rely on herself. She considered her home area a crappy place filled with crappy people.

Akane lived together with her 7 siblings and unemployed parents. She states that her "mom or dad would change", and that "there would be more siblings every time". Akane believed that it was her responsibility to take care of her younger siblings and she worked many part-time jobs. When she worked as a waitress, she sometimes stole leftovers for her family.

In Akane's dark life, sexual harassment was the norm for her. She was often chased by perverts, which made her skilled at parkour. Her stepmother's lovers groped her when they were drunk and told her to do "weird" jobs, like serve them food while not wearing any underwear.

When Akane worked as an actual waitress, there was an old gymnastics coach that used to come to the cafe all the time. The man groped her and kept telling her that she had an amazing body. However, the man also suggested Akane to join gymnastics. After many times being persuaded, Akane finally agreed. She started doing gymnastics for money and thanks to this, Akane and her siblings were able to move out and lived together in a new home.

As a teen, Akane previously attended Hikarimachi High School before being enrolled in Hope's Peak Academy as the Ultimate Gymnast, in the 77th Class. At some point, she met Junko Enoshima, who manipulated her into joining the Ultimate Despair.

Episode 01 - Hello Again, Hope's Peak Academy
Akane in high spirit climbed Hope's Peak Academy's main building's rooftop, like the sensation of the gentle breeze that passed through her skin. When she smelled the smell of meat, she jumped from the rooftop to reach the place where she smelled the meat. This was the perfect strategy orchestrated by her new assistant homeroom teacher, Chisa Yukizome. Nekomaru who already prepared for her appearance easily captured and restrained her with a cross.

Akane was tied in the cross through the entire day until she and her classmates gathered in their classroom to clean it together. After returning to the classroom, Chisa was happy to see that Akane and the others had waited and that the classroom was clean. When the students once again bring up that they didn't have to go to class, so long as they have their talent, Chisa reminded them that talent isn't everything, and wanted them to build strong relationships and "hope" with each other.

Episode 02 - My Impurest Heart for You
Akane was in a realistic training combat with Nekomaru. As it going intense, Akane wondered how to defeat him. Teruteru Hanamura then offered her his and their upperclassman, Seiko Kimura's invention called as Doping Corn Soup. After drinking it, Akane gained a lot of strength that was capable to follow Nekomaru's movement.

After the training end, Akane and her classmates busy repairing their classroom until Chiaki Nanami suggested them to play games that she brought. Akane, Gundham Tanaka, Nekomaru, and Chiaki played a duel game with her player resembles Donkey Kong.

During the break time, Akane's stomach rumbles, making a frightening sound that echoes inside their classroom. After she ate many portions of nikujaga that cooked by Teruteru and Hiyoko, she fell unwell. Nekomaru asked her whether she was fine, but Akane told him to not touch her with shy tone, making both of their heart racing.

It was revealed that Hiyoko secretly put another invention filled with aphrodisiacs created by Teruteru and Seiko inside the nikujaga. Akane recovered sometimes later in the nurse's office.

On the next day in Akane's classroom, Chisa gathered them and announced that she elected Chiaki as their class representative. Akane happy to heard that and agreed with Chisa's decision.

Episode 03 - A Farewell to All Futures
At the beginning of the episode, Akane and her classmates walked past Hajime heading toward the Main Course building. Later, Akane was shown laying on the ground with her classmates playing with rabbits on the school's park.

Several days later, Akane looked worried at Mahiru who cried on Hiyoko's chest after she lost one of her friend from the Reserve Course, Sato.

Episode 04 - The Melancholy, Surpise, and Disappearance of Nagito Komaeda
Akane was still upset after the deaths of Natsumi Kuzuryu and Sato affected her class' morale greatly when Chisa announced the annual practical exam will start tomorrow.

At the end of the episode, Akane protested Chisa's transfer to the Reserve Course after the bombing incident involving Nagito. However, the principal's decision can not be change and she must bid her farewell to her beloved teacher.

During the Tragedy
The members of Ultimate Despair did all kinds of horrible things during the Tragedy, causing despair all over the world. It is known that some members of Ultimate Despair starved themselves to feel despair, and considering Akane's constantly showcased love of eating, it's possible she may have been one of these individuals.

After the death of Junko, the remnants of the Ultimate Despair attached some of her body parts into their own bodies in order to make her survive within them and feel closer to her. They then agreed to an insane plan to have AI Junko take over their bodies, so they could resurrect their leader.

The remnants of Despair were later found by Future Foundation. Makoto Naegi planned to undo Junko's influence by putting them into the Neo World Program, but the program is taken over by AI Junko, right according to the Ultimate Despair's plan.

Episode 01 - Third Time's the Charm
As members of Ultimate Despair, in the flashback, Akane and Nekomaru reinforced Fuyuhiko and Peko who were battling the Future Foundation, but all of them eventually captured by the Future Foundation.

Prologue - Welcome to Dangan Island! Panic at the Heart-Throbbing School Trip!?
Akane was one of the students who did not panic when they were transported to the Dangan Island. She, along with everyone else, went exploring after Usami dismissed them.

Akane is first seen at Usami's Corral and wandering about. When Hajime introduces himself, Akane asks who the other guy is. Nagito Komaeda gets slightly offended and tells her that they met already, and Akane suddenly remembers. Akane then introduces herself, and after that she seems to be in a world of her own, as when Nagito asks Hajime if he likes sexy bodies loudly, she doesn't respond.

Akane is later shown with the rest of the group at the beach, and after the Ultimate Imposter finishes his story, she states that she doesn't care what the island is called, only that they still have to stay there. When everyone is talking about life on the island, she asks why they don't just swim back, but her solution is shot down by Mikan Tsumiki, who says it is too far.

Akane is one of the several students to throw the Usami stamp away, but when Usami mentions another surprise, Akane says that it might be a party and she is pleased to know that she was correct. However, Akane doesn't join to swim with the others.

Chapter 1 - Destination Despair
In Chapter 1, Akane eating Teruteru's food was essential in proving the fact that it was not drugged with laxatives as Peko Pekoyama had suffered from digestive problems throughout the night. She also eagerly volunteered to eat the bone-in-cut of meat that was alleged to conceal the murder weapon, vowing to devour the entire thing in a minute or less. Unfortunately, Akane was beaten to the punch by Monokuma, prompting her to angrily declare "That's MY meat!" when the Headmaster reappeared with the meat in tow.

Chapter 2 - Sea and Punishment, Sin and Coconuts
In Chapter 2, Akane is the first one to arrive at Jabberwock Park for Monokuma's announcement of the second motive, if only because he promised a bowl of homemade curry to the first person to arrive at the park. It was later revealed that the curry was made of several unsavory ingredients (such as live frogs), but Akane enjoyed it anyway.

When Sonia Nevermind invited the girls to a swimming party on the beach, Akane planned on going. However, when she arrived at the diner, she was covered in blood, due to getting in another scuffle with Nekomaru on the way. She was immediately dragged to the bathroom by Mikan for treatment.

During the investigation into Mahiru Koizumi's murder, Akane and Hajime revealed that the window leading out of the beach house inside the shower room could be exited through two people getting on one another's shoulders.

In the Class Trial, Akane helped clear Hiyoko of suspicion by pointing out that Hiyoko's inability to dress herself led her to smell as terrible as she did after the first Class Trial. Kazuichi briefly suspected her as the culprit due to her being covered in blood when she came to the diner, but Nekomaru confirmed that he had injured her in their fight, since it was the only way to get her to back off. For Kazuichi's suspicion, Akane vowed to bend him in half until he was stuck in a bowing position for the rest of his life. She later threatened Nagito when he lamented being unable to help the killer with their plan, assuring Ibuki Mioda that they could "lightly punch him to death later".

Akane later supported Hajime's claim that the culprit could have used a wooden sword as a step to reach the window, claiming that it was a classic ninja technique.

Chapter 3 - Trapped by the Ocean Scent
In Chapter 3, when the others are at Fuyuhiko Kuzuryu's welcome back party, Akane challenges Monokuma to a duel, only to find herself outmatched. When Monokuma goes for the kill with a bazooka, Nekomaru steps in to save Akane, shielding her with his own body. Akane was stunned and heartbroken by the consequences of her rash decision, but felt a small amount of hope when it was revealed that Nekomaru was still barely alive.

In the next day, Akane became one of the victims of Despair Disease, the motive of the third chapter. Under its influence, she became a cowardly crybaby, which most of the students initially dismissed as grief over Nekomaru's severe injuries.

After the third murder(s) was committed, Akane and Nagito were cured of the Despair Disease by Monokuma. Back to normal, they helped the others to investigate the murder of Ibuki and Hiyoko. During the investigation, Akane helped Hajime and Nagito find Hiyoko's motel key inside her kimono.

In the class trial, Akane kept insisting that Hiyoko was being abducted by the culprit, but this was disproved by Hajime as he explained that Hiyoko went to the music venue by her own free will. She refused to admit that the culprit of the third murder case, Mikan, is the person that treated her when she got the Despair Disease.

Chapter 4 - Do Ultimate Robots Dream of Electric Clocks?
In Chapter 4, when Akane and the rest of the group found out that Nekomaru turned into a robot, she didn't feel devastated or shocked, although she felt sorry for him. She believed that because of her recklessness, Nekomaru lost his human body.

After Akane and the rest of the group get trapped inside the Surprise House by Monokuma on the fourth island, she, Hajime, and the girls decided to stay at the Grape House while the boys excluding Hajime stay at the Strawberry House. She chose to stay in the poor/worst room because she was used to living in a poor house.

Chapter 5 - Smile at Hope in the Name of Despair
In Chapter 5, Akane, Fuyuhiko, and Kazuichi attempted to apprehend Nagito.

Chapter 6 - This is the End Goodbye Academy of Despair
Akane plays a side role in the final trial, she constantly asks questions in order to discover the truth behind the virtual game mystery, to which Hajime and AI Junko are able to provide an answer. She objectifies to forgetting everything they did on the island stating 'I don't want that!' and begins blaming their current ordeals on the Future Foundation themselves. However, she later starts to lose out into despair until a re-invoked Hajime convinces her of a new hope for the future. She eventually states that she wants to fight for what she believes in because that's what confidence truly is, the decision to start the shutdown sequence isn't just easy for her but for everyone because of a hope for the future.

Epilogue - The Day before the Future
After the defeat of AI Junko, Akane and former Ultimate Despair members opted to stay on the Jabberwock Island, possibly in hopes that they could do something to help their comatose friends.

Nekomaru Nidai
Nekomaru is close to Akane due to their desire to improve themselves physically. She is constantly encouraging Nekomaru to fight her, although he usually rejects and states that she is quick and nimble but not very strong. This relationship is of a coach and their student, but other than training to become stronger, Nekomaru and Akane are very close friends.

Akane was the most shocked to discover that he was a cyborg and was really depressed about his death. Despite Gundham being executed, she was still depressed, leading Kazuichi to use some of Nekomaru's remains to create a mini-Nekomaru to cheer her up. Progressing throughout the game after Nekomaru's death, sometimes Akane's mini Nekomaru makes outbursts after she has said something.

Presents
Obtained from the MonoMono Machine.
 * Razor Ramon HG
 * Girl with the Bear Hairpin
 * Prepackaged Orzotto
 * Century Potpourri

Choices
During free time conversations, the player will occasionally be given a choice on how to respond to something that is said. These are the 'right' choices.
 * Parkour
 * No panties
 * Are you worried about something?
 * As long as we all run a red light...

Skills
These will aid you, usually during Class Trials.
 * Peach Muscle - Increases your Truth Bullet rate of fire. Effective during the Nonstop Debate and Rebuttal Showdown.

Quotes

 * “Yo! The name's Akane Owari! Nice to meetcha!”
 * “I can't handle difficult stuff. I'll leave the rest to you guys.”
 * “Can I solve this by hitting it hard enough?”
 * “I WON'T LOSE!”
 * “I hate tests, but.. Well, it's a whole lot better than having to kill someone!”
 * “I'm starting to get pumped up!”
 * “Shut up! None of this stuff matters if I win! All I have to do is win!”
 * “There sure are lots of strong people in this world!”
 * “I absolutely hate to lose.”
 * “There might be a tower that reaches the heavens, or a strong dude sealed up in an electric jar.” (talking about Jabberwock Island)
 * “They say the world is full of treasure!”
 * “I'll remember it easier if you keep givin' me food or somethin'.”
 * “I'm not interested in someone who looks like they have low fighting power.”
 * “I don't deal with anything lower than trash, y'know?”
 * “Setting records and winning competitions is easy money!”
 * “When you got people chasin' ya, you just naturally end up doin' parkour when you're runnin' away from them.”
 * “Whenever I see small things that don't look like they're eatin' much, I can't help feelin' worried.”
 * “You can't survive if ya don't eat when you can, y'know?”
 * “Monomi'll let you in if you just ask her. She sure is a pushover.” (talking about Monomi)
 * “When things don't make sense, the only thing I can do is stuff my face!”
 * “...There's no way I'd ever worry about anything!”
 * “I-If you tell anyone, I'll kill you! If I even catch you thinking about it, I'll kill you!” (to Hajime Hinata)
 * “This Minimaru doll is amazin'! It's not just cute, it’s got a lot of other awesome functions too!”
 * “Just so ya know...Minimaru is mine, all right? I won't let you have it no matter how bad you want it!”
 * “Don't treat me like I'm weak...”
 * “I...I'm not weak... Being weak is bad.”
 * “If you get kicked around and beat up, or cry and scream that there's no food or medicine, no one'll help you.”
 * “Weak people die and there's nothin' you can do about it! No matter what happens, you can't complain!”
 * “I was much stronger when I was alone! Stop sayin' things that don't make sense!”
 * “When everyone's together, they can make up for their weakness... That's what you mean, right?” (to Hajime)
 * “You... You're warm. This is the first time I've ever felt someone this warm.” (to Hajime)
 * “Maybe it's related to Gundham's last name since they're both really plain names!” (talking about Girl E's last name)
 * “Doubtin' me of all people, you got some nerve... All right! I'll bend your body in half so you're stuck in a bowing position for the rest of your life!” (to Kazuichi Soda)
 * “All right, if ya don't wanna friggin' get punched, just stand still and lemme punch ya!” (to Nagito Komaeda)
 * “Listen up! The emptier your head, the more dreams you can stuff inside it, y'know!”
 * “I didn't know glue was edible...” (In response toChiaki Nanami)
 * “This could be my first and last highlight of the day; why won't ya just lemme shine already!?” (to Hajime)
 * “I-I get it... I lost. Boil me, burn me, take off my clothes... Do whatever ya want to me!”
 * “A chick like her is the killer? She couldn't even kill a fly... In fact, the fly would prolly kill her first.” (talking about Mikan Tsumiki)
 * “Again with the supermarket... That place is a hot spot for criminal goods.”
 * “D-Don't say deep stuff... I...don't really get it...”
 * “Who cares about the duct tape...? We might as well settle this with Rock Paper Scissors.”
 * “I know guys have tails that get hard when they're grabbed!”
 * “At time like this, you should always strike from a good angle. Just like fixin' an old TV.”
 * “Then let's bring up whatever we can think of, one after the other. That might clear some things up.”
 * “There are some things we're better off not knowin'!”
 * “All right, looks like it's finally my turn! I'll punch Monokuma so hard he'll go flyin' around the world!”
 * “As long as coach Nekomaru and me are here, we won't lose! Just leave it to us!”
 * “Well, if a high school girl can get huge, then it's not crazy if the dead can come back to life...right?
 * “I don't like thinkin' about complicated stuff... If there's someone strong worth fightin', I'll fight... That's just who I am, y’know? ...That's what it means to be confident, right? Then...I'm gonna choose this!”
 * “It makes sense to feel scared, right?”

Trivia

 * Akane's report card states that:
 * She likes fighting and meat, and hates working hard,
 * Her Bloodtype is B,
 * Her chest is 37 in.
 * Her first name (赤音) can be translated to “red sounds” or “red noise”, while her last name (終里) is composed of the characters 終 - "last" or "to finish" and 里, which has multiple meanings, including "village", "the home of one's parents", "home town" and also an archaic Japanese unit of area.
 * Her last name could be a reference to how, as her Free Time Events imply, her father used to marry multiple women in succession and have children with each one.
 * Akane's gut feelings are never wrong and she has a very sensitive sense of smell.
 * Akane uses the word ore (俺) to refer herself instead of watashi or atashi (私), which is a boastful form of “I” typically used by males; however, unlike Hajime, she doesn't end her sentences with the usual matching accompaniment of da zo.
 * Akane knows a wrestling move called “Plancha Suicida”, or “Suicide Dive”.
 * Akane doesn't go swimming at the Beach Party because she finds school swimsuits to be too embarrassing.
 * In Danganronpa 3 - Side: Despair, Akane's berserk-state in Episode 02 is a reference to Gon Freecs' infamous transformation from Hunter × Hunter series.