Akihiko "Bearfighter" Sanada

eventually...

Applicant Info

◎ Name: Alma
◎ Journal: acropolis
◎ Contact: PM or baklava
◎ Current Character(s): N/A

Character Info

◎ Character's Name: Akihiko Sanada
◎ Character's Canon: Persona 4 Arena
◎ Character's Age: 20
◎ Canon Point: post FES male route, just after entering the TV in P4A
◎ Background/History: Wiki
◎ Is the character a hacker and/or do they have a sixth-sense? No.

◎ Personality: Akihiko is a fighter in every sense of the word. In battle, his primary strength is the sheer amount of offensive ability he brings to the table. He fights with his fists, having practiced boxing for practically his entire life, and his persona, Cesar, boasts powerful thunder and lightning abilities. However, past the physical, his personality fits that of a warrior as well. He’s determined, constantly searching for ways to make himself stronger, and never gives up until his goals are achieved. He is the head of the boxing club at school, and through his hard work and determination, remains its undefeated champion. At the same time, being the head of such a club demonstrates that he has the will to help others, too.

When first encountering Akihiko as the protagonist in Persona 3 FES or Persona 3 Portable, he is presented as a cool and respected upperclassman. He gives the protagonist (and the rest of the SEES members) constant encouragement and emotional support, and easily falls into the role of the big brother in the party. We get the impression that he is completely self-sufficient and surprisingly well-adjusted for an orphan, and this impression holds true, but for all the confidence that he presents, Akihiko also has plenty of inner demons.

The reason he wants to become stronger, for example, is because he felt as if he wasn’t strong enough to protect his younger sister Miki when he was younger. He faults himself for lacking the strength to save her from a dangerous fire at their orphanage, and vowed ever since then to not feel helpless like that ever again. As such, he takes the protection of the people he loves incredibly seriously. Not only does he want to protect them in battle, but he wants to make sure that they’re taking care of themselves in their everyday lives, too. On various occasions, Akihiko will express concerns over the protagonist’s diet or training regime. He will also ask the protagonist to help him protect other party members, for example, Ken, as he considers himself not good enough to do the job himself. This doesn’t stem from a lack of confidence in his abilities, but as an acknowledgement that he needs to improve, and that the protagonist is capable enough to fill such a role.

Akihiko’s inclination towards fighting and training to become stronger is so prominent that he treats every mission as a welcome challenge. Even if the odds are stacked against their favor, he approaches the situation with confidence (some might say OVERconfidence) and conviction. This blind determination is oftentimes when Mitsuru, a longtime friend of his, will step in and warn him not to be reckless. Akihiko is so stubborn that even when injured, sometimes gravely so, he will insist on continuing to fight. This selflessness and almost complete disregard for his own well-being applies only to himself. If he believes his teammates are running blindly into a dangerous situation, or that they aren’t taking proper care of themselves, he will do everything in his power to protect them and get them out of danger. He is quick to blame himself when things go awry, such as blaming himself for Shinjiro’s death. It is near Shinjiro’s coffin that Akihiko reaches a resolution and is able to summon Cesar (formerly Polydeuces)-- even though he trained so hard to become strong, he still lost his best friend. Therefore, he would continue fighting not simply to become as physically strong as he could, but to make sure that his friend’s death was not in vain.

When it comes to people that he’s closest to, that title definitely goes to Shinjiro and Mitsuru. Shinjiro and Akihiko have been friends since childhood, and they grew up in the same orphanage. Their relationship runs deep enough that Shinjiro decides to join SEES even though his potential isn’t very high, thus endangering himself. When Akihiko convinces Shinjiro to re-join SEES, he's very clearly happy to have his friend by his side again. Shinjiro looks out for Akihiko and worries about his friend's recklessness, though he doesn't always express it politely. Akihiko, on the other hand, respects Shinjiro's advice and wisdom, even if he doesn't always take it. Though they argue and fight constantly, with both of them growing frustrated over the other's decisions, they care deeply for each other. Shinjiro's death is the only instance in the game in which Akihiko cries. Akihiko avoided losing himself to grief because he knew his friend would not want him to wallow when SEES had important things to do. Akihiko takes solace in the thought that Shinjiro continues to watch over him in his own way.

Similarly, Mitsuru is the other person that keeps Akihiko grounded. Where his arcana is the Emperor (the desire to control one's surroundings, authority, and discipline), she is the Empress (authority, prosperity, and creativity). Together, they serve the roles of big brother and big sister to the group. Much like their arcanas, they complement each other in different ways. Whereas Akihiko has a tendency to be reckless and impulsive, Mitsuru is calculating and collected. Thus, she is often the person that has to reign Akihiko in and prevent him from doing something stupid. Akihiko trusts Mitsuru's judgment. So much so that he takes orders from her without questioning, a blind faith that continues into Persona 4 Arena, where she calls on him for a new group known as the Shadow Operatives. Though the both of them can be rather withdrawn and awkward, they are shown to care deeply about each other and worry about the other's well-being.

To most people, Akihiko may seem cool and aloof. This gives him the reputation of being mysterious, but truthfully, he's just not very socially intelligent. He's serious, much more serious than most young men his age (both as a teenager in high school and a 20 year old), and he has a difficult time reading people's intentions. When girls at school develop crushes on him and follow him around, for example, he doesn't understand why they're so annoying and nosy. In his romance route in P3P, he has some... interesting ways of spending time with the MC, such as taking her running as a date. He also has a difficult time with things like dating, not really understanding girls and what they want. As such, when he confesses his love to the MC, it's endearingly awkward.

The fact that he's usually so serious doesn't mean that he doesn't know how to have fun, however. He's a young man, and he isn't immune to silly things like having a contest with Junpei to see who can hit on women the best. Though he's often the subject of teasing, he isn't above doing a bit of teasing himself, especially to his kouhai.

In Persona 4 Arena, Akihiko is shown to have continued his quest to become stronger after the death of the MC. He decides to perfect his fighting technique and travel around the world in the pursuit of achieving top physical condition. Notably, he has apparently graduated to fighting actual bears as part of his training regimen. Yes, really. More importantly, he remains as awkward as before, not fully understanding why people make such a big deal of his shirtless state. It's practical, you see, to wear such clothes in order to maximize the efficiency of his movements! He remains close to Mitsuru and shows up at her request for help, and seems excited to embark on their new mission.

◎ Powers/Abilities: Akihiko has the ability to summon his Persona, Cesar. As of P4A, he has retained this ability, and does not need to use his Evoker or be within the Dark Hour to summon him. Cesar is an Emperor Arcana persona that specializes in electricity and physical attacks. His persona has the following abilities:

- Ziodyne: Deals heavy electric damage to one foe
- Power charge: Doubles physical damage dealt next turn
- Mind Charge: Doubles magic damage dealt next turn
- Megidolaon: Deals severe Almighty damage to all foes
- Gigantic Fist: Deals heavy Strike damage to one foe
- Masukunda: Decreases all foes' hit/evasion rate
- Counterstrike: Counter physical attacks (30% chance)
- Apt Pupil: Increases user's Critical Rate
- Sharp Student: Lowers odds of sustaining critical damage
- Fist Master: Passive ability, all fist attacks do double the usual damage
- Matarunda: Teporarily decreases foes' attacks (3 turns)
- Mazionga: Moderate electrical damage to all attacking foes
- Diarama: Moderate amount of healing HP to a single ally
- Electric Boost: Increases electrical attacks by 25%
- Sukunda: Decreases an enemy's agility for 3 turns
- Rakunda: Temporarily (3 turns) decreases a foe's defense

Additionally, in Persona 4 Arena he and Cesar gain extra moves, as detailed here. The most prominent addition is that of Thunder Fist, in which Akihiko's punch attacks shock the opponent.
◎ Weapons & Other Special Inventory: His stupid P4A clothes, gloves, brass knuckles, a machete, a bottle of water, a large knife, and his Evoker.

CEREALIA-Specific

◎ Element: Fire. This was chosen because of Akihiko's close connection with electricity, which is closest to the element of fire. Additionally, his personality suits fire, as he is very impuslive, energetic, and passionate.
◎ Sense: Touch. Akihiko is an incredibly physical character, and the ability to feel and inflict pain is incredibly important to him. He doesn't think twice about getting the crap beat out of him in a friendly spar with a friend.
◎ Seven Character Traits: Protective, Confident, Friendly; Comes off as aloof, Self-blaming, Impulsive; Stubborn

Samples

◎ First-Person Sample: [ The face that appears on the camera looks relatively calm, but the way he addresses the network clearly says he's on some kind of mission. He's seated somewhere on his bed-- so the background isn't anything special, and it's otherwise quiet. ]

Okay, so I think I've got a handle of how this all works by now. The name's Akihiko Sanada. I'm originally from Japan, though I've been traveling the world for some time now. Still, I've gotta say, I've never come across a place quite like this. I can't believe something like this is actually real.

Well, sort of real. You know what I mean.

[ He pauses and clears his throat. ]

But anyway, that's not the point. From what I've heard, this isn't exactly anyone's idea of normal.

I'm looking for anyone who might know what the words "persona" or "shadow" mean. That sound familiar to any of you? If it does, contact me as soon as possible. I don't think there's any connection between our personas and this world, but it wouldn't hurt to get our stories straight and figure out what everyone knows.

[ He grows silent for a second, not sure how to continue, before deciding to end the message. He didn't want to give away too much, just in case. ]

Hmm... that's all I got. Like I said, send me a message. I'll be here.

◎ Third-Person Sample: This wasn't the first time Akihiko found himself in a strange country, faced with an unknown challenger. But no matter how many variations of this same song and danced he experienced, he was always glad to step up to the challenge. This time, his world tour of fighting had brought him to a small town two hours south of Mexico City. It was a whimsical place, full of color and food that promised to nourish both his body and soul. But it wasn't the food that brought him here.

No, the reason that he was here, in this small arena that served more to amateurs than professionals, was the sacred art of Lucha Libre.

The mask wasn't much to Akihiko's taste, to be perfectly honest-- it was too easy for the fabric to slip over his eyes and obscure his vision, giving him a disadvantage in the ring, but he respected the tradition enough to comply with what they asked of him. "They" being the organizers of the event, who had taken the time beforehand to give Akihiko a quick rundown of the sport's history. He'd spent a fair amount of time admiring the portraits in the hallway leading up to the makeshift dressing room. These were men with admirable fighting spirit. Men who, despite many of them being twice his age and past the age of retirement, stood proud and ready for battle. Even if they weren't professionals, Akihiko had taken the time to observe a couple of matches the night before, and they certainly fought like professionals.

"Alright. Let's see what this is all about," he says under his breath to no one in particular, adjusting his gloves and taking one last glimpse in the mirror. They've given him a red luchador mask, a very shiny one at that, and he can't help but think that he looks silly.

But, in a way, it does make him look pretty intimidating, doesn't it? Once you got past the whole "covered in glitter" aspect, he kinda liked the idea of keeping himself completely anonymous. He could still make eye contact, after all, and that was most important. He stares into the mirror for one last second before shrugging lightly and deciding the look wasn't so bad after all.

He walks briskly down the hallway leading him towards the ring, smiling to himself when he hears the roar of the crowd. It was a Saturday night, and being such a small town, there wasn't much to do in the way of entertainment. But there was Lucha Libre, and there was good food and drink. What else did people need?

He was a stranger here, and as such, Akihiko knew he wouldn't be very popular with the locals. This was also a recurring theme wherever in the world he went, but he wasn't particularly bothered by it. It made sense. He'd just have to do his best, and if he lost, he'd found a worthy opponent to learn things from.

With one last roll of his shoulders, Akihiko makes his way towards the ring, his stride quick and confident.

◎ Is your character retaining any previous game memories? No.