Akira Yuki

"Akira" redirects here. For other uses, see Akira (disambiguation).

Akira Yuki
Official render of Akira from Virtua Fighter.
Universe	Virtua Fighter
Debut	Virtua Fighter (1993)
Smash Bros. appearances	SSB4 Ultimate
Most recent non-Smash appearance	Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth (2024, cameo)
Console/platform of origin	Arcade
Species	Human
Gender	Male
Place of origin	Japan
Created by	Yu Suzuki
Designed by	Seiichi Ishii
Voice actor	Shin'ichirō Miki
Article on Wikipedia	Akira Yuki

Akira Yuki (結城 晶, Yuki Akira) is the main protagonist and mascot of the Virtua Fighter universe.

Origin

Akira fighting Jacky in Virtua Fighter.

Akira Yuki is the mascot of the Virtua Fighter series. He is the grandson of the man who invented a unique version of the Bājíquán martial art for Japanese soldiers to use during the Second World War. In the original game, he serves as the assistant instructor at his family's dojo, Yuki Budokan. When he learns of the first World Fighting Tournament at age 23, he decides to enter not for glory, but to further hone his Bājíquán techniques and to understand what "true fighting" is about.

The plot of Virtua Fighter 2 elaborates that, during the first World Fighting Tournament, his overly enthusiastic attitude was met with disapproval by the fellow tournament entrants. He was defeated and humiliated by the ninja Kage-Maru, whom Akira now holds a grudge against. After putting himself through rigorous training, he attends the second World Fighting Tournament and wins. When he shows the trophy to his grandfather, the old man simply replies, "Don't flatter yourself. You haven't mastered anything yet."

Believing he had not found his true strength yet, Akira attends the third World Fighting tournament and loses. After some encouragement from his grandfather, Akira secludes himself in the mountains to train more, still attempting to figure out what "true fighting" is. While training, he receives an invitation for the fourth World Fighting Tournament. He enters and loses to Kage again. Returning to the mountains, he trains even harder. Akira then attends the fifth World Fighting Tournament; his results are currently unknown.

Akira is the typical traditional martial artist common in fighting games. His preferred style of Bājíquán relies heavily on using parts of the upper body, like elbows, hips and shoulders, to forcefully push an opponent. Most of the damage comes from quick acceleration of the body from a short distance. Akira is the only playable character that uses this technique, with the only other canonical user being his grandfather.

Akira does not seek money or glory from fighting and entering tournaments. He instead fights simply to test himself and his abilities. Akira also seeks to learn the meaning of "true fighting," something that his grandfather assures he will learn in time. Akira is usually seen wearing a traditional sleeveless fighting Gi, either white or black, and a headband around his spiky hair.

In Super Smash Bros. 4

As a Mii Costume

A Mii Brawler dressed as Akira.

Akira serves as the basis of the Akira Wig and Outfit DLC Mii Costume for the Mii Brawlers. The Akira set was released alongside the other Wave 2 Mii Fighter costumes on June 14th, 2015. Nintendo also released a QR code for those who wish to have the exact Mii used in the costume's advertising. The costume is similar to his debut appearance in the original Virtua Fighter, where graphical limitations had him appear in a blocky and polygonal form.

During the reveal trailer, the Mii Brawler representing Akira is first seen on the Wuhu Island stage's Swordplay Colosseum layout, referencing the small stages in the Virtua Fighter series. Next, the Mii Brawler is seen battling Little Mac in his wireframe form, referencing the polygonal aesthetic of Virtua Fighter, on the Boxing Ring stage, referencing the ground-based fighting style and stage shape in the Virtua Fighter series. Finally, the Mii Brawler is seen battling the Mii Brawler representing Jacky Bryant, another Virtua Fighter character on the Garden of Hope stage's Ω form, referencing the forest stage in Virtua Fighter.

In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

As an Assist Trophy

“	From the original Virtua Fighter game, Akira joins the battle with the same graphic style as his original appearance. He has a wide variety of attacks at his disposal, but none represent him better than his Tetsuzankou. When he leaves the fight he says his signature line! *By the way, Bayonetta's forward throw is also based off of Tetsuzankou.	”
—Super Smash Blog, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Official Site

Akira on Castle Siege.

Akira makes his debut as an Assist Trophy. He was revealed during the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Direct on November 1, 2018.

During the reveal trailer, Akira is first seen battling Zero Suit Samus on the Temple stage's Ω form, with Zero Suit Samus referencing Sarah Bryant. Next, he is seen battling Wolf on the Pirate Ship stage's Ω form, referencing Wolf Hawkfield.

Akira is designed after his appearance in Virtua Fighter 10th Anniversary, a port of the original Virtua Fighter built on the engine used for Virtua Fighter 4; he appears with his blocky model from the original Virtua Fighter, and his animations resemble the choppy movements of the original game. Shin'ichiro Miki reprises his role as Akira, with his voice clips being re-purposed from Virtua Fighter 4. Akira is one of seven characters that only speak Japanese in all versions of Ultimate, with the others being Takamaru, the Prince of Sablé, Cloud, Yuri Kozukata, Sephiroth, and Kazuya.

Akia can use a variety of martial arts attacks from Virtua Fighter, including his signature move, the Tetsuzanko (where he grabs an opponent and slams into them, launching them forward). He can also block incoming attacks. He can be defeated as well. Before he disappears, he says his famous quote from the Virtua Fighter series, "十年早いんだよ!" ("It's ten years too soon for you to challenge me!", literally "Ten years too early!")

Akira can be attacked, and even KO'd, which earns the player an extra point.

As a Mii Costume

A Mii Brawler dressed as Akira.

The Akira set from SSB4 returns as a DLC Mii Costume. It was revealed during the Mr. Sakurai Presents "Terry Bogard" presentation on November 4, 2019.

During the reveal trailer, the Mii Brawler representing Akira is seen performing his forward smash on a small platform on the Gerudo Valley stage, referencing the small fighting stage sizes in the Virtua Fighter series while the stage background references the desert canyon stage in Virtua Fighter. The Mii Brawler is next seen battling Bayonetta on the Garden of Hope stage, with Bayonetta referencing how she can perform the Tetsuzanko technique for her forward throw, while the stage references the forest stage in Virtua Fighter. The ending image features the Mii Brawler in the Training stage, likely referencing the polygonal aesthetic of Virtua Fighter.

Akira was released alongside the other Round 4 Mii Costumes on November 6, 2019.

Spirit

Akira appears in Ultimate as a Legend-class primary spirit.

In Adventure Mode: World of Light, Akira is presumably one of the countless spirits captured by Galeem during his takeover of the universe. After Galeem's defeat, Dharkon takes control of Galeem's spirits, including Akira. Akira's spirit is located in the Sacred Land sub-dungeon of The Dark Realm.

Akira uses a Ryu puppet fighter and is fought on the Coliseum stage's Ω form. During the battle, Akira appears as a hostile Assist Trophy while Ryu's attacks have increased power. Also, the players' jumping power decreases, referencing the typical ground-based battles in the Virtua Fighter series.

No.	Image	Name	Type	Class	Slots	Base	Max	Base	Max	Base	Max	Ability	Series
1,294		Akira		★★★★	3	3966	9918	2098	5245	1716	4292	Fist Attack ↑	Virtua Fighter Series

Gallery

• 

  Akira as a Mii Brawler costume

• 

  Akira as an Assist Trophy in Ultimate.

• 

  Akira attacking Ryu on Umbra Clock Tower.

Names in other languages

Language	Name
Japanese	アキラ, Akira
English	Akira
French	Akira
German	Akira
Spanish	Akira
Italian	Akira
Chinese	Akira
Korean	Akira
Dutch	Akira
Russian	Акира

Trivia

• Bayonetta's performance of the Tetsuzanko technique for her forward throw and her voice line, "十年早いんだよ!" is a carryover of a similar Easter egg from Bayonetta, and is acknowledged in Akira's blog entry.
• The pose used for Akira's Assist Trophy render is nearly identical to a piece of artwork from the original Virtua Fighter, which is used for his Spirit.

External links

• Article on the Virtua Fighter Wiki.