Akira Hibiki

"The radiant skies, the sparkling oceans...There's no way I would let them fall into the hands of demons!"

Akira Hibiki is a fiery young man, eager to jump in his super robot Raideen and fight off some otherworldly invaders. Despite this, he is surprisingly coolheaded in casual conversation, though he has a habit of changing the topic to demons and demon hunting. In his free time, he enjoys playing soccer with his high school friends and going for a ride on his custom motorcycle, the Sparker. One day, during a practice match, Akira was suddenly struck by lightning, which awakened his latent Mu bloodline, granting him psychic powers and amplifying his spirit to near-Guy Shishioh levels. This allowed him to pilot the ancient war machine Raideen, which was built to fight the demon empire that resides beneath the Earth. And when they captured his father to interrogate him, things became very personal for Akira. Since that day, Akira has trained himself to be a better pilot and further develop his psychic powers, and now fights the demons, or any other would-be invaders, with the literal power of God. However, his anger can often cloud his judgment, and his stubbornness can sometimes leave him biting off more than he can chew without an ally to help him. He has formed a small demon hunting group with Saiga Junki and Kurou Daijuji, though how successful they'll be remains to be seen.

Background Information
Akira's mother went missing when he was very young, and his father raised him from there. As a scientist working for the Earth Federation Alliance, Akira's father was able to support himself and his son throughout his childhood and school years, and took whatever time he could to spend time with Akira. But on that fateful day, the day Akira obtained his powers and the Youma Empire rose from underground to conquer the Earth, the elder Hibiki was captured by the demons. Even with Raideen's help, Akira was unable to prevent them from turning his father into stone and taking him to their underground lair, where they would interrogate him for information on Raideen and its powers.

Since that day, Akira has been very untrusting toward nonhumans. He joined the Trailers to search for his father, but thus far he has found no leads. Eventually, while fighting one of Doctor Hell's mechanical beasts, he met Saiga Junki, the pilot of Raideen's 'sister machine' Reideen. They quickly became friends, and now aid each other in battle whenever one or the other needs help. At some point, Akira also came to know Kurou Daijuji, but other than a few brief talks over the radio, they haven't actually met yet. Here's hoping things don't get too awkward when they do.

Personality Traits
Akira is a strong-willed individual who, once he has set his mind to something, will do all within his power to get it accomplished…and sometimes, a little beyond his power. When told by the mysterious voice in his head that he would be putting his life at risk for the sake of the Earth, he took the news very well, unsettlingly well even. It could be that the blood of the ancient people of Mu boils at the thought of fighting demons, giving him a sense of duty and an unquenchable blood thirst that, when combined, makes him fight even harder against them. On the other hand, that could simply be an excuse to cover for a much darker motive: Akira simply enjoys war, and killing demon soldiers especially. Only time will tell…

…Or it could just be that he’s a Tomino protagonist. Eh.

In any case, Akira’s sense of duty is nearly as strong as his spirit, and he is unwavering in the smiting of his demonic foes. However, it goes deeper than that. When his father was turned to stone and taken prisoner by the demons, it became personal. Though he tries to act calm, his emotions often get the better of him, and it becomes obvious that he’s taking his anger out on the invaders that he so often fights. He does want to save the world, of course, what Super pilot doesn’t? But it’s the anger in his heart, burning with a fierce intensity, which drives him to protect it. He has very little mercy for nonhumanoids, and even less for humans who deliberately try to harm their own people. To him, they’re all the same as the demons he is destined to fight, and he will give them the same treatment as the monsters who took his father.

On that note, Akira was very close to his father. They weren’t just father and son, they were best friends as well, and Akira looked up to his father like a hero. So naturally, when Mr. Hibiki was taken prisoner by the demons, Akira began his journey down the long, dark road of the Tomino Side. He gained a powerful drive to fight, and trained night and day, both in and out of Raideen, to prepare himself for further invasion forces, demon or alien. Due to the personal nature of his mission, he keeps himself away from any governments or militaries, preferring to fight his enemies alone. Still, he knows when he’s outnumbered or outclassed, and will accept help when he needs it, however much he may not want to. He also likes soccer.

In fact, the only times he is happy are when he's riding the Sparker or playing soccer with his friends. Then, at least, he has the comfort of the wind in his hair or people he knows around him to keep his mind off of the urge to go out and interrogate every single nonhuman on the planet to find his father. At home, Akira's current parentless state tends to cause him to go through bouts of severe depression and general loneliness. In such times, he often goes out for a walk, either through the woods for the refreshing smell of nature, or into town to buy groceries and other necessities. Every now and then, he’ll drop by a friend’s house to visit, or organize another soccer game. Though he understands Mari’s affection toward him, he tries to keep their relationship at a “just friends” level, to avoid breaking her heart later. After all, he’s piloting a giant robot with armor and weapons from an age that ended several millennia ago. It’s only a matter of time before he slips up…

Talents & Abilities
Akira has what are often referred to as 'psychic powers', but are rather poorly explained. He has some form of telepathy and telekinesis, but they never seem to see much use outside of piloting Raideen. If he has anything else, it still remains to be seen.

Akira also has excellent balance, as demonstrated by riding the Sparker on a bridge only slightly wider than the bike's tires, as well as a winding path on the face of a cliff that is also dangerously narrow.

Friendship
Saiga Junki - Akira met Saiga in battle, and in battle they became friends, working together to protect the world from invaders. Though neither of them may be aware of it, Saiga's 'copilot', Midorino Akira, healed Akira's potentially life-threatening internal injuries caused by Raideen's most powerful and dangerous weapon, the God Voice. At some point, they started a demon hunting group with Kurou Daijuji.

Trust
None.

Affinity
Kurou Daijuji - A guy that Akira hasn't met in person, but talked to over the radio a few times. One of the rare people actually interested in fighting demons with Akira.

Ambivalence
Everyone else.

Caution
None.

Distrust
None.

Contempt
Every Single Super Robot Villain In The Game - They all seem to like using abominations of nature and science to do their dirty work, and Akira's pretty sure that at least one of them knows where his dad is. It's just a matter of beating the answer out of them.