Akashi

Also known as 明石 (Akashi)

Hello, My Name (in English) is…

Since Akashi is based on a real-life childhood acquaintance of Tezuka’s, his name has no particular meaning in the manga.

Distinguishing Features

A prototypical bully, you can easily spot him by his massive bulk, unkept appearance and his bushy black eyebrows.

Status: Secondary Star (★★)

Based on a a real-life classmate of the young Osamu Tezuka, Akashi is the prototypical leader of a school gang.  Even though he terrorizes his entire school by preying on the students who are weaker and smaller than he is,  he has a secret love of manga.  This led him to eventually becomes friends with Osamu Tezuka – especially after Tezuka drew him a picture of his beautiful fantasy girl, Kumiko.  He idolized her so much that legend has it he was clutching her picture when he was later killed by enemy fire off the coast of the Philippines during the war.

Notable Roles

Although Akashi is primarily known for his work as the main antagonist in The Godfather’s Son (1973), he also made a memorable appearance as the leader of a gang in the Black Jack (1973-83) chapter “Gleamy Eyes” (1974).