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Akira Toya (塔矢 アキラ, Tōya Akira) is a main character in Hikaru no Go. He is a 3-Dan Go player, the son of Koyo Toya and Akiko Toya and the biggest rival of Hikaru Shindo.
Appearance[]
Akira, while close in age to Hikaru, has a slightly more mature and taller appearance. Akira's eyes are more pointed and sloped as opposed to Hikaru's rounded eyes. Akira's eyes become smaller as he grows older, and the fringe in his hair becomes thicker. He is shown wearing school uniforms and formal suits, but otherwise, he casually wears bold checkered sweaters and tan or khaki colored slacks. Akira has black hair (jungle green in the animated series) in an okappa/page boy hairstyle with black (jungle green in the anime) eyes.
Personality[]
Akira is a friendly, polite, and kind individual, although he can be somewhat arrogant due to his high skills in Go. His father forbids him from participating in amateur Go tournaments, fearing that Akira may end up crushing the spirit of aspiring players. His lack of rivals due to this causes him to be disliked by others; regardless, Akira is a mature, polite, and sensible individual.
Akira can become more fierce, serious, and composed in Go as he devoted his time to practicing, no matter how hard it was, and kept on playing. Initially, he believed he didn't need a rival, but when he lost to Hikaru, whom he initially thought was an amateur, he felt furious. Hikaru made a disrespectful statement that he would play around and take a title or two, which left him dispressed when he lost to him. Unknown to Akira, he was actually playing against Sai, where Hikaru only placed the stone in Sai's place.
His rivalry with Hikaru also makes Akira act professional and serious towards Kosuke Ochi, whom Akira was tutoring at the time. He goes as far as to demand proper respect from Ochi as his teacher. Akira begins lying to himself about Hikaru being his rival, but they eventually form a friendly bond. Akira's mannered and mature nature often clashes with Hikaru's assertive and upbeat personality, both in and outside of Go.
History[]
Having begun his Go studies at the age of two, Akira quickly became very skilled and was not allowed to enter in children's tournaments for fear that he might crush the other children's spirits after beating them.
Plot[]
Beginning Arc[]
Akira first appeared at the Go Salon where Hikaru took Sai to play Go. Unwilling to play against adults, Hikaru then noticed Akira and asked Ms. Ichikawa if he could play Akira since they were both around the same age. Ms. Ichikawa tried to warn Hikaru that Akira was a strong player, but Akira agreed to play Hikaru. Sai, using Hikaru, beat Akira swiftly. Everyone in the Go Salon was shocked by Akira being beaten by Hikaru. Ms. Ichikawa then told Akira that Hikaru had never played a game before in his life. This left him surprised and wondering who Hikaru really was.
Akira confronts Hikaru and is insulted when Hikaru unintentionally shows disrespect for the game. He challenges Hikaru to a rematch, and unlike the first game, which was merely a teaching game, Sai decides to crush Akira after seeing Akira's more skill than he realized. In the end, Akira resigns from the match after realizing he has lost.
Go Middle School Tournament Arc[]
Akira went to Kaio Middle School to apply attending there when the Principal asks Akira to join the go club in order to give encouragement which Akira eventually does to face Hikaru again when he refuse to play a game against him.
Akira is too good against everyone at the Kaio Go club, and most members are envious of this. Okamura tries the mirror go technique, only to resign after he attacks the tengen. Okamura, along with Kojima and Ito, plan to take him down by forcing him to play blind Go. Akira easily beats Ito and plays the other two in a double blind game, but start to falter as Okamura poor playing style mess up his rhythm but Yuri Hidaka prevents Akira from playing a ridiculous variation of the game any longer and convince him to play normally which Akira agrees.
Akira discovers that Hikaru is the third position in the tournament and begs Yun Sensei to put him there but Yun Sensei refuses however Akira say that he will quit the Go Club to let him be on third position which Yun Sensei relent and placed him in the third position in the tournament.
During the tournament, Sai begins the match against Akira, who has gotten stronger. Halfway through the match, Hikaru begins to wonder how much he has improved in skill. As a result, he takes over in the middle of the match. Akira is angered by what he views as Hikaru's messing around, but is forced to continue by Yun. Akira easily crushes him and leaves in disgust, having lost all respect for Hikaru.
Internet Go Arc[]
The commotion regarding Sai catches Akira's attention. At an amateur tournament he begins an online game with Sai, and their moves mirror one of his previous matches with Hikaru. Suspicious, Akira resigns not wanting it to interfere the international amateur tournament and decided arranged another match against Sai.
Akira skips his first match of the Go professional exam in order to play an internet game against Sai. He is defeated when his center groups die. Along with the many people watching, Akira wonders who Sai really is, suspecting that Hikaru might be him.
Later during the day, Akira went to the go salon where Ms. Ichikawa asks Akira how he did at the Pro Exam, to which Akira informed her that he skipped the 1st day much to her shock. Akira reassured her that he didn't fail and the Pro Exams had only just begun and he will not miss his next game. Later Mr. Hirose arrived and informed Akira he saw Hikaru at an Internet Cafe which led Akira to run off to the Internet Cafe, assuming that Hikaru was Sai, but when he arrived, Hikaru was look at the Shonen Jump Website. Eventually Akira decides to not bother Hikaru again. But Hikaru declare to Akira if keep chasing after a phantom version of him then he will chase after him.
Akira later passes the Pro Exam on his first try and without losing, except for the default lost.
Insei Arc[]
In the Shinshodan series, Akira is to face off against the Oza in the championship room. Akira begins making risky moves such as a throw-in and leaving his lower territory open to attack, to prove to Hikaru that he will be soon undefeated. Akira's excessive risk taking backfires during the course of the match, costing his victory against the Oza.
Pro Exam Arc[]
Akira gives private lessons to Ochi in an attempt to learn how strong a level Hikaru is playing at.
Sai vs Meijin Arc[]
Akira watches the Sai vs. Koyo Toya game, and suspects that Hikaru has a connection to Sai.
Sai Disappearance Arc[]
Akira was concerned over Hikaru missing his promotion Dan series, and Hikaru was losing by default in other games. He visits Hikaru's school to find out his reason but it did not go well.
Return Arc[]
During a lunch break for a match with Hikaru, Akira tells him that there is another someone in Hikaru. Before leaving, Hikaru tells him that one day he might tell him the story. Akira realizes this and starts chasing after him for it but Hikaru refuses to tell him now.
Hikaru later visits the Go Salon Akira frequented and they get into arguments while discussing different moves.
Hokuto Cup Arc[]
Akira was automatically selected to participate due to having exceptional good records and meeting its condition of being under 18. He, Hikaru and Yashiro represent Japan in the Hokuto Cup. He is distinguished for being the only member of the team to win any matches at all, defeating both of his opponents from China and Korea.
Go[]
Akira is a strong player and is exceptionally skilled. He plays aggressively and often cuts off his opponents while balancing territory and control of the center. Akira was so skilled that his father forbade him from participating in amateur tournaments in fear that he would crush the spirit of aspiring players. He passes the pro exam undefeated, nearly beats the Oza, and becomes Japan's 1st board player in the Hokuto Cup.
Relationship[]
Hikaru Shindo[]
Akira considers Hikaru his rival, as he (Sai really) crushed him easily. This defeat left him in state of shock and left him confused even further when he heard that Hikaru never played go before which caused him to wonder who Hikaru is.
He briefly gave up on the rivalry after Hikaru played poorly in the middle school tournament, but he regains interest when Hikaru becomes an insei and witness his display of grown and skill during the Young Lion Tournament. He even tutors Ochi with the sole purpose of defeating him. Throughout the series Akira is suspicious of Sai's connection to Hikaru, noticing the similarities between Sai and the old Hikaru's playing styles, but also noting the discrepancies between Sai and the new Hikaru's.
Koyo Toya[]
Akira has great respect for his father, who has taught him Go from a young age. The Meijin rarely compliments his son, but inwardly is proud of him.
Hiroyuki Ashiwara[]
One of Akira Toya's friends who is closest to his age.
Seiji Ogata[]
They are similar in being protege of Toya Meijin and obsessed with Hikaru.
Games Played[]
Opponent | Outcome |
---|---|
Hikaru Shindo | Lost by 2 Point |
Hikaru Shindo | Lost by Resigned |
Aoki | Win by Resigned |
Ito | Win by Resigned |
Kojima and Okumura | Win by Resigned |
Trivia[]
- The green hair that Akira is given in the anime makes him resemble Haku from Spirited Away, although Akira's hair color is originally black and Hikaru no Go came two years before the movie.
- There seems to be a gag in which Akira 'appears unexpectedly' and startles everyone else especially Hikaru Shindo, which is especially apparent when Hikaru decides to quit Go after Fujiwara no Sai disappears and Akira tracks him down in a library. Hikaru later states Akira is 'bad for the heart' for doing this often.
References[]
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Main Character | Hikaru Shindo • Fujiwara no Sai • Akira Toya • Koyo Toya |
Other Character | Akari Fujisaki • Kimihiro Tsutsui • Tetsuo Kaga • Yuki Mitani • Kumiko Tsuda • Natsume • Masako Kaneko • Hitoshi Koike • Seiji Ogata • Kaoru Kishimoto • Yuri Hideka • Yoshitaka Waya • Yuta Fukui • Shinichiro Isumi • Asumi Nase • Kosuke Ochi • Toshinori Honda • Tatsuhiko Kadowaki • Shigeo Morishita • Kuwabara • Zama • Harumi Ichikawa • Mitsuko Shindo • Michio Shirakawa • Suyong Hong • Atsushi Kurata • Yongha Ko • Kiyoharu Yashiro |
Japan | Hikaru Shindo • Akira Toya • Koyo Toya • Seiji Ogata • Yoshitaka Waya • Shinichiro Isumi • Kosuke Ochi • Toshinori Honda • Tatsuhiko Kadowaki • Shigeo Morishita • Kuwabara • Zama • Michio Shirakawa • Hiroyuki Ashiwara • Atsushi Kurata • Kiyoharu Yashiro |
Korea | An Daesun • Suyong Hong • Yongha Ko |
China | Yang Hai • Lu Li • Wang Shizhen • Zhao Shi |