Characters from Akagi include:

Main & Side Characters

Akagi Shigeru

A famous gambler with a reputation for being a genius and undefeated. His story began when he was 13 on a rainy night when he walked into a Yakuza office where a Majong game was being help and the beginning of his legend.

The Ace: Even at the age of 13 Akagi was brilliant at reading people, thinking up devious strategies, and had an unshakeable resolve in his own judgements. When he began playing Mahjong, he made experienced Yakuza and even their rep player look like amateurs in only a few games. Over the years he gains the reputation of being an amazing gambler that never loses and can succeed in any type of gamble.
- Broken Ace: In spite of his tremendous skills, talent, and mental gifts, Akagi is an adrenaline junkie that cannot get satisfaction in the mundane world and has no consideration for his own life and safety or the lives and safety of others. While he mellowed out in his later years he would always possess this deep emptiness. Part of this being attributed to the fact that his gifts made everything too easy.
Blue and Orange Morality: Akagi isn't a bad guy in the strictest sense and though he calls himself a villain at times, he doesn't ever really do anything actively villainous. The people he does end up ruing usually turn out to at least be an Asshole Victim or even started the situation with Akagi in the first place. He doesn't follow conventional morality while only living by a code based on his own feeling and outlook.
Crazy Prepared: Akagi will usually take steps and plan out his victory before time when he has a heads up on the competition he will be competing in. The biggest example is correctly guessing that his ante in one Mahjong game would be his own blood so he had his blood draw a month before and then put back in the night of the game as insurance or "extra funds" should the need arise. Suffice it to say, it did.
Even Evil Has Standards: Calling Akagi evil is pushing it a bit. Akagi is largely amoral and indifferent to the plight of others while generally believing in looking out for number one, there are some rules he lives by and things he finds distasteful based on his own standards and outlook.
- He hates people forcing others into risks of any kind while staying relatively safe themselves or risking very little. He believes that in a deal, arrangement or gamble that both parties should share equal risk.
- He can't stand people being fake or pretensions. He mocks Urabe when Urabe declares that he will have revenge on Akagi for his loss seeing through his bluster as a way to save face and salve his wounded ego when Akagi knew that Urabe realized that he would probably never beat Akagi in Mahjong. Mocks the fake using his name and rep as a Yakuza rep player when the fake wouldn't go into a serious gamble with him and essentially telling the fake that he has no freaking clue how underground gambling really works equating him to a man who has only stepped into the shallows claiming to know everything about the sea.
The Gambler: It's a Mahjong series, he's the protagonist, and he's legendary in the gambling underworld for being undefeated. Need we say more?
Sociopathic Hero: While Akagi is the protagonist of his series and the "hero" of the story, conventional morality and standards mean nothing to him. The only reason he isn't flat out villainous is the fact that he never preys on ordinary people and the people he does end up ruining are much worse than he is ranging from pro-gamblers who ruin others as their profession, Yakuza bosses too greedy to know better, and corrupt corporate leaders willing to literally murder to get what they want.
We All Die Someday: This is implied to be the reason why Akagi has no regard for his own safety nor fears his own death. He inherently understands that everyone only has one shot at life and has decided it's better to live well than live long. He sees a life lived for nothing but survival and necessity as a living death and the people living that way as barely any better than cattle.
You're Insane!: Many people have accused Akagi of being straight up mentally ill or even suicidal give the extremes he goes to at times and how easily he is willing to risk his health and safety for a gamble. While Akagi doesn't refute this and at least acknowledges he isn't normal in at all, it's more of a case of Akagi operating on Blue and Orange Morality than being crazy or suicidal.

Antagonists

Washizu Iwao

Washizu Iwao was a businessman gifted with almost supernatural luck. In his early days he rose to the highest ranks of the police as commissioner at the age of 50 but left his position when he sensed the war with the USA couldn't be won. He started his consulting agency not long after and using his contacts and the dirt he collected on powerful and influential people during his time with the police quickly became the shadow king of Showa era Japan. Washizu has amassed so much wealth and influence that he could fix or affect anything in the country. In his older years, the realization of his impeding death coupled with the fact that there was nothing left to strive for slowly drove him into further darkness and insanity. He has decided to fill that void for excitement with Mahjong and the life and death struggles of the young player betting their very blood to win millions of yen against him.

Arms Dealer: He bought up useless (at the time) munitions factories right after World War II. Since there were legal impositions against the manufacture of weapons in Japan, everyone though Washizu was crazy for wanting them. However, Washizu's amazing foresight allowed him to stay ahead of things and his purchases came in time for the Korea war not long later.
Even Evil Has Standards: Washizu doesn't care at all about conventional morality though unlike Akagi, he is not amoral, as he is actively malicious and enjoys bringing misery to others. However, even he has rules for himself that he sticks by. Chief among them that he always honor a deal, even at the cost of his own financial and personal safety. He will also honor and show respect to those who have impressed him.

Washizu: A man who treats a deal like trash would not be Washizu Iwao!

Corrupt Corporate Executive: In his younger days when he was building his company and growing his wealth. A bit of a Downplayed Trope as he never defrauded his company or tried to screw over his employees but he would stoop to extortion, bribes, and underhanded deals to help his company get ahead.
Laughing Mad: He starts his game with Akagi fairly composed but as things go on he becomes more and more unhinged and is often giggling to himself in an unnerving way or flat out cackling with insane fury.
The Only One Allowed to Defeat You: After their nerve wracking death-match which ended in a draw, Washizu starts to search for Akagi to have a concluding rematch. When several Yakuza tried to rob Akagi and chased him away, Washizu was furious that the criminals caused him to miss meeting Akagi again by a day. When one of them mentions that he will kill Akagi for having fooled their Yakuza group, Washizu's attitude becomes pitch black and makes it very clear only he is allowed to defeat/kill Akagi and if they try anything he will bury them.

Washizu: The likes of you don't have the privilege, capability, the hatred, the respect, or the history with him that I do. The only one allowed to kill Akagi is me! Only Washizu Iwao may kill him!

Worthy Opponent: Toward the end of their fateful clash and after Washizu recognizes Akagi as an emperor or one who stands above others like himself. He also gains tremendous respect for Akagi and while he searches for him to have a concluding rematch, when it seemed as though Washizu had finally won before Akagi turned the tables on his again in their first match, Washizu actually wept tears of joy and sorrow at the prospect of their duel coming to an end and the only truly worth adversary he ever had being no more.

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