Akira has dark skin and long white hair, which he usually ties into a ponytail while cooking. His neatly swept bangs fall to the right side of his face, framing his sharp green eyes. Tall and strikingly handsome, Akira carries himself with a composed and confident demeanor. He typically wears his Tōtsuki school uniform unbuttoned, paired with a shirt underneath and a loosened tie around his collar, giving him a relaxed yet refined appearance. When cooking, he dons a dark chef’s uniform. In his youth, Akira’s hair was shorter but still featured his distinctive side-swept bangs, and his clothing was often worn and dirty, reflecting the harsh environment of the neighborhood he grew up in.

Akira is a confident and composed student at Tōtsuki. His extraordinary sense of smell, said to rival Erina Nakiri’s God Tongue, makes him a master of spices and aromas. Akira takes pride in his abilities and is unafraid to declare himself the best chef in the academy. Like many of his peers, he believes that he will one day stand at the top of Tōtsuki. He is one of the few who openly challenges Erina, boldly claiming that he will surpass her. Calm and collected even under pressure, Akira rarely shows surprise or fear, no matter the opponent. Fuyumi Mizuhara once noted that Akira only thinks about victory and never considers the possibility of losing. Diligent and responsible, he often covers for Jun Shiomi’s absentmindedness in their seminar room.

Akira’s motivation stems largely from Jun, who discovered him living on the streets of a foreign country. She took him in and brought him to Tōtsuki to nurture his potential. Since then, Akira has been deeply grateful to her, serving as her assistant and dedicating his success to her guidance. His devotion is so strong that he once refused a lucrative job offer from Haubi Food Company, insisting that his only goal is to support Jun. Despite his respect for her, Akira isn’t afraid to reprimand her when she acts irresponsibly, even though she is his senior. His sense of gratitude and obligation toward her eventually led him to join Central, despite initially disagreeing with its philosophy.

After being coerced into joining Central, Akira’s personality hardened—he became more arrogant, prideful, and emotionally distant. Yet beneath his composed exterior, he still harbors regret for betraying his friends and Jun. Despite the changes in his demeanor, his bond with Jun remains unshaken, continuing to serve as the foundation of his culinary passion and personal growth.

Akira was orphaned at a very young age and has no memory of his parents. He spent much of his early life surviving in the slums of an unnamed country, scavenging through garbage for food and often enduring beatings from adults. Despite his harsh upbringing, Akira possessed an exceptionally sharp sense of smell, a gift that would later define his life.

One day, while wandering through a local marketplace, he noticed a young woman attempting to buy spices from a merchant. Using his keen sense of smell, Akira quickly realized that the blend she was about to purchase was weak and of poor quality. He warned her just in time, much to the merchant’s anger, and the two fled the scene together. Concerned for her safety, Akira scolded her, saying that a young girl shouldn’t be in such a shady marketplace alone.

To his surprise, the woman introduced herself as Jun Shiomi, a lecturer at Tōtsuki Culinary Academy. Deeply impressed by Akira’s extraordinary sense of smell and moved by his situation as an orphan, Jun decided to take him in. She legally adopted Akira and brought him to Japan, giving him a home for the first time in his life and opening the path that would lead him to become one of Tōtsuki’s most talented chefs.