Akeno Misaki (岬 明乃, Misaki Akeno?), also known as Mike by both Moeka China and later Susan Reyes, is the main protagonist of the High School Fleet series. She serves as the main protagonist of the 2015 manga, the 2016 anime adaptation, the 2017 OVA and the 2020 movie.
Akeno is a student of Yokosuka Girls' Marine High School, who is the Captain of the ship known as Harekaze and its crew.
However, things went awry for Akeno and her crew during their sea training, when Kaoru Furushou attacked the Harekaze and subsequently falsely accused the Harekaze crew of mutiny, due to Furushou and the rest of the Sarushima crew members to be victims of RATt disease. This forced Akeno's crew to be on hiding for weeks, until their names are to be cleared.
Akeno is voiced by Shiina Natsukawa, who voiced other characters including Yuki Kusakabe from Interviews With Monster Girls.
Appearance[]
Akeno's dark shoulder-length hair is usually pulled back into two pigtails on either side of her head. When she is showering, she is the only time she lets her hair down. She has fair complexion and blue eyes.
She wears the standard Yokosuka Girls' Marine High School uniform.
Akeno wears a captain's hat on occasion, especially while taking leadership of the Harekaze.
Personality[]
Akeno is a forward-thinking, big-hearted girl who is overflowing with good fortune. She looks after her crew like "a father to the family" as captain of the Harekaze. She loves them so much that she hesitates to put them in danger when the risk appears too large. She also refused to board the Musashi with Moeka after learning that her class could be disbanded since she considers it to be abandoning her "family," despite their strong bond.
She is also fearful of lightning strikes, due to a past that caused her family to go missing on a storm during a cruise.
Despite her poor self-esteem, she manages to make good judgements under duress on the majority of instances. Despite the fact that her tactics have put the Harekaze under a lot of stress, they have kept the crew safe while enabling them to do their jobs.
Akeno is very good at remembering names, so much that she has given each of her team members a nickname.
Background[]
A Traumatic Childhood, A Fateful Encounter[]
Akeno was involved in an ill-fated cruise ship sinking tragedy around nine years ago; though she was saved by the Blue Mermaids, her parents died in the disaster. She is still remorseful for her parents' deaths since she did not leap from the ship sooner as her parents had recommended. Akeno was inspired to join the Blue Mermaids as a result of this tragedy.
Following the tragedy, Akeno's childhood friend Moeka China told her that "comrades at sea are like family," a sentiment that Akeno passionately believed in, and the two friends made a pact to become Blue Mermaids together.
Taking in Charge and Falsely Accused[]
Akeno earned command of the destroyer Harekaze after narrowly passing the admission exam at Yokosuka Girls' Marine High School. She boarded the Musashi with her fellow neophytes, including Moeka, only to have the ship split owing to engine failure and navigation mistake.
To the Harekaze crew's surprise, Akeno chose to disable the infected Sarushima with a false torpedo as soon as the ship came under fire from the infected Sarushima. The Sarushima was subsequently damaged, allowing the Harekaze to flee, only to be labelled as mutineers in the process by Kaoru Furushou, forcing them to be on hiding for days.
Father to her Crew[]
The Harekaze soon found itself slugging against ships several times her size, such as the Admiral Graf Spee, Musashi, and Hiei. However, Akeno and her remarkable leadership enabled the Harekaze from escaping catastrophe, garnering the admiration of the majority of her peers. She even placed herself in risk to help people at sea, such as Wilhelmina Friedeburg, deputy-captain of the Admiral Graf Spee, who was attacked by her own crew while attempting to flee.
However, such an attitude did not sit well with others, particularly Mashiro Munetani, who considered that a captain's first priority should be the safety of her own crew. The Harekaze was put at jeopardy by Akeno's desire to save her companion Moeka, which she subsequently regretted. However, when Ritsuko and Kayoko were caught in an explosion during minesweeping, such acts saved their lives.
Rescuing the Musashi[]
Akeno suddenly lost heart and refused to provide commands as the Musashi threatened to enter the Uraga Channel. She admitted to Mashiro that the Harekaze was only able to win fights when things went their way due to pure chance. She gained the strength to fight again thanks to the support of her classmates. The Harekaze saved the Musashi, allowing Akeno to reconnect with her companion Moeka, much to her relief.
Later, Akeno and her crew salute the Harekaze as it sinks to show their respect for the ship.
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 Heroes
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Yokosuka 467 Combat Navigation Engineering Logistics Blue Mermaids Musashi Crew Admiral Graf Spee Crew Yamato Crew Shinano Crew Amatsukaze Crew Tokitsukaze Crew Kii Crew Munetani Family Other Characters | ||