Tomoko Akechi

Summary
Tomoko Akechi, female student at Kagura High, Class 2-D. Aspiring manga artist and runner, Tomoko is a friendly, outspoken, annoying dimwit.

Background
Tomoko is an only child born and raised in a modest, average income family, whose parents were often busy toiling day to day to make ends meet. With both of her parents rarely about, Tomoko was often left in the care of her uncle, a struggling manga artist currently being serialised in one of the weekly publications. It was there that Tomoko fell in love with the idea of art and creating manga in particular, being influenced by her uncle to want to follow in his profession. Being nearly essentially raised by her uncle, she inherited many of his quirks and love for more male oriented entertainment, such as shonen manga, video games, martial arts movies etc. To the detriment of her studies, Tomoko could be often found spending most of her class time either reading manga or drawing it then focusing on more important subjects. These were all far more interesting to Tomoko than the ‘girly’ interests her peers at school would share, and

they would often ostracise her and subject her within her first year to frequent bullying at school by the other girls.

When joining Kagura High in her first year, Tomoko tried out for the track club, not expecting to be particularly interested or good at it but discovered an aptitude for it, hailing as one of the team’s fastest long-distance runners. This led to further bullying by other girls in the teams, who shunned her for what they believed was an attempt to make them look bad. This bullying would have continued on, to Tomoko’s detriment, until one day where she found an unlikely supporter in Yomi, who stood up for Tomoko and defended her against her bullies when no one else would help. Whilst Yomi may not understand how much of a positive effect her actions on that one random day had, for Tomoko it felt like a life changing moment for her and her high school life. Tomoko has deep respect and growing affection for Yomi since then, and secretly, a lot of the drawings in her sketchbook often feature Yomi, whom Tomoko sees as the ideal heroine for her manga.

Tomoko’s parents don’t approve of her desire to be a mangaka or her interest in sports and wish for her to focus on her studies and attain what they see as a ‘proper’ career. Tomoko spends what free time she has available either exercising by running around the school track, outside throughout the town’s countryside, or being at her uncle’s and working as an impromptu assistant on his manga. Tomoko also spends the occasional time here and there at the school’s art club, although her uncle insists he’d be a better teacher and that the club wouldn’t teach Tomoko the most important aspects of manga: manly emotions, battles and sexy heroines. To her detriment, Tomoko saw a ‘growth spurt’ inbetween her first and second years of high school. Whilst she considers it impractical and a burden, getting in the way of her running and again making many girls at the school jealous and spiteful towards her, the boys and her uncle consider it a vast improvement.

Personality & Appearance
Tomoko is a tall girl, with a slender and graceful body and prominent assets. She has a lighthearted approach to difficult situations and always tries her best to lighten the mood of anything wrong, even if she needs to jokingly use her body at her own expense. This however belies an inner turmoil of rejection and loneliness caused by bullying.

Tomoko's measurements will come shortly~

Persona
Konohana Sakuya

Character Themes
"Let the Flames Begin" - Paramore



Somewhere weakness is our strength  And I'll die searching for it I can't let myself regret, such selfishness

My pain and all the trouble caused

No matter how long I believe that there's hope

Buried beneath it all and

Hiding beneath it all and 

Growing beneath it all and...