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For the Mai-Otome counterpart, see Akane Soir.

Akane Higurashi (日暮あかね Higurashi Akane) is a fictional character in the Mai-HiME series.

Common Characteristics[]

Akane is a hardworking, bashful girl with short brown hair and light brown eyes. She is very close to Kazuya, and her character tends to have an association with tigers and the element of wind.

My-HiME[]

In My-HiME Akane is a classmate of Natsuki Kuga and works part-time as a waitress with Mai Tokiha and Midori Sugiura at the Linden Baum diner. She is shown to be dating Kazuya Kurauchi, Mai's classmate, who also works at the diner. She is also seen text messaging Kazuya during class with her cellphone. It is implied by Chie that Kazuya and Akane have difficult family lives, though this is not elaborated on.

In episode 5, an Orphan attacks the bus she is riding on, though Akane manages to escape mostly unharmed. She is timid around Miyu Greer, who was also present at the accident, though the exact reason is not revealed immediately. In episode 8 during the Founder's Day festival Akane takes Kazuya into the woods to tell him something, but is interrupted by Miyu, who asks Akane to help her against an Orphan. Akane then reluctantly summons her tonfa Elements, and her Child named Harry and defeats the Orphan. She asks Kazuya to forgive her and is afraid that he will be terrified, only to learn that he accepts her, and the two share a kiss.

Kazuya's Death (HIME-Ep08)

However, Miyu reveals herself to be a cyborg sent to gather information on the HiME, and proceeds to kill Hari in front of a screaming Akane. Kazuya then collapses and dissolves into green sparks in Akane's arms, and Nagi Homura appears to tell Akane that the true price of being a HiME is losing a loved one if defeated. Rumors begin circulating that she and Kazuya have eloped, and it is through this mistaken impression that Mai begins to wonder about her feelings for Reito Kanzaki.

Akane is later seen in a mental institution screaming for Kazuya by Natsuki Kuga, who eventually rescues her and puts her in a safe place. When the HiME and their loved ones are revived byMashiro Kazahana, Akane is reunited with Kazuya and fights the final battle. At the end of the series, she and Kazuya are seen together.

My-HiME manga[]

Akane Higurashi (HiME manga)

In the manga, Akane is introduced as a HiME much earlier. Kazuya is her Key, meaning that she needs physical contact with him to summon her Child, though she is too shy to do this for the most part. She rescues Mikoto Minagi during part of the manga, though this occurs "off screen". Unlike her anime counterpart, Akane retains her powers until the very end. During the manga's rendition of the final battle, she serves as the defense of Fuuka Academy and eventually uses her Child to block a beam attack from the HiME Star intended to kill the entire student body, much like in the vein of Mu La Flaga of Mobile Suit Gundam SEED.

Etymology[]

AkaneHigurashi birthmark
  • Her HiME mark is located on her left upper back near her shoulder blade.
  • She shares her first name "Akane" with Akane Tendo, the lead female of Ranma ½, and her surname "Higurashi" with Kagome Higurashi, the lead female of Inuyasha, both manga series by Rumiko Takahashi.
  • Akane's Otome surname of "Soir" references the kanji in her My-HiME incarnation's name, as both mean "evening" in their respective languages of French and Japanese.
  • Her Child Harry's name is believed to be derived from Harimau, the Indonesian word for Tiger.

Popular Culture References[]

  • For the majority of the original series, Akane is the first character to demonstrate the mysterious mentally damaged state a HiME is left in after being defeated. Her bumbling characteristics seem to mirror the condition Kamille Bidan was left in at the end of Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam, another popular Sunrise series that My-HiME and My-Otome often parody.
  • Kazuya is also the first character to depict the "greensparkle" death effect, which is a direct reference to the green Newtype power effects shown in Mobile Suit Gundam: Char's Counterattack.

Gallery[]

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