Akira Satou, older sister of Lilly, does not posses a route of her own within the visual novel. She is, however, an important secondary character with multiple appearances across most of the routes with a considerable amount of dialogue and interactions with primary characters. In Lilly’s route, in particular, she is vital to the progression of the story and even possesses notable character development. Despite this, many have leveled the accusation that she is a flat, one-dimensional character whose fans only like her for purely shallow reasons. It is my belief that those who truly think so either have not paid close attention to the character or simply lack basic skills of literary analysis.
 
Akira does not receive the same sort of attention as the primary characters do, in the narrative or from the perspective of main character Hisao. However, much can be inferred about her from her dialogue, choices, and backstory.
 
To understand Akira, you have to look at where she came from and how she has reacted to the circumstances of her life. Japan, the country of her birth, is an almost entirely homogenous nation state comprised of about 98.5% ethnic Japanese with a cultural distrust and feeling of superiority towards outsiders. This automatically puts Akira at a disadvantage, seeing as her heritage is half Scottish and notably so from her appearance. She speaks the language, knows the culture, and has lived there her entire life, but no matter her familiarity with it or her accomplishments, Akira will always be regarded as an outsider in her own homeland. Furthermore, she is a woman in a largely patriarchal society; the eldest male in a family is firmly in charge, and Akira’s wealthy father has been described as a very traditional sort.
 
Akira, on the other hand, is far from traditional. She holds her parents, especially her father, in contempt. She’s a largely independent and self-sufficient sort, having taken up a career as a lawyer. She wears men’s clothing and rarely is ever seen outside of her business suit and tie. Her manner of speech is relaxed and improper, full of slang and colloquialisms. She openly drinks beer in a public park. In short, she’s got a rebellious streak a mile long and very self-defining in her identity. Yet, she’s always kind and compassionate with a sense of humor and playfulness. Even after her no-doubt tumultuous teenage years, she’s stood by her decisions, for they weren’t made out of a simple desire to assert herself. Ultimately, her character and choices were most closely impacted by her relationship with her sister.
 
Akira firmly believes that her father considers her younger sister Lilly to be something of an embarrassment to the family, due to her being born blind, and as a result, left her behind in Japan when he moved out to Scotland. Judging from her conversation with Hisao about the matter, Akira apparently had a choice. She could have left the care of her sister to her aging grandparents, leaving her free to pursue her own interests or perhaps even travel with her family. Instead, she chose to care for Lilly herself, effectively making herself a teenaged single mother to a blind girl. She had to care for Lilly while simultaneously finishing high school, law school, and financially supporting the both of them. The fact that she not only chose this difficult path but succeeded shows that she is a woman possessing integrity and great strength of will.
 
And yet, she considers herself a failure for not spending enough time with Lilly.
 
No doubt, under the friendly guise she puts up, she is weary and jaded by all that has happened. This shows through in her sobering “context” talk with Hisao in the park, taking the high school boyfriend of her sister out to explain the situation to him. She tells Hisao that life is not a fairy tale that always works out fine for all involved. Hard-earned wisdom from her own experiences. Nevertheless, it also shows a moment of weakness in Akira and a desire of her own. Even if it meant obeying the summons of her father, she wanted the chance of having an easier life. She was willing to gamble all that she had already earned, move away from everyone who knows her and break up with her boyfriend, for that easier life. In doing so, she came rather close to becoming like the father she loathed.
 
Hisao’s actions, though, notably changed her mind. Following his romantic movie-like dash through the airport to stop Lilly from leaving, Akira had still decided to go to Scotland for her new position in the family business, but notably she had rekindled her relationship with her boyfriend and stalled until he could get a passport to go with her.
 
Akira doesn’t have her own route. Her story is largely unnoticed by those who play Katawa Shoujo. She’s the support character in the background, just doing her best to help out and allow things to go smoothly, and I think she’d like it that way. I have noticed her story, and I adore her for all that she is and isn’t. She isn’t some confused, lost teenager; she’s a grown woman who has been through that painful formative time of her life and come out stronger and wiser for it. She possesses great will and compassion for those around her. She’s witty, has an amusing sense of humor, and has the uncanny ability to endear herself to those around her. Akira’s got a style all her own.
 
I do it for her.