Akira Yuki

Akira Yuki (, Yuki Akira) is the main protagonist and mascot of the universe.

Origin
Akira Yuki is the mascot of the Virtua Fighter series. He is the grandson of the man who invented a unique version of the Bājíquán martial art for Japanese soldiers to use during the Second World War. In the original game, he serves as the assistant instructor at his family's dojo, Yuki Budokan. When he learns of the first World Fighting Tournament at age 23, he decides to enter not for glory, but to further hone his Bājíquán techniques and to understand what "true fighting" is about.

The plot of Virtua Fighter 2 elaborates that, during the first World Fighting Tournament, his overly enthusiastic attitude was met with disapproval by the fellow tournament entrants. He was defeated and humiliated by the ninja Kage-Maru, whom Akira now holds a grudge against. After putting himself through rigorous training, he attends the second World Fighting Tournament and wins. When he shows the trophy to his grandfather, the old man simply replies, "Don't flatter yourself. You haven't mastered anything yet."

Believing he had not found his true strength yet, Akira attends the third World Fighting tournament and loses. After some encouragement from his grandfather, Akira secludes himself in the mountains to train more, still attempting to figure out what "true fighting" is. While training, he receives an invitation for the fourth World Fighting Tournament. He enters and loses to Kage again. Returning to the mountains, he trains even harder. Akira then attends the fifth World Fighting Tournament; his results are currently unknown.

Akira is the typical traditional martial artist common in fighting games. His preferred style of Bājíquán relies heavily on using parts of the upper body, like elbows, hips and shoulders, to forcefully push an opponent. Most of the damage comes from quick acceleration of the body from a short distance. Akira is the only playable character that uses this technique, with the only other canonical user being his grandfather.

Akira does not seek money or glory from fighting and entering tournaments. He instead fights simply to test himself and his abilities. Akira also seeks to learn the meaning of "true fighting," something that his grandfather assures he will learn in time. Akira is usually seen wearing a traditional sleeveless fighting Gi, either white or black, and a headband around his spiky hair.

As a Mii Costume
Akira serves as the basis of the Akira Wig and Outfit Mii Costume for the s. The Akira set was released alongside the other  Mii Fighter costumes on June 14th, 2015. Nintendo also released a QR code for those who wish to have the exact Mii used in the costume's advertising. The costume is similar to his debut appearance in the original Virtua Fighter, where graphical limitations had him appear in a blocky and polygonal form.

During the reveal trailer, the Mii Brawler representing Akira is first seen on the Wuhu Island stage's Swordplay Colosseum layout, referencing the small stages in the Virtua Fighter series. Next, the Mii Brawler is seen battling in his wireframe form, referencing the polygonal aesthetic of Virtua Fighter, on the Boxing Ring stage, referencing the ground-based fighting style and stage shape in the Virtua Fighter series. Finally, the Mii Brawler is seen battling the Mii Brawler representing Jacky Bryant, another Virtua Fighter character on the Garden of Hope stage's Ω form, referencing the forest stage in Virtua Fighter.

As an Assist Trophy
''From the original Virtua Fighter game, Akira joins the battle with the same graphic style as his original appearance. He has a wide variety of attacks at his disposal, but none represent him better than his Tetsuzankou. When he leaves the fight he says his signature line! * By the way, 's forward throw is also based off of Tetsuzankou. Akira makes his debut as an Assist Trophy. He was revealed during the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Direct on November 1, 2018.

During the reveal trailer, Akira is first seen battling on the Temple stage's Ω form, with Zero Suit Samus referencing. Next, he is seen battling on the Pirate Ship stage's Ω form, referencing Wolf Hawkfield.

Akira appears with his blocky model from the original Virtua Fighter, and his animations resemble the choppy movements of the original game; however, his voice clips are sourced from Virtua Fighter 4. As a result, his appearance is similar to Virtua Fighter 10th Anniversary, a port of the original game built on Virtua Fighter 4's engine.

Akia can use a variety of martial arts attacks from Virtua Fighter, including his signature move, the Tetsuzanko (where he grabs an opponent and slams into them, launching them forward). He can also block incoming attacks. He can be defeated as well. Before he disappears, he says his famous quote from the Virtua Fighter series, "" ("It's ten years too soon for you to challenge me!", literally "Ten years too early!")

Akira can be attacked, and even KO'd, which earns the player an extra point.

As a Mii Costume
The Akira set returns as a Mii Costume. It was revealed during the  presentation on November 4, 2019.

During the reveal trailer, the Mii Brawler representing Akira is seen performing his forward smash on a small platform on the Gerudo Valley stage, referencing the small fighting stage sizes in the Virtua Fighter series while the stage background references the desert canyon stage in Virtua Fighter. The Mii Brawler is next seen battling on the Garden of Hope stage, with Bayonetta referencing how she can perform the Tetsuzanko technique for her forward throw, while the stage references the forest stage in Virtua Fighter. The ending image features the Mii Brawler in the stage, likely referencing the polygonal aesthetic of Virtua Fighter.

Akira was released alongside the other Mii Costumes on November 6, 2019.

Spirit
Akira appears in Ultimate as a Legend-class primary spirit.

In Adventure Mode: World of Light, Akira is presumably one of the countless spirits captured by Galeem during his takeover of the universe. After Galeem's defeat, Dharkon takes control of Galeem's spirits, including Akira. Akira's spirit is located in the Sacred Land sub-dungeon of The Dark Realm.

Akira uses a puppet fighter and is fought on the Coliseum stage's Ω form. During the battle, Akira appears as a hostile Assist Trophy while Ryu's attacks have increased power. Also, the players' jumping power decreases, referencing the typical ground-based battles in the Virtua Fighter series.

Trivia

 * Bayonetta's performance of the Tetsuzanko technique for her forward throw and her voice line, "" is a carryover of a similar Easter egg from Bayonetta, and is acknowledged in Akira's blog entry.
 * The pose used for Akira's Assist Trophy render is nearly identical to a piece of artwork from the original Virtua Fighter, which is used for his Spirit.