Akudama Drive Character Opinions/Thoughts Pt. 1
Yay!! I finally finished Akudama Drive today! I’m so so sorry for not posting recently, I’ve been very busy with the holidays and semester exams. But at last, I finally sat down and binged from about episode 6 through to the end, and OH. MY. GOD. I have so many thoughts and emotions running through my head!!
So today I thought I would give a very honest review/my opinions for EVERY character in Akudama Drive just for the heck of it and to help cope with the sadness of the show being over. Thanks for sticking with me! <3
So obviously, this will be spoiler heavy, but I assume that everyone reading knows that. xD Okay! This’ll probably be long and really long winded, but off we go!
Swindler: Oh gosh. Where do I even begin with her?? Swindler’s character was so intriguing to me from the get go, what with us not knowing much about her (and even in the end still not knowing much about her past). I was pretty neutral towards her in the beginning, but MAN. After that scene where she killed those two guys protecting Sister. MAD Respect. I think that that marked a turning point for me liking her. I found her a bit much at times when she didn’t seem to show extreme emotions at the deaths of Hacker, Hoodlum, etc. But I obviously know that she was wrapped up into all this tea by accident and that her actions (While at times potentially suspicious) were completely justified, such as her fears, her desire to protect Brother and Sister, and her confusion as she slowly began her descent into the craziness that was the Kanto-Kansai situation. It was super enjoyable seeing how she grew, and I really wanted her to succeed and be happy. Her death scene made me cry. Also those scenes with Sister and her were so CUTE. <3
Courier: To be completely honest, I didn’t really have any strong emotions towards Courier for the majority of the season. He was frickin badass as all hell, but in terms of the character himself, I thought he was alright. That definitely changed though by the end of the season! We see him deliver a gift to Sister without any fee (Brother’s “dying” wish) and we sympathize with his tragic backstory involving the unnamed woman murdered in his home (mother? Sister?) I loved that addition because we get to see more about the coin itself and why he views it as bad luck. Super neat. I think his interactions with Sister and Swindler are cute, and makes me think of them as sort of like a family. UwU Also his love for Takoyaki/cooking is a pretty fun contrast to his stoic outside. I’m not sure that I ship Courier and Swindler (I can 100% see it though :3). I see them more as two individuals who are bound together by fate (the coin) and have grown to respect one another while learning/surviving in this crazy world. I was definitely sad to see him go, but I’m super happy that I got to love his character a lot more by the end! What a cool guy. His dedication/the way he went above and beyond for Sister and Brother in the end? Perfection. My first pick for a zombie apocalypse team.
Brawler: He’s wholesome for sure. I’m usually not a big fan of big, tough guys in anime, but he reminds me of the traditional Danganronpa stereotype of the fighter with a warm interior. His interactions with Hoodlum made me like him so much more and appreciate what he brought to the table. I’m sad that he’s not recognized more. He's super badass in his own right and I feel sort of guilty for not realizing it while he was alive. Like cmon girl. It pissed me off the way that the Doctor was treating him after he died (also. That. She killed him. >:O) Like. Is that all you saw him as? I get angry when the POC characters always die first/disrespected by other characters for the sake of “comedy” and whatnot. Like as a POC myself...it’s not cool. But overall, I liked him for who he was. I didn’t care for him too too much, but I definitely wanted him to be happy and enjoyed those sweet moments of excitement he had when fighting, even up to his last moments.
Hoodlum: He was the one character in Akudama Drive that I was not expecting to like as much as I did. Again, not my favorite, but MAN was he entertaining! I ADORED how much character growth we got from him. I was really rooting for him up until the end (I got super excited when he killed Doctor...and then really sad. CoMe oN) Initially in the first episode, he just seemed to be the classic sort of cowardly idiot, but after he met Brawler you can tell he changed a lot. The dynamic was super fun! Even after Brawler dies, the moments that show Hoodlum coping with his death are amazingly sad, for example, when he says “check this out,” or when he gets angry when no one else seems to care about his death. (SAME Hoodlum. SAME.) The anger and grief that Hoodlum feels is portrayed in an interesting way (he begins to lose himself and submits to Doctor’s manipulation/alternative resources in Kansai). In the end, I’m so happy that he was the one to kill Doctor, because not only was he avenging his friend’s death, but also standing up for himself in a way that he hadn’t done in the series up to that point. Overall. Loved the development of my boi.
Doctor: This woman. I tell ya got on my nerves. Holy moly. But I should clear things up! At first when she was introduced I thought she was super cool for sure! We s t a n n a queen to put them boys in their places, but as time went on I started disliking her more and more. Don’t get me wrong, there are parts about her that I think are amazing! For example, I loved her motivations for studying the children (interesting), her poisons/ability to heal were incredibly useful, her voice actor, and sometimes she was just a bad bitch. Like go off queen. But at the same time, I really found her bothersome. I don’t really know when I started to notice it as much, but I just didn’t care for the way that she called Brawler a “Dreadlock Gorilla” ...because like. Um. NO. I also didn’t like how she manipulated Hoodlum (obviously that’s totally in character, but still). As the show went on Doctor just really didn’ vibe with me for some reason. I guess I just didn’t like her as much as the other characters and I know it’s terrible to say, but I was glad when she died. I don’t know what else to say. I stopped liking her. ://
Hacker: Right from the beginning I knew he was my favorite character. <3 I think the aesthetic was super cool and I loved loved the similarities between him and a certain SHSL computer programmer. ;) I appreciated the little moments with him, for example when Cutthroat pushed the emergency buttons on the airbus, the whole “parting-gifts” idea, the drones, etc. His abilities that he brought forth were incredibly useful and without his sacrifice the final mission of rescuing Brother and Sister would’ve been impossible. I LOVED that his role expanded even after he left the group in the early stages (;-;), we can see he was behind the blackout, the hijacking of several systems (including the propaganda videos), and how he was able to play the puppet master by controlling/saving his old teammates. I just think that his abilities to hack and to literally do anything that he pleases was super badass. I feel like out of all of them, Hacker is one of the few that genuinely feels more human (in the sense that he seeks out a new place to call home/excitement, etc.) which I loved. Overall my favorite character...I’m still a little salty about his death and the fact that no one really acknowledged his sacrifice. >:((
Hope you enjoyed that long ramble! Check Out Pt. 2! 💕
