Akane Owari is the best survivor from SDR2 because she's the character that embodies self destruction as a tactic for survival and the redemption that comes from personal connections and the willingness to put trust in others. You meet her as a seemingly self-centered meathead that wants nothing more to stuff her face and become the strongest fighter alive, she appears unaffected by the early murders that occur, and plays off as what's initially comedic fanservice. She quickly attaches herself to Nekomaru as part of her desire to be the strongest, obsessed with fighting him because of his strength and getting the jump on him. The rest of the game then makes a point to deconstruct this illusion. When things get rocky, she steps up and attacks Monokuma despite being warned against it, because her need to get stronger wasn't ego, but determination to protect. She sobs her eyes out and turns into an emotional mess because the despair disease didn't force new feelings onto her, but revealed the perceived weakness of hers that was always there, shielded so no one would worry for her. She's distant when Nekomaru returns and when Fuyuhiko empathizes with her because she can't afford to turn into that scared, crying mess again, or she'll be powerless. It doesn't matter. Nekomaru dies again, and she cries, of her own volition, because he mattered and he's worth mourning. Maybe they all were, but no one has judged her for the despair disease, even when she was full of shame. She's allowed to grieve. And that grief doesn't weaken her, but strengthens her, pushing her with newfound grit into the trial. Even when it's said and done, and she's acting as though everything is completely normal, she'll remember that forever, and her friends don't hold it against her. She feels safe enough with Fuyuhiko, a mob boss who's threatened to sell women to whorehouses in front of her when annoyed, to tease him and call him 'baby gangsta'. She's bonded enough with Kazuichi, a known pervert, that he uses what he learned spying on what he expected to be sex to instead give her a genuinely thoughtful gift to carry Nekomaru with her forever, and it's not sexualized even once. Sonia is her number one supporter, backing her up in the investigation and supporting her even when it turns out her own crush is the one responsible for Nekomaru's death. She's the inverse of Hajime because instead of accepting that her friends support her despite falling short to their talents, she feels like she doesn't need to be her talent to be worth something. She is loved. She would be missed. And she is allowed to feel anxiety, but she is also assured. And even when learning that she'd become a monster, a remnant of despair, it doesn't shake her. Akane is a survivor in the truest sense, because through every pattern of behavior built on surviving, she wants others to survive too, and even after everything, she feels it deeper than she was led to believe was allowed to survive. She's afraid. And that's okay. She won't be alone to face it.
