Character Profile: Akito Tenkawa

The story revolves somewhat around this young survivor of the First Battle of Mars. What's so strange is that he doesn't know exactly how he escaped. He had been fighting valiantly to hold back an invasion of Jovian Lizards...and the next thing he can recall, he's on Earth and eventually trying to make a living as a cook.

What Akito really has is a ton of past that he's trying to put behind him. Akito was born on (and until the First Battle of Mars had lived his whole life on) the Utopia colony on Mars, where he had made the acquaintance of a young girl names Yurika Misamaru (who lived next door). But then, her family left for Earth...and the same day she left, he lost his parents in an explosion. Then there was the First Battle of Mars. Just before the attack, he had made friends with a little girl named Ai. The memory of her loss constantly haunts him throughout the series yet will prove a most intriguing link between events.

In any event, a turn of events has him knocked down by a case...owned by none other than Yurika. The two old friends had come back together after so long. Akito follows her to Nergal. Originally arrested, Prospector discovers his past and his nanomachine treatment (Aestivalis pilots subject themselves to the nano treatment to provide an interface between brain and machine), so they finally decide to make Akito part of the crew as one of the cooks...and in case his piloting skills are needed (at the time, only he and Gai Daigouji were available, and Gai had a broken leg). Thing was, Akito wasn't really a pilot (he got the treatment after another event in his past), but fortunately, the Aestivalis makes for quick learning.

In any event, Akito (totally innocently) begins attracting the attention of myriad ladies aboard. Yurika has fallen head over heels all over again. Megumi Rainard thinks fondly of him (at first), and even Aestivalis pilot Ryoko Subaru can't seem to resist him (and her teammates love to rub it in).

But underneath it all, Akito is still trying to figure himself out. He becomes enamored of the old Gekigenkan (this show's resident anime-within-the-anime, and a surprisingly much-used plot device), hating of fighting, determined to just be a cook, and all sorts of other twists and turns. Maybe what he's really looking for in this crazy, mixed-up universe is a heaping dose of sanity: a chance to finally settle all the nightmares haunting him still.