Kirihara Akaya

Anime Manga
Kirihara Akaya
Kanji	切原赤也
Kana	きりはらあかや
Gender	Male
Age	14
Birthday	September 25 (Libra)
Height	168 cm -> 170cm (23.5)
Weight	61 kg -> 58kg (23.5)
Blood Type	O
Dominant Arm	Right
Eyesight (Unaided)	1.5 (both eyes)
Shoe Size	26.5 cm
Family	Father Mother Older Sister
Nicknames	Jr Ace/2nd Year Ace Devil Seaweed Head Angel (from Liliadent Krauser)
School
Current School	Rikkai University Middle School (2nd Year)
Class	2-D
Seat	6
Committee	None
Best Subject(s)	Japanese, P.E.
Worst Subject(s)	English
Tennis
Club Position	Regular
Play Style	Aggressive Baseliner
Doubles Partner(s)	Yanagi Renji Shiraishi Kuranosuke Toono Atsukyou
Shoes	Wilson DT (Dynosphere Technology)
Racket(s)	Wilson Pro Staff 5.5 Stretch
Media
Manga Debut	Genius 19/Golden Age 1
Anime Debut	Episode 49
Voice	Morikubo Shoutarou
Tenimyu Actors	Ookawa Genki (1st A/B) Nishimura Mitsuaki (1st B) Harashima Motohisa (2nd) Maeda Ryoutarou (3rd)

Kirihara Akaya (切原赤也(きりはらあかや)) is a 2nd year student at Rikkai University Middle School. He is aiming to become the number one player at Rikkai by defeating their "Big Three" (Sanada Genichirou, Yukimura Seiichi, and Yanagi Renji). He is known for his unpredictable and violent temper on the tennis court.

Kirihara Akaya

Appearance

Kirihara has a mostly consistent appearance across all forms of media. In the manga and manga-style games, he has hazel eyes instead of the green in the anime. When in Angel or Devil Mode, his skin takes on a bright red hue and his hair becomes white.

His wild, curly hair has earned him the nickname "Seaweed Head." The curls are likely natural as he is shown to have a full head of curls at age 12 when his hair was much shorter. Konomi has stated that he felt like his depictions of Kirihara's hairstyle in the early series are inconsistent and that it is still hard for him to get the color of his hair right.

Daily School Life

• 6:40 Sleeps in late, rushes out of the house while biting into some bread
• 7:00 Just barely makes it to school for the start of morning practice
• 8:30 1st Period: History - The Warring States Period
• 9:30 2nd Period: Mathematics (secretly texts)
• 10:20 Gets Jackal to look over his English homework during the 20-minute break
• 10:40 3rd Period: English (fast asleep)
• 11:40 4th Period: Industrial Arts - Woodworking
• 12:30 Lunch Break: Buys bread in Room 3-A
• 13:00 Plays soccer with classmates in the schoolyard
• 13:30 5th Period: Japanese - Kanji Literature
• 14:30 6th Period: Health and Physical Education
• 15:30 Cleaning Duty: Plays baseball with a broom and breaks a flower vase
• 15:50 Club Activities: Doubles practice
• 18:30 Drops by a ramen shop along the way, finishes eating in 3 minutes
• 19:00 Studies match styles at a certain tennis club
• 20:00 Returns homes, bathes, dinner
• 21:00 Hand-to-hand fighting game
• 22:00 Sent on an errand to the convenience store by his older sister, takes the opportunity to stand and read
• 22:30 Goes to bed without turning off the TV or lights

Personality

Kirihara is brimming with self-confidence and works tirelessly toward his goals. He comes across as cocky and self-assured, but he is always willing to work harder than anyone to improve himself when he falls short as is shown in how he trains outside of regular Club hours. He is boyish, gullible, high-energy, and enthusiastic.

Kirihara often gets in trouble with people in positions of authority, namely Sanada Genichirou, and is the type to always be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Even despite this, he is always respectful in the way he speaks to his upperclassmen.

He is teased by his upperclassmen and others in the series for his mess of curly hair which easily triggers his temper. On court, this same temper leads to him violently attacking or verbally antagonizing his opponents. In the Anime-only Senbatsu Arc, there is a deeper exploration of his mental state as a result of his Bloodshot ability, suggesting that he is at odds with his inner demons and is actively fighting the dangerous, violent temper he displays on court.

Kirihara is also terribly afraid of ghosts.

Personal

• Hobbies: Games (Fighting) , Games (Splatoon)
• Spends His Allowance On: Game center
• Most Wanted Item/Thing: Wii , Wii U, New Pro Controllers (for Splatoon)
• Skills Outside of Tennis: Can fall asleep on command, can eat a bowl of boiling hot ramen in three minutes, Isn't affected by jet lag.
• Father's Occupation: Company Employee (foreign company)
• Things he is bad at/with: Sanada Genichirou
• Daily Routine: Drinks a bottle of milk everyday
• Random Fact: His blood pressure is 150/90.
• Routine During Tournament: Playing games on his smartphone

Preferences

• Food(s): Yakiniku, sushi
• Color(s): Primary colors
• Motto(s): "Time is money" (毒時は金なり), "Where there is a back, there is also a front" (裏もあれば表もある)
• Movie(s): Terminator 2
• Book(s): Shonen Jump manga
• Music: Hip hop
• Type of Person: A cheerful person, Someone he can have fun with
• Date Spot: Game center (arcade), VR Experience Facility
• Most Visited Spot on Campus: Tennis Courts

Biography

Prior to the events of the main story

At the age of 2, Kirihara experienced his first bloodshot eyes after his older sister took his toy.

As a primary school student, he studied intensely to enter Rikkai University Middle School. After testing in and enrolling, he challenges the "Big Three" of Rikkai's Tennis Club, Sanada Genichirou, Yukimura Seiichi, and Yanagi Renji, to a match and loses. This prompts him to join the tennis club.

It was revealed by Yanagi Renji that Kirihara and Hiyoshi Wakashi were opponents during their first year at the Newcomers Tournament. In an interview, Konomi stated that Kirihara had won that match, although a future match between the two may end up with a different outcome.

Use subheadings

You should also link to match pages (templates coming soon) when applicable. It's enough to say here like "Sengoku lost to Kamio" while linking to the relevant match page instead of going into more detail.

Anime only arcs

Continuing with the Sengoku example, you would put descriptions of his foray into boxing and his rematch with Momoshiro in this section rather than "history." This should also briefly recap differences in important matches.

Relationships

Sanada Genichirou

Kirihara says that the thing that he has the hardest time with is Sanada. He seems to be constantly on the receiving end of discipline from Sanada and sometimes gets in trouble for things even if he was either not the person who did it or was not the only perpetrator. He sees Sanada as one of the three people he has to beat in order to become "Rikkai's Number One."

Liliadent Krauser

Krauser says the thing that he has the hardest time with is Kirihara. When he is questioned about it by Yagyuu Hiroshi and Echizen Ryouma, he says that Kiriahra is a "terrifying" player on the court and that it took him off-guard to see how different he is off-court. Krauser also doesn't completely understand why he is called "Uza Uza" by Kirihara (who just can't pronounce his name properly). Despite the language barrier, Kirihara continues to try to make friends with him.

Yanagi Renji

Yanagi takes on the task of grooming Kirihara as a player and developing his Bloodshot and Devil Mode. He believes that Kirihara has become something that he can no longer control and that Kirihara cannot grow with Yanagi around, so he asks Shiraishi Kuranosuke to take over during the U-17 camp. Kirihara deeply respects Yanagi and is quick to thank him for his actions when the losers return to the camp.

Shiraishi Kuranosuke

Shiraishi inherits the Kirihara problem from Yanagi and takes an approach with Kirihara on court to be complementary and supportive to prevent Devil Mode from coming out. Playing doubles with Shiraishi allows Kirihara to enter Angel Mode, a variation of Devil Mode where he keeps his sanity. Shiraishi complemented Kirihara's hair (a sticking point with others in the series) during the match, so Kirihara gives him the business card for his salon.

Tennis

Play Style

Kirihara is an aggressive baseliner who tries to quickly end matches with his fast footwork and techniques. When he loses his temper on court, he is able to access his more powerful abilities such as Angel and Devil Mode and Bloodshot.

Fanbook 10.5 Information

Speed - 4 (5): His exceptional speed has granted him a regular spot on the two times national champion team.

Power - 3 (4.5): While his play is normally focused on technique, once he enters Devil Mode, his power increases, so that he can hurt his opponents.

Stamina - 3 (2): Once in Devil Mode, his stamina is drained faster. He needs to learn to manage his stamina better, but he's bad at pacing himself.

Mental - 2 (5): He has the bad habit of looking down on his opponents. Once he enters Devil Mode, his feeling of invincibility is a double edged sword that increases his weaknesses.

Technique - 3 (1.5): With an accurate stroke, he aims to finish his matches in record time.

Kurobe's Memo: He can't become a first class player if he doesn't learn how to control his excitement. He has to learn how to control his emotions himself instead of relying on his seniors. Once he can do that, he will be able to realize his full potential.

One-footed Split Step

Using this movement technique, Kirihara becomes one-and-a-half step faster.

Knuckle Serve

A variation of a kick serve. Kirihara squeezes the ball with his knuckles to add additional spin on the toss.

Speed Play

Kirihara boasts that he will end matches in less than fifteen minutes. He focuses on quickly putting away points and games.

Bloodshot Eyes

When Kirihara becomes angry or excited during a match, his eyes become bloodshot. His speed and power start to increase, but he behaves more erratically and violently.

Muga no Kyouchi

Activates when Kirihara is completely driven into a corner. He plays unconsciously and uses moves based on his prior experiences. As a result, the opponent cannot predict which shot comes next.

Devil Mode

If Kirihara's eyes are already bloodshot and he is provoked further, he enters Devil Mode. His speed and power increase even more at the expense of his technique. However, it has life-threatening effects.

Angel Mode

Can only be entered with Shiraishi Kuranosuke as partner. Through Shiraishi's control, Kirihara's mental decay is prevented.

Sane Devil Mode

When provoked while in Angel Mode, Kirihara enters Devil Mode while retaining his sanity.

Short Snake (ショートスネイク)

Curves stronger than the normal Snake, but covers less distance. It is used when both players are at the net and curves around the opponent.

Anime Only Abilities

Super Rising

Upon his arrival at Rikkai, Kirihara is shown using Super Rising against Sanada Genichirou. It is a rising shot hit before the ball bounces to limit the time the opponent has to react.

Phantom Ball

According to Atobe Keigo, Kirihara hits a high-speed right-spin cross-court. Because lefties will naturally set up a backhand, the strange bounce will cause the ball to slip out of their field of vision as though it has disappeared.

Tennis Bag Contents

Portable Game Console with Fighting Game

For those who love fighting games. It is a necessity for going to and from school. Of course, it was confiscated by Sanada after the inspection.

Hair Gel

Styling gels and the like. This is naturally an indispensable item for Akaya, as he is a little worried about his hair moving around.

Two ~ Three pens

A pen that fell to the bottom of the bag. He didn't use a pencil case but instead tied it up with a rubber band. There's even a pen without a cap.

Bicycle Key

The poop-shaped key ring says MADE IN CHINA, which seems to be a native product that has been bought previously.

Finger Ring Weights

Exercises the strength of fingers. After the match against Fuji Shuusuke, in order to overcome the weakness of his grip strength, he always wears these on the fingers of his dominant hand.

Answer sheet

The English exam at the end of the period. The failing grade was so terrible that it has to be retaken.

Sanada's Calligraphy

Trash

Trivia

• He still believes in Santa Claus.
• He will be the next captain of Rikkai University Middle School following Yukimura.
• Kirihara got his first name because because Konomi wanted to use the character "red" in his name. He considered other names such as Akasuke, Akato, and Akao, but settled on Akaya. The surname Kirihara came from one of his high school tennis club seniors, though it is written differently.
• Devil Mode was inspired by the way babies' entire bodies turn red when they cry. Konomi was trying to find a way to evolve from bloodshot eyes and that was what he came up with. He thinks he may have gone too far with Angel Mode and that it should be a considered a special technique that comes from pairing in doubles with Shiraishi Kuranosuke who is gifted at giving praise.
• When asked what part of the character design he is fixated on, Konomi said he focuses most on Kirihara's "seaweed hair." He feels he has not grasped the color balance of his hair and that the early drawings of his hairstyle were inconsistent.
• Konomi believes Kirihara's appeal is in his temper so in the future he wants to show him growing beyond Devil Mode and become more offensive.
• Konomi stated that if he switched places with Kirihara for a day, he would quit Rikkai University Middle School and transfer to Shitenhouji Middle School because there are nice upperclassmen there. That, and let Shiraishi Kuranosuke know where his hair salon is located.
• Following his doubles match with Shiraishi Kuranosuke, Kirihara gives him the business card for his salon, Hair Salon Angel.
• Rikkai dressed Urayama Shiita as Kirihara for the match against Kakinoki Middle School, so Kuki Kiichi has a win against Kirihara, though he actually played Urayama.
• He calls Liliadent Krauser "Uza Uza."
• Kirihara is the first member of Rikkai to appear in the series. He fell asleep on the bus on the way to school and ended up at Seigaku's tennis practice. He intended to challenge Tezuka Kunimitsu to a match, but instead just caused mayhem.

Common Questionnaire

When you become a third year, what kind of club do you want to make?

I'll make Rikkai number one once again. But, before that, I have to beat our Top Three!

What do you like to be called?

Akaya is fine! Ah, Second Year Ace is also good. What if you call me Seaweed head? How about I crush you?

What was your Christmas present last year?

Even though I asked for Wimbledon tickets last year, I didn't get them~. I wonder if Santa-san got mixed up?

If you could only bring one item with you on a deserted island?

It has to be a video game after all. I'd have too much spare time on a deserted island~. Of course, a fighting game would be good! Since I bought a new title recently.

Messages From and To Others

Others about Kirihara

• "Even though I went through the trouble of looking over your homework, don't doze off! If your grades drop, I'm going to be hit by Sanada!" - Kuwahara Jackal
• "It seems that you've come to have control over your mental side as well. I'll take that as a report that you've decreased how often you go into Red Eyes mode." - Yagyuu Hiroshi
• "Both of you have some damn good daring eyes. If you're prepared to die, I can be your opponent." - Akutsu Jin
• "The fact that pure, angel wings would spring from your back was completely obvious to me!" - Atobe Keigo
• "Devil Mode made me quake in my boots! ...Like an angel, Kirihara was enjoying himself...pfft." - Amane Hikaru The play on words is Debiru/Bibiru and Tenshi/High Tension
• "Akaya-kun is truly impressive. He's the pride of this tennis school. We'll be cheering for him." - Uchida
• "Kirihara-kun, your eyes are completely red! If it's fine with you, please use my eye drops. It's effective with bloodshot eyes." - Ootori Choutarou
• "Kirihara and Shiraishi's doubles was beyond my imagination. They're making the flame in my soul burn stronger and stronger..." - Oni Juujirou
• "The frank battle spirit Kirihara Akaya possesses is something that transfers over to the spirit of our Okinawan martial arts." -Kite Eishirou
• "Viper? Seaweed? What, neither sounds yummy~! Eh? They're not food?" - Tooyama Kintarou
• "Thanks for the practice match. Heh, you weren't weak. I was just too strong!!" - Kuki Kiichi
• "My name is not "Uza Uza"! I will soon "Kill You"! - Liliadent Krauser
• "If we were to combine Kirihara Akaya's two sets of data...it seems I need to analyze this more." - Kurobe Yukio
• "Even though they're the same year as me, they're so childish. Whatever, next year Shitenhouji will be the ones to claim the championship." - Zaizen Hikaru
• "Akaya! In this training camp, you're going to wake up together with me at 4 every morning! I'm going to take this opportunity to fix your bad habit of oversleeping!" - Sanada Genichirou
• "Akaya-sempai is sometimes very scary, but he's super cool in a match~" - Urayama Shiita
• "Oi, Kirihara! If you're a man, don't make such a fuss over one or two hairstyles! That's shameful!" - Shishido Ryou
• "Akaya, if it's you, you'll be able to lead Rikkai. Good luck. You'll return my 100 yen before graduation, won't you?" - Kuwahara Jackal
• "I can't decide if I want to get a nice perm like Kirihara-kun's. What do you think?" - Shiraishi Kuranosuke
• "Heh, Kirihara likes shounen manga too~? If you brought any to the training camp, I want to see~!" - Akutagawa Jirou
• "Kaidou-kun, look, you need to smile more, smile more! Kirihara-kun, if you hit things like that, your luck will run out~!" - Sengoku Kiyosumi
• "Compared to the time at the Kantou tournament, Kirihara has grown in both strength and mind. You should be thankful to your upperclassmen." - Tachibana Kippei
• "Kirihara-kun should study English just a bit more. You'll be troubled once you become a pro." - Chitose Senri
• "You're a fun guy to mess around with. Let me be straight, the one who came up with "seaweed head" was Yagyuu." - Niou Masaharu
• "We played a match during the practice matches between middle and high schoolers. You were quite the second year. You make me look forward to the future." - Nishiki
• "I've been wondering since our match. Your curly hair, can I touch it?" - Matsudaira Chikahiko
• "Heeey, Akaya. I totally saw that you snuck in candy with you! Let me have some too." - Marui Bunta
• "Even though you turned into a devil, you still managed to keep your senses...it seems that I somewhat underestimated you. Sorry, sorry." - Miyako Shinobu
• "With his courteousness, Kaidou-kun leaves a favorable impression. It's something our Kirihara-kun should learn." - Yagyuu Hiroshi
• "I, Yanagi Renji, am glad to have entrusted the representation of us at this training camp to you. I look forward to a rematch once you have reached the top." - Yanagi Renji
• "To think you were evenly matched with that older brother of mine. But now, my older brother is super strong, so you better be prepared!" - Fuji Yuuta
• "Akaya, you have truly become much stronger since the time we first had a match. I leave Rikkai's tennis club in your care." - Yukimura Seiichi

Kirihara about others

• About Tezuka Kunimitsu and Shiraishi Kuranosuke: "Actually, my play against southpaws is perfect. Both of you should gather together, and I'll crush you....just kidding!"
• About Shiraishi Kuranosuke: "Shiraishi-san! Here’s a coupon for the salon I visit, I got it just for you! It’s my thanks for that day♪"

Music

• "Aggressor's High"
• "Akaku Someru Tsuki"
• "Brave heart" feat. Teja Ore300
• "Destination" feat. Rikkai All Stars
• "ENJOY" feat. Amikyuu Danji
• "Gather" feat. Ao to Bin to Can
• "Gouka Kenran" feat. Rikkai Young Kan
• "HIKARI"
• "It's Alright"
• "Meramera" feat. Pull Tab to Can
• "Owaranai Ai" feat. Rikkai Young Kan
• "Party Time" feat. Rikkai Young Kan
• "Party Time" feat. Pull Tab to Can
• "Party Time" feat. Amikyuu Danji
• "Party Time" feat. Tenipuri All Stars
• "SOUL MATE" feat. Rikkai Young Kan
• "Tenipuri Fantastic Bazar no Theme" feat. Teja Ore300
• "TENNIVERSARY" feat. Teja Ore300
• "Time has come"
• "Unfair"
• "Wonderful Days" feat. Pull Tab to Can

Gallery

• 

  Kirihara smiling after being calmed down by Shiraishi during their shuffle match.

• 

  Kirihara looks on, paralyzed, as his doubles partner Toono is injured by their Greek opponents.

Quotes

• "I'll paint you red!"
• "I'll crush you!"