Post by Sparrow Akiyama on Jul 8, 2010 22:27:43 GMT -5
Andrew Akiyama
Full Name: Kenji “Andrew” Akiyama
Age: 52
Civilian or Special: Civilian
Currently Located: Transient
Affiliated with: Neutral
Celebrity Claim: Watanabe, Ken
Relation to You: Father
Appearance: Andrew is of average height and weight and has a broad, sturdy frame. He is in his early fifties, but due to his somewhat youthful face, he appears to be a few years younger than he actually is. He keeps his black hair cut short, and a rough goatee adorns his lower face. His brown eyes are dark and narrow. He makes a point of dressing well, even when he is at home, because he believes his big break could come at any moment.
Personality: The best word to describe Andrew would be “determined.” Once he sets a goal for himself, he works tirelessly toward it. Often, these goals are lofty and his manner of achieving them is too vague, but at least he puts forth the effort to try and reach them. He sometimes comes off as bossy or pushy, as he is very direct and blunt. However, he is usually patient and caring; he just has trouble showing it. He also has trouble connecting with others, mostly because of his brash nature, but all in all, he means well and has what he considers to be the best interests of everyone at heart.
Abilities/Skills/Limits
Andrew is a civilian, and has never exhibited any abilities, with the exception of April Fourth, on which he temporarily gained increased physical strength. His skills include an ability to lead, which is helpful in his line of work, and an affinity for learning languages, which proves useful as he travels.
Kenji Akiyama was born and raised in Osaka, Japan. His family lived comfortably, though they were not rich. He was an only child, but he was not incredibly spoiled; in fact, his parents paid little attention to him. Nevertheless, he did well in school, and made friends, eventually becoming very popular among his classmates.
He quickly grew attracted to the world of entertainment, and through a series of jobs with the more successful Japanese firms, he learned how films were made. He worked his way up until he had enough experience and renown to begin directing on his own.
Several years into his career, he met Kiyoko Kawaguchi, a kindergarten teacher. They married a while later, though not necessarily for love, and Kiyoko gave birth to a child, whom they named Suzume. They lived together in Osaka quite happily for a while, allowing Suzume to have something of a normal childhood, if only for her first few years of life.
Kenji’s ambitions soon propelled him to suggest a change in lifestyle. He was determined to become world-famous, and had decided that he would need to film bigger movies. This led him to begin moving his family around the world, wherever he could film cheaply, which was a wonderful experience for Suzume, but which also cost the family a good deal of stability and constancy.
Kenji’s films began to fare much better as he became better at directing and producing- or perhaps as he became more familiar with what the majority of people liked to watch- and he was able to support his family wherever they lived, but the level of fame he wanted to achieve continued to elude him. Finally, he decided that they would have to move to America, which was essentially the center of the entertainment world, for him to achieve his dream. Kiyoko went along with it, a bit reluctantly.
The Akiyamas adapted to life in America fairly quickly; Kenji adopted the name “Andrew,” and Suzume began to call herself “Sparrow.” Andrew immediately began building ties with the most important American filmmakers, hoping to break into the industry. He achieved a modest amount of fame, which was a good start, but not nearly enough for Andrew.
Meanwhile, Kiyoko gave birth to another daughter, Hana, who was soon diagnosed with CIPA. The family tried to maintain its prior lifestyle while taking care of the little girl, which ended in her tragic death at the age of six. Sparrow was crushed by the loss; Kiyoko blamed herself for not having taken good enough care of Hana, and Andrew blamed himself for forcing the family to move so much, especially into as hot and dry a climate as Salt Lake City’s. However, instead of convincing him to settle down and put aside his dreams, his daughter’s death pushed Andrew to work harder. This finally split the family apart. Kiyoko obtained a divorce and returned to Osaka, where she was later treated for mental problems related to her grief over Hana’s loss.
While Andrew was never able to fully shake his own grief or guilt over what had happened, he and Sparrow fared better at stifling their feelings over it. Sparrow left home and began college, and Andrew focused completely on his career. He met the actress Mei Song on the set of one of his movies, and, after dating for a while, they got married, despite the ten-year age gap between them. Andrew and Mei continue to move around the world, filming movies in hopes of finally achieving Andrew’s big break.
