 Akiomi Kunugi
|
|---|
Mr. Kunugi now serves at the ES business department for idol support. He is serious and intentionally strict to students so that they can learn and grow. He also gives lessons and educational guides at Yumenosaki Academy. As a former idol who rose from a model, he also advises young idols as an alumnus.[1]
I'm Akiomi Kunugi. I am a teacher at Yumenosaki Academy as well as part of the business department at Ensemble Square, where I focus on nurturing young idols. Some of you may recognize me from when I was an idol. While I have already retired as an idol, but I will use my own experience to support them accordingly. Please support the idols at the ES establishment.[1]
JinAkiyan... Oops, I mean Mr. Akiomi Kunugi is a colleague of mine who, like myself, teaches at Yumenosaki Academy, as well as works at Ensemble Square's business department. He used to be an idol like myself, and once saw success as a model too. Well, whatever his past, now he's a snarky teacher with a tendency to scold. ♪ Still, he's giving his support to young idols, so we'll be helpin' them out together.[1]
Ensemble Stars! Introduction
Fast-paced, serious, and high-strung, Akiomi is harsh on both himself and others. He's in charge of the idols' specialized curriculum and student guidance, and he also acts as the advisor of the Student Council. He's courteous and polite, but has a sarcastic manner of speaking. He can't help but give cautionary warnings to students who concern him, no matter how slight the reason may be.
He used to be a multi-talented idol who started his career in modeling, but has since resigned and become a teacher instead. He's known the school doctor Jin Sagami since his days in the entertainment world.
Appearance
Akiomi is a tall man with short brown hair, cut just below his ears. His bangs part to the left. He has narrow, light purple eyes. He also wears thin metal rimmed glasses.
Casual
Akiomi wears a relaxed suit with black buttons, with a warm light gray single-breasted blazer unbuttoned above a white mandarin-collar shirt. Trailing downwards, his slim fitted trousers are a forest green color, secured by a black belt with a silver buckle. He wears black monk strap shoes, leather and hardware matching said belt. Finishing off the outfit with a silver watch with a black face on his left arm.
In the winter, Akiomi switches to a brown single-breasted blazer with notched lapel and flap pockets. He also wears a navy puffer vest completely done up. Underneath his vest, he wears a white button-down collar shirt. As usual, all of the buttons are cohesively black. He wears navy-blue loafers in the same shade as his vest. His outfit is finished off with silver hardware as shown with a matching navy belt that secures his beige trousers.
It is implied that these outfits are worn while working under P-Association and visiting idols under a professional higher-up context.
Teaching
While teaching, he wears a brown suit with black buttons with the blazer left unbuttoned. He also wears a wine-colored vest with black buttons, completely done up. Underneath his vest, he wears a white shirt, along with a green tie. His pants match the jacket's color, and he wears dark brown dress shoes. He wears a silver watch with a black face on his left arm.
On Stage
Akiomi wears Ba-barrier’s uniform on stage. It includes a navy lapelless blazer with two halves of a silver star split across the two sides of the garment by his waist and certain decorations on the torso. The left side of which is adorned with golden floral embellishments from the collar to slightly below the brooch and the right with a rectangular epaulette of a similar color to the vest. The epaulette has a silver pin placed on its right, from which two golden chains hang and are connected to the flower brooch. The blazer's cuffs are a darker navy color to the blazer and each have three golden buttons running along their length. Wearing underneath is a low cut vest-like article sectioned off at the waist, adorned with 6 gold buttons at each side. The said vest matches the cuffs’ color. Below the vest is a white toga-like chemise pinned with the said emblematic brooch to the left of his chest worn above a dark gray turtleneck. Akiomi wears a pair of white pressed trousers with the ends of a sash hanging over his right leg, the origins of which are obscured by his blazer.
Ensemble Stars! Appearance
Akiomi is a tall man with short brown hair, cut just below his ears. His bangs part to the left. He has narrow, light purple eyes. He also wears thin black rimmed glasses. He wears a brown suit with black buttons, with the jacket left unbuttoned. He also wears a wine-colored vest with black buttons, completely done up. Underneath his vest, he wears a white shirt, along with a green tie. His pants match the jacket's color, and he wears dark brown dress shoes. He wears a silver watch with a black face on his left arm.
Personality
Akiomi is a hardworking, stern individual who expects others to follow the same pace as him. As a teacher he gives strict instruction, willing to be the punitive authoritative figure if necessitated. Having a passion towards the idol industry and wishing others to not repeat the mistakes he and his cohorts did, he is harshly critical in the hopes his students take his advice to heart. Akiomi fully accepts and assumes to be antagonized due to being blackmailed in the modeling industry.[2] He accepts his "role" by being harsh towards himself and his students.[3] In the end, he works hard to support the next generation of idols even if people see him as a cruel teacher.
At school, Akiomi has the reputation for being a hall monitor and being petty for power in the hopes of students taking him seriously. As such he’s constantly concerned over his self-image. However, it is overridden by any concerns for his modeling students and especially his personal juniors.[4]
Concerns regarding his image are due to his modeling background, ever worried with maintaining his ability as an idol post-retirement. He feels threatened by students at the thought of them surpassing him and ever wishes to compete with his co-worker, Jin.[5][6] The negative emotions he willingly allows himself to present are anger, indifference, or annoyance. Very rarely does he show satisfaction. Occasionally, he is defeated and avoidant when the subject of modeling is concerned or cameras are set on him.[7][8]
However, while appearing prim and proper he is willing to drop professionalism in favor of his own interests.[9] This can be seen in Rainbow where he uses the poor reputations of Madara, Mika and Sora's units to his advantage, recruiting them to his temporary unit. While he may employ shady methods to get what he wants done, his intentions are altruistic, wanting to guide troubled students to a better place, warning them to avoid the pitfalls he fell into as a student.
While claiming he “was” one of Jin’s fans “back then”, he has learned to hide and conceal his more pathological traits of himself overall, all while under the guise of professional managerial concern and teachings as an ex-idol.[10]
Idol Era
In his early years as a Yumenosaki student, Akiomi was the opposite of his present self. He was bright, endlessly energetic, and brimmed with admiration for Jin, who was his senpai and the top Super Idol at the time. Jin has stated that his previous demeanor was similar to Chiaki’s in Rainbow.[11] His admiration went as far as somehow knowing Jin’s work schedule, gleefully reminding him of the events that he should be attending. Additionally, bombarding Jin by blindly praising him.
Akiomi aspired to be a Super Idol just like Jin, which resulted in his hard working nature with idol work. However, this led to extreme overworking conditions since he slept in capsule hotels when the night grew too late. It was even noted that his physical state appeared to be in an unhealthy condition.[12]
Although being in his first year, Akiomi was adamant on not being seen as a child. Despite his bright and overbearing mannerisms, he’s not naive at all, having experienced backstabbing in the modeling industry beforehand. He has shown sharp distaste for the industry whenever it is brought up in conversation. His bitter words towards it have even surprised Jin, considering that all he ever did was praise him.[13] It was one of the only things he would blatantly scorn. Because of this distaste, he hated being seen as an idol solely known for his looks.[14] Therefore, he trained to be a jack-of-all-trades with his idol skillset.
Akiomi’s past adamancy regarding being perceived as a child influenced how he interacts with younger idols today. He continuously reminds them that they are still children growing up in the idol world, that they are deserving of a normal high school life and proper guidance.[15]
Etymology
Akiomi’s first name (章臣) has multiple meanings with a bit of wordplay. The literal reading of (章) is "chapter", noting his studious personality and affinity for reading. The nanori reading of the character (章 aki) has a homonym pronunciation to autumn/fall (秋 aki) which refers to his color scheme and his poorly-timed debut before Idol Winter[16]. The literal reading of "retainer” (臣) is a reference to his loyalty towards Jin, previously being his right-hand man when they were active idols. It could have a negative connotation as being a second-rate idol or an underdog in a barren era, a product of his time regarding his attitudes and personality.[17] Also refers to his Sparkling Prince title when he was an active model[18], a dated meaning of (臣). i.e Hereditary title; originally one of the two highest such titles.
His last name consists of the character (椚) directly meaning the Sawtooth Oak tree species native to Japan. The wood is burned frequently into charcoal for purposes or used to cultivate shiitake mushrooms. Tea Ceremonies made use of said charcoal specifically for boiling water. The tree species’ acorns, while bitter for human consumption, wildlife and fauna thrive in its introduction.
Family
- For more information, see Akiomi Kunugi/Family.
Akiomi cherished his family, as it was evident in brief mentions in PORTRAIT. It's implied that his family was one that fully supported him. He expresses gratitude for raising him well, specifically raising him to have a healthy body. He also has a set image of what familial discipline should look like and when it should be executed.
The manner Akiomi spoke about the concept of family was enough to make Izumi and Makoto jealous due to his seemingly normal situation. It's even said that he appears happy whenever he talks about his idea of what family should be like.
Trivia
- He used to love a girl, but it turned out that she was Jin, who was crossdressing.[19]
- Sora described his color as "Usually hidden somewhere hard to see"[20], but in Rainbow, "it was a fun color, shining with seven colors".
- As a new teacher during war era it was that implied that he lacked close friends, to the point of being lonely enough to start talking to Izumi, much to his annoyance.[21]
- He actively maintains his prized Super Idol Jin Collection to this day.[22]
- He has searched up on who sold Jin’s used toothbrushes.[23]
- He worked as a comedian for some time during the Idol Winter [24]
- He is the modeling senior of Arashi, Izumi, and Makoto.[25]
- In the current era, Akiomi’s blackened reputation as a model led to him being avoidant of any students that work the same industry as he did.[26]
- Every morning, Akiomi checks the work timetables, subtly implying that he is off to study and memorize Jin’s entire schedule. He has done this since they were students.[27][28]
- During SS Finals, Jin & Akiomi worn conflicting colors on who they supported. Akiomi sided with Eden and Gatekeeper as he wore white.
- Ba-barrier’s unit outfit is reminiscent of an equestrian aesthetic, combining concepts from Madara’s old western MaM, Mika’s avant garde Valkyrie, Akiomi’s royalness as the Sparkling Prince, and modernized edge from Sora’s Switch.
- If an Akiomi card drops a character gem, it will be randomized to another character in ES!! gameplay.
- Akiomi is in the teacher in charge of vocal instruction as well as student guidance.[29][30]
- Similarly, his voice actor Wataru Komada assisted Tsukasa's voice actor in speaking English for his role.[30]
- During the 2024 Summer Campaign, to unlock Akiomi's Enjoying Vacation in Basic the player must play the Knights unit course.
Voice Actor Comment
"Among the characters in this work, Kunugi is one of the few teachers. His speech may come across as harsh, and upon the first impression, he appears somewhat dull. At first, it was quite hard for me to portray Kunugi-sensei, who's the polar opposite of me. But as I found out that he actually cares a lot about his students, I ended up having a lot of fun in this role.
Indeed, Kunugi-sensei may be super sadistic, but every now and then, he'd show you his gentleness, too, so please make sure not to miss those rare moments!" (Enstars!)
""[31] (Enstars!!)
 Akiomi Kunugi
| ||
|---|---|---|
| Sub Story • Mini Event • Greeting Event • Produce Course | ||
| Ensemble Square | Anzu • Hitsugi Kurone • Jin Sagami • Akiomi Kunugi • Seiya Hidaka • Gatekeeper | |
Sources
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Official Profile
- ↑ Rainbow - 12
- ↑ The Tale of Antiques - Bystanders 2
- ↑ Arashi Narukami's Idol Story 1
- ↑ Saga * Rushing Up Rainbow Stage - Emergency Live
- ↑ Ensemble - 97
- ↑ Camera Mode (Anytime) - 1
- ↑ Afternoon (Spring) - Topic 2
- ↑ Rainbow - 31
- ↑ Lullaby - 4
- ↑ Rainbow - 21
- ↑ Liar's Idol - 2
- ↑ Rainbow - 20
- ↑ Liar's Idol - 3
- ↑ Madara Mikejima's Idol Story - As Your Senior
- ↑ Guilty of Perjury - 2
- ↑ Rainbow - 32
- ↑ Liar's Idol - 3
- ↑ Test of Courage - Epilogue
- ↑ Rainbow - Revival 11
- ↑ Checkmate - Killer's Anthem 4
- ↑ Lullaby - 4
- ↑ Guilty of Perjury - 4
- ↑ Rainbow - Revival 17
- ↑ PORTRAIT
- ↑ Rainbow - 12
- ↑ Morning - Topic 1
- ↑ Rainbow - Prologue
- ↑ Voice Training at Work
- ↑ 30.0 30.1 Developer Interview
- ↑ Official Tweet