Mishima Akiko, President of Mishima Heavy Industries, estranged wife of Natsume Kyusaku, mother of Ryunosuke. Another loon.

Akiko is almost childishly spoilt. She wears what look like party dresses in the office (her clothes get more sensible toward the end of the series) and has the most incredible outbursts of tears when crossed. Her world revolves around Ryunosuke, and she believes the rest of the world revolves around her.

To say that Arisa and Kyoko are the Office Ladies from Hell leaves no snappy expression with which to describe what kind of boss Akiko is. She yells. She is incredibly and unreasonably demanding. She cuts her employees' pay without notice, in one case for doing what she had told them to do without her grandfather's permission. Bizarrely, she thinks of Arisa and Kyoko as her only friends, and, much as she abuses them, really depends on them.

Akiko's mental instability is further indicated by the fact that she had a boat called the Sun Cauliflower.

But I'm being too mean to her. Akiko may get very buggy and overprotective about Ryunosuke but this is because she loves him to bits and it is very hard for her to be separated from him. She is also still in love with Kyusaku (although her preferred method of expressing this love is by blowing stuff up) and furiously jealous of Nuku Nuku to begin with.

Kyoko: Perhaps she's Kyusaku's girlfriend? *Akiko glares at her* Oh, excuse me, I meant your husband's mistress!

A major reason why Akiko and Kyusaku can't live with each other is that being a businesswoman is very important to Akiko. She takes pride in her work - and really, she must be pretty good at it, because MHI is an undeniably successful company. Kyusaku would like her to be more domestic-minded, but she just doesn't have the temperament for it. Nor does she have any domestic skills; she once washed rice before cooking it in lemon-scented dish soap, and has been known to put ketchup on natto.

Nuku Nuku's attitude to Akiko could be summed up quite logically. 'I love my Papa-san. Akiko is married to Papa-san; therefore she is my Mama-san; therefore I love her too.' (Yeah, it's catgirl logic. What did you expect?) Nuku Nuku wants everyone she loves to be happy, and although Akiko would be the first to say she's her enemy, in Phase OIII Nuku Nuku sticks up for her to Kyusaku, and in Phase OVI tries to save her life. Akiko is eventually won over by Nuku Nuku's kind heart.

Akiko has a mysterious gift for inspiring loyalty and love. In spite of everything, Arisa and Kyoko are devoted to her. She's childish, irrational and, in Kyoko's diplomatic words, 'a character,' but they'd do anything for her. (Reminds me of a certain very famous moon-bunny. Or Dilandau Albatou, for that matter.)

Akiko wants Ryunosuke to be President of MHI after her. Like Kyusaku, she expects a lot from him, but it's doubtful whether he could achieve it if she were able to mollycoddle him the way she wants to. Deep down, Akiko is a rather courageous woman. If she could grow out of her manipulative behaviour she'd be pretty cool.

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