Akita (formerly nicknamed Red by Lloyd) is a Formling who lives in the Never-Realm, and the younger twin sister of Kataru. She has the ability to morph between the form of a three-tailed wolf and a human. She was the only Formling aside from her brother that hadn't been frozen by Boreal.
She confronted Zane intending to kill him for revenge. However, he froze her. Afterward, Vex accidentally managed to free Zane from the former's manipulation, and Akita thawed along with the rest of her people.
Following the Ice Emperor's defeat, she was reunited with her brother and her people were freed from their imprisonment as peace returned to the Never-Realm.
History
Early life
Akita and her twin brother, Kataru, were about to find their animal forms in the Choosing. However, on that day, Vex had arrived and threatened them for their loyalty since he found new power in his self-exile but the Formlings refused to serve and he promised to return with a stronger force.
Akita and Kataru at their Choosing
The encounter left a mark on Akita who worried if she ends up like Vex should she fail but she was assured by her brother. The siblings set off, looking for the animal spirits to guide them. They set camp in the forest for the night.
When Akita woke up, she heard a voice calling for her. Lured by the sound, she climbed a tree into the clouds, where she saw her animal, a three-tailed wolf. She raced to catch the spirit and earned the form of the wolf. When she returned, she was suddenly attacked by a large bear, which she realized was her brother in his new animal form. Both cheered, as they have found their animal forms. Akita decides to go for a walk in the forest.
Akita transformed into her wolf form for the first time.
When she returns to the village, she finds it frozen, along with the people. The Formlings have been encased inside of big blocks of ice. She weeps, saddened at the loss of her people. She sees Boreal, Vex, and the Ice Emperor. She heads toward Vex and the Ice Emperor but is attacked by Boreal. Kataru appears in his bear form, defending Akita. He slashes at the beast, scraping its wings. It roars, and Akita tells for Kataru to run. But Kataru continued to fight Boreal, who covers him with a beam of snow.
Akita was devastated when she saw that Kataru was gone. She watched in anger as Vex, the Ice Emperor, and Boreal, satisfied with their deed, left the village and broke down because she was the last Formling left. Akita headed out of the village, never looking back. She vows to return, and bring justice to her village.[1]
Akita devastated with everything she lost.
The Never-Realm
Before the ninja enter the Never-Realm, Akita gives a brief history of the Ice Emperor and his takeover of the Never-Realm decades ago; however, she believes someone will stand up against his evil reign.
An Unlikely Ally
When Lloyd went to search for Zane, he gets ambushed by some Frost Wolves, but Akita, in her wolf form, saves him, and he rewards her with his food before leaving. She later meets up with Lloyd and helps him find the Land Bounty and the two become allies.
The Message
Lloyd and Akita follow the tracker to the Titan Mech until they are under attack by an Ice bird. Luckily, they are able to hide out in a cave where they discover the mech and a message by Zane. Lloyd finishes the Mech and defeats the bird before taking Akita onto the Mech in order to find Zane.
Secret of the Wolf
Akita and Lloyd angry at each other.
Akita gets hurt following a battle with the Ice Behemoth. Lloyd bandages her leg and they rest for the night. Akita transforms into her human form during the night leading Lloyd to an unexpected surprise the next morning.
The two started to argue but headed in the same direction. With Akita's leg not fully healed, Lloyd advises her not to run. Their friendship is restored, and Akita offered to tell him her backstory, to which he accepts.
The Last of the Formlings
Akita tells Lloyd about who she is, a Formling, and reveals the story of the destruction of her people. She reveals to Lloyd that while she will still travel with him their goals differ because she wants vengeance on those who scarred her.
My Enemy, My Friend
Akita joins Lloyd as they make it to the Castle of Ice. She changes from wolf form to human form to ask what is it they should wait for. Lloyd tells her that it's almost nighttime and they will have a better chance getting inside at dawn. They make camp and Lloyd asks Akita what she will do once she gets her revenge. She admits that she doesn't know. Lloyd suggests that Akita should join him and the others on their way back to Ninjago.
Before they can discuss further, Boreal flies back to the castle. Akita returns to wolf form and Lloyd enters his Titan Mech. Recognizing him as the dragon who froze her village, Akita barks at Boreal and draws his attention. Lloyd shields her from Boreal's blasts only to be taken captive. Akita tries to save him but fails. She is last seen returning to human form, looking up helplessly as she sees Boreal return to the Castle of Ice with Lloyd in his claw.
Once and for All
Making her way to the Castle of Ice, Akita shivered from the cold until she saw the castle, she easily takes out two guards and goes inside looking for the Ice Emperor.
Akita uses stealth to make her way through the castle and makes it to the throne room where the emperor is seemingly asleep. Drawing her dagger, Akita sneaks upon him to finish him until a noise is heard and the Emperor sees her. A fight breaks out, as Akita tells him that she wants to avenge the Formlings and the Emperor brings up Vex's stories of them, disgusting her.
Akita fought the emperor and held her own until he froze her arm. Just as he moved to finish her, Lloyd burst in and she was surprised at him calling the emperor "Zane."
Awakenings
Akita is curious that Lloyd knows the Emperor and learns that he is Zane, the friend he is looking for. Despite this, she still tries to destroy him. Lloyd stops her and they argue with each other until Zane smacks them both down and a battle ensues between them.
When Lloyd was frozen in place, Akita threw her dagger at Zane in an attempt to save him, though it was ineffective and Akita was frozen by Zane and left incapacitated for the rest of the fight.
After Zane regained his memories, she was freed when he destroyed his scepter and liberated the Never-Realm. Akita fell from exhaustion, having been frozen for a while.
Akita and Kataru reunite after decades apart.
Akita regained consciousness and is surprised to see her brother who happily hugs and picks her up after being separated for so long. With the Ice Emperor no more, Grimfax took back control and consulted with the Formlings and they agreed under the decision to banish Vex to the outskirts of the Never-Realm. Akita was present when the punishment of Vex was carried out.
Akita kisses Lloyd on the cheek in their farewell.
Akita was at the Great Lake when the ninja were about to leave the realm. They both told the other to take care before she watched Lloyd leave her world. Lloyd struggled to say the proper words of goodbye to her, but she seized the moment and kissed him on the cheek, shocking Lloyd.
Kataru then took her to the woods, where they took on their animal forms and started roaming the now peaceful area. Akita knew this was her brother's way of comforting her and Lloyd’s departure but she was confident that they will meet again.
Personality
Originally, she was insecure about herself because she feared that she would not be able to achieve her form. However, encouragement from her brother and her people put aside those worries.
After achieving her form, she was greatly happy and wasted no time using it.
She was very close to her brother Kataru and they would spend most of their time together. She was later devastated to witness his supposed death and sought to avenge him. However, she was happy to see that he survived and shared a warm embrace with him.
Having lost her people and being alone for decades, Akita became vengeful and sought after the men responsible. She was determined to get her revenge and even threatened Lloyd should he interfere.
Despite this, Akita is shown to very loyal to her friends. Especially when she sticks with Lloyd for the entire journey to the Castle of Ice. Even though their goals differ, Akita might have had empathy for Lloyd when she asked him what he will do after saving Zane. And when Lloyd was frozen in place during the confrontation with Zane, she desperately tries to save him.
She is also hopeful as she believes that someone will stand up against the Ice Emperor one day and was pleased she was right. Also, when her brother comforted her of Lloyd's departure, she remained confident of seeing Lloyd again, just not for a very long time.
Relationships
- Main article: Akita's relationships
Appearances
Sets
- 70671 Lloyd's Journey (Wolf form)
- 70678 Castle of the Forsaken Emperor (Human form)
Ninjago
Season 11: Secrets of the Forbidden Spinjitzu
- 114. "The Never-Realm" (voice)
- 116. "An Unlikely Ally" (no lines)
- 118. "The Message" (no lines)
- 121. "Secret of the Wolf"
- 122. "The Last of The Formlings"
- 123. "My Enemy, My Friend"
- 127. "Once and for All"
- 128. "Awakenings"
Trivia
- Her name originates from a Japanese breed of dogs, which is also a prefecture in Japan.
- Coincidentally, wolves and Akita dogs are genetically very similar.
- Her appearance, in both human and wolf form, resembles the character Amaterasu, in the video game Ōkami. It's unknown if this is intentional or not.
- It is confirmed that she and her brother are twins in the official description of "The Last of the Formlings." This may have been why their Choosing was on the same day, as they are the same age.
- During "Awakenings," Kataru calls her little sister, revealing that she is the younger twin.
- It is quite possible she is based on Ninjago's frequent use of Asian mythology and Akita's unique attributes that she and her kind are based on Yōkai, as there are many Yōkai who shapeshift into animals with unusual traits.
- A similar example is the Kitsune, a nine-tailed fox and shapeshifter, similar to Akita being a three-tailed wolf.
- She is the second person to kiss Lloyd on the cheek, the first one being Harumi.
- Tommy Andreasen confirmed that she is considerably older than Lloyd, with Formlings aging differently than humans[2] and the Ice Emperor having taken over around sixty years ago,[3] when Akita was a child.
- In Akita's monologue at the end of "Awakenings," she states that she is confident that she and Lloyd will see each other again, which may hint that the possibility is open for her to return in a future season.
- She seems to dislike it when people talk too much, as shown in "Secret of the Wolf" and as mentioned in the Character Encyclopedia New Edition.
- She is one of the ten characters to have a cape in the sets, the others are Lloyd, Chen, Morro, the Time Twins, Harumi, Wu, Blizzard Sword Masters and Mammatus.
- It is not confirmed whether she and Lloyd have feelings for each other.[4] While the Ninjago honest trailer referred to her as Lloyd's girlfriend, this was a humorous video not meant to be taken seriously.
Gallery
Minifigures
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_2.png "Summer 2019 Akita (Wolf Form) 2.png (246 KB)")
Promotional media
Design variants
In Ninjago
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Concept art
