Akon

is a member of the 12th Division, working as a scientist in the Shinigami Research and Development Institute.

Appearance
Akon is a tall man with short, spiky brown hair, which has a jagged, hairless area running through it. He has three small horns protruding from his forehead, which he did not have when he was younger, 101 years ago. He wears a laboratory coat over the standard Shinigami shihakushō.

Character Outline
Not much is know about Akon except he was the first to realize Rukia Kuchiki's Gigai was not normal. He is usually seen along his two partners Rin Tsubokura and Hiyosu. Together, they were in charge of monitoring the Human World for any increase in Arrancar activity during the Arrancar arc. In Turn Back The Pendulum, he joined the Science Bureau shortly after its establishment by Kisuke Urahara, 101 years prior to the present day. Curiously, he did not have his horns at this time. In the present, he appears to get along quite well with Mayuri Kurotsuchi, far better than he did with Hiyori Sarugaki.

He is now one of the best researchers of the Shinigami Research and Development Institute under Mayuri Kurotsuchi's charge.

History
101 years ago, a young Akon acted as one of Mayuri Kurotsuchi's assistants in the Shinigami Research and Development Institute. When the captain of the 9th Division, Kensei Muguruma, needed a Shinigami researcher to investigate the possibility that a pathogen is causing souls to break down, he sent Todō Gizaeimon to retrieve one. Upon receiving the news, Captain Kisuke Urahara decided to send the division's lieutenant, Hiyori Sarugaki. She complained about the assignment, asking why he does not give the assignment to somebody less important, such as Akon. Akon retorts that all she does is complain, and that she should just give up the lieutenant rank if she hates its duties so much. Hiyori attempts to kick his face for the remark, but he effortlessly avoids it.

Soul Society arc
Akon arrives at the Research and Development Institute to deliver Rukia Kuchiki's gigai to Hiyosu, so that they can study it. When one of his colleagues mentions that he cannot identify the gigai's creator, another asks Akon if he built it. However, he remarks that he does not remember it at all. When he takes a closer look at it, he becomes startled, and comes to the conclusion that none of them, let alone someone in the Soul Society, could have designed it. One of his colleagues asks him why, to which he states that a Shinigami with the skill to create a gigai of its kind would surely have been exiled from Soul Society.

Bount arc (anime only)
Note: Events occurring in this arc are only in the anime and do not constitute canon material.

Arrancar arc
When the Arrancar first arrive in the Human World, Akon walks in on Rin Tsubokura and Hiyosu as they detect their spiritual readings. He helps gain permission so Rangiku Matsumoto, Tōshirō Hitsugaya and Renji Abarai could release their limiters. Akon later helps warn Hitsugaya's team of the incoming Arrancar, all of which are Espada, during the third invasion. He also sent Rin Tsubokura to give Ikkaku his replacement molars.

Fake Karakura Town arc
Ten days after Aizen's defeat, a member of the Twelfth Division looks for Mayuri Kurostuchi at the division's compound. However, Akon informs him that the captain had went off to Hueco Mundo again to carry on his research. When the Shinigami mentions that Rangiku Matsumoto has arrived to visit Momo Hinamori, who is receiving an organ regeneration treatment, Akon goes off to speak to her. However, by the time he gets there, Rangiku is already gone.

Powers & Abilities
Expert Scientist: Akon is an exceptional scientist, being able to tell that Rukia's gigai was of profound craftsmanship, well beyond the capabilities of him and any of his colleagues. He was able to further postulate that the scientist that did create it was most likely exiled from Soul Society.

Trivia

 * Tite Kubo's sketches reveal that Akon can be seen in the Nest of Maggots, tinkering with something in the background.


 * At the request of Captain Jūshirō Ukitake, Akon and his staff produce a life size figure of Captain Hitsugaya as a birthday gift. Ukitake also requests one of Byakuya Kuchiki.


 * He is shown smoking in omakes.