Dude is literally a mass murderer and horrifically killed parents of, not 1, but 2 of your friends/teammates as they fucking watched.
But because he's an edgy anime pretty boi, that makes him a "complicated, flawed character who just needs wuve uwu".
He basically made Haru's father's brain explode on live television, crying blood in agony, as his daughter was watching. (Granted, dude was kind of a dick, but he didn't deserve what he got and Haru most certainly did not deserve to witness it.)
And even more unforgivable imo: Not only did he make Futaba's mom commit suicide in front of her by jumping in front of a car, he took the extra step of making her say that she never loved Futaba and that this was her fault for no other reason than to traumatize her further. Which it did, and almost psychologically destroyed her for life, as it would for probably anybody.
If there was any justice, his canon death would've just been Futaba and Haru curb-stomping him to death.
And I really fuckin' hate how Royal's ending gives some sort of implication that someway, somehow he's still alive: Fuck. That.
At least in Vanilla he was still dead as shit at the end.
Tl;dr, My final opinion on Akechi: :rip-bozo:
His only defense is that he was a fucked up teen and maybe could have atoned for his crimes.
What's worse is maybe that could've been pulled off, at least in part, in Vanilla since as far as we know he gave his life to help the Thieves.
But noooo, we couldn't just leave it there and he has to live in Royal... 😒
I never played Royal, and considering how bloated and overly long p5 was, I will never have the time.
Overall I'd say it's worth playing and still great fun, it's just that Akechi living is a bitter pill you have to swallow if you do.
Him “living” is a stretch. Even if he’s alive, the moment he shows his face again (which he totally would because he’s an arrogant little shit) he’d likely get his skull cleaved by Haru.