Akeno Himejima is one of the leading female protagonists of the light novel or anime series High School DxD. She is the Vice-President of the Occult Research Club at Kuoh Academy and the Queen of Rias Gremory's peerage. She is also one of Kuoh's Two Great Ladies alongside Rias. And one of the many fiancées of the protagonist, Issei Hyoudou.

Her father is Baraqiel, a Vice-Governor General of Grigori, and her mother is Shuri Himejima, making Akeno a descendant of the prestigious Himejima clan of Shinto priestesses.

Initially, Akeno was a human-Fallen Angel hybrid but was turned into a devil under Rias Gremory after a traumatic event. As Rias's Queen, Akeno is one of the most powerful members of her peerage. She has access to all the abilities granted by the Queen's evil piece, which consists of the combined powers of a Knight, Rook, and Bishop.

Akeno excels at using magic spells and controlling elemental forces like lightning, fire, and ice. Her signature skill is controlling Holy Lightning, which she inherited from her Fallen Angel father.

History

When Akeno was a child, she was very close to her mother Shuri. However, her mother was killed right in front of her eyes. With no food or money at just ten years old, Akeno had to travel alone around Japan for one and a half years. She used the spiritual powers she had learned from her mother to stay alive, getting rid of evil spirits.

Eventually, she saved a human who had made a deal with the Gremory family. Fearing the devils would kill her because she was a Fallen Angel hybrid, Akeno hid from them. But she was soon attacked by Himejima relatives who wanted to kill her.

Thankfully, Rias and her father's bishop rescued Akeno on two conditions - she could never go near the Himejima clan areas again, and she had to stay by Rias's side forever. Akeno then went to live with the Gremories, where Rias became her best friend.

Personality & Appearance

Akeno embodies the ideal of a Yamato Nadeshiko—the image of pure, feminine Japanese beauty and grace. She has an elegant, gentle, and refined lady-like persona on the surface.

However, this masks Akeno's highly sadistic nature, which comes out during battles. She shows no mercy and even derives pleasure from delivering pain to her enemies. She loves to tease and flirt shamelessly, especially with Issei, to make Rias jealous, even though she has no intention of taking him away.

But after falling for him, she becomes seductive and obsessed with having an affair with Issei. Surprisingly, she still gets emotionally vulnerable and innocent when around him or if her loved ones are in danger.

Akeno is a beautiful young woman with a voluptuous, buxom figure befitting her Fallen Angel lineage. Her most distinct feature is her long black hair, tied in a ponytail that flows down her legs. Two bangs that slope backward also frame her pretty, violet-eyed face.

At Kuoh Academy, Akeno wears the standard girls' uniform and black knee-high socks that accentuate her legs. She also wears a Shinto priestess outfit while in battle. This outfit comprises a white haori, a red skirt, and zori sandals, which give her the title "Priestess of Thunder."

Akeno originally had one Fallen Angel wing from her heritage. But after reconciling with her father, she could manifest eight black wings, distinguishing her as a high-tier Fallen Angel.

Powers & Abilities

Akeno is a highly versatile fighter who can use the offensive techniques of a Knight and Rook. She also has the magical abilities of a Bishop piece. This encompasses:

• Demonic Power Mastery: Akeno has excellent reserves of demonic power as a high-class devil. She can form destructive elemental attacks like lightning, fire, ice, and water.
• Magic Expert: Akeno specializes in defensive and support spells using her Bishop powers.
• Enhanced Strength & Defense: Through her Rook trait, Akeno possesses superior physical strength, defense, and endurance.
• Speed Enhancement: Her Knight speed allows her to evade attacks easily.

Akeno's signature ability is her mastery of Holy Lightning. She inherits light-based powers from her Fallen Angel heritage, which lets her combine lightning and holy light to create immensely powerful holy lightning attacks.

• Holy Lightning: Akeno's strongest technique focuses her Fallen Angel light powers into destructive holy lightning strikes.

Through years of training, Akeno unlocked more powerful skills and transformations:

• Holy Lightning Dragon: Shaping her lightning into a powerful Asian dragon capable of devouring attacks.
• Fallen Angel Mode: Allows Akeno to manifest six black Fallen Angel wings, drastically increasing her Holy Lightning power.
• Eight Wings: Akeno's highest-shown level has her manifesting eight Fallen Angel wings, which display elite abilities on par with high-tier Fallen Angels.

Other abilities include skill in summoning magic passed down from her priestess mother's lineage. She is also proficient at sneaking up on others without her presence being noticed and defensive magic barriers.

Trivia

• Akeno's full name means "Crimson/Vermilion from the Princess Island."
• Her sadistic personality comes from her mother, and her masochistic side is from her father.
• She is a blood relative to Tobio Ikuse from the author's other work -SLASHDØG-.
• Akeno has six oni familiars, the most shown for any character.
• She runs a YouTube-style channel, "DeviTube," showcasing traditional Japanese arts.
• In a popularity poll, Akeno ranked 3rd overall, 2nd as a heroine, and 2nd in the Issei couple category.
• She is the second of Issei's confirmed fiancées after Rias.
• Akeno aims to have Issei's child before Rias in a playful rivalry between best friends.