Akeru Gotou

Akeru Gotou (神門 暁光, Gotou Akeru) is a ganguro girl and Ryotaro Nogami's childhood best friend, with whom she is deeply in love like a wholesome romcom, and the host of Fox Imagin Like Ryotaro, she's a Singularity Point.

History

Early Life

Childhood

Originally from Chile, Akeru Gotou is the daughter of a Japanese father and a woman of Mapuche descent, born on 27 June 1988. She has always displayed a strong and protective nature towards those close to her, though some mistook this for her being unfriendly or something similar. She lived in Maipú until she was nine, when she eventually moved to Japan with her family for reasons she still does not know to this day. She struggled to settle in due to her skin tone, the language and the huge culture shock, but a boy with terrible luck caught her eye – and that was Ryotaro Nogami.

Akeru met him shortly after moving to Japan; they were neighbours and classmates. They were both nine years old. Their first encounter came about because of Akeru’s curiosity, following several instances where she’d witnessed Ryotaro’s bad luck. She decided to approach him to ask why he had so many accidents and misfortunes; he explained that it was down to his extreme bad luck. After a brief chat and introducing themselves, they became friends.

He was one of the first people to accept her since she arrived in the Land of the Rising Sun, and they eventually became inseparable; they were always seen together. Unfortunately, and quite unexpectedly, she had to return to Chile, spending almost six years away from Ryotaro, but they kept in touch through letters.

During her teenage years, she adopted a ‘gyaru’ style after consuming a lot of fashion content online. Although she was in her home country, she certainly missed Japan, but especially Ryotaro. After a while, she moved back to Japan, this time for good. Unlike the first time, she reacted with enthusiasm and joy upon learning that she would finally be reunited with her best friend.

Once in Japan, she didn’t hesitate for a second to go to the Nogami family home to surprise Ryotaro, but it was she who was in for a surprise when she saw him. She felt a warmth in her heart; time stood still for her; she felt butterflies fluttering in her stomach; her cheeks were burning… she had definitely fallen in love with her best friend.

When they both started secondary school, Akeru became more attached to and protective of him, driven by her romantic feelings and her desire to protect and look after her—now—crush; although Ryotaro was unable to notice her feelings and mistook them for very intense friendship. To the whole class and Akeru’s group of friends, her feelings for Ryotaro were completely obvious. After Ryotaro left school, Akeru started going to the Milk Dipper more often just to find out how he was doing, to the point of becoming a regular customer.

In series

Akeru is a supporting character and is the first to notice the sudden changes in Ryotaro when the Taros take possession of him; she always tries to drive them out of him, believing they are spirits possessing him.

She also becomes one of the many victims of the Imagins. One night, the Fox Imagin would appear just as Akeru, in her room, was looking at her graduation photos and thinking aloud about what that moment might have been like with Ryotaro. That he might have graduated alongside her and, perhaps—just perhaps—that Ryotaro might have given her the second button from his uniform. ‘Would you like to make that moment a reality?’

The appearance of the sand creature startled her, but the question it asked left her pondering for a few moments; the offer seemed tempting, but that fox didn’t seem trustworthy, especially as it had appeared out of nowhere. Out of nervousness, she replied with a ‘yes’, but added that it was very late at night and it would be better to leave it until the following day. At that moment, the fox was able to take on a physical form, surveying the striking room, filled with warm colours and pages from fashion magazines stuck up everywhere. Fox Imagin admitted that the girl had good taste and a sense of fashion, leaving her speechless at the compliment; she usually received criticism for her style, and very few people accepted her for who she was. Akeru gazed at the moon for a few moments and then at the fox, remarking that she reminded her of her favourite childhood story: ‘The Fox in Love with the Moon’.

The next day, Akeru was walking past her old secondary school, unaware that Fox Imagin was approaching her alongside a badly injured Ryotaro. The moment she saw them—especially her dear friend—she panicked and shouted at the fox to let him go, insisting that her wish hadn’t been meant seriously. However, it was too late; the wish had already been granted, and with that, Fox Imagin made her way into the past.

It wasn’t long before Hana found them; she took out a Rider Ticket and held it up to Akeru’s forehead, thereby discovering the exact date to which the Imagin had travelled: 1 March 2007. Ryotaro, now recovered, soon transformed into Den-O. Akeru watched all this and, both surprised and confused, asked what was happening.

Before Momotaros could board the DenLiner, Akeru clung to him and climbed aboard alongside him. Momo tried everything he could to shake her off, but it was impossible. And so they both arrived in the past. Fox Imagin was already there, wreaking havoc and causing chaos everywhere; Den-O didn’t hesitate and went after her, whilst Akeru tried to keep up.

In the distance, Akeru managed to see her past self being protected by the past Ryotaro as they fled the scene. The girl tries to stop the fight, but is accidentally injured by one of Momotaros’s attacks, falling unconscious; Fox Imagin doesn’t hesitate to protect her contractor, carrying her away. For several tense minutes, Den-O—now in Rod Form—tries to attack the Imagin without harming Akeru, managing to snatch her from the fox’s clutches and, with his final attack, defeats her. Following Fox Imagin’s defeat, they return to the present, and Ryotaro takes Akeru to hospital. After some time, Akeru regains consciousness and tries to ask Ryotaro what on earth happened, but they are interrupted by several interviewers and cameramen who appear out of nowhere to find out how the young model and actress is faring.

However, Fox Imagin would survive and remain inside Akeru until the events leading up to the film ‘Kamen Rider Den-O: Ore, Tanjou’, where she reappears as a new ally. Akeru finds out about the Taros when she ends up in the same carriage as Sieg and the animals Ryuutaros was bringing with him. She is the only one, apart from Ryotaro, who seems to put up with it.

That's where she reunites with Fox Imagin and gives him the name Tamamo, while also learning that he is a Singularity Point