Aki, played by Akiko Wakabayashi

Akiko Wakabayashi

is a Japanese actress, best known in English-speaking countries for her role as Bond girl, Aki in the 1967 James Bond movie You Only Live Twice. Before this, she had made many movies in her native Japan, especially Toho Studio's monster movies such as Dagora, the Space Monster and Ghidorah, the...

, is a fictional character in the 1967 James Bond

James Bond

James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...

film You Only Live Twice

You Only Live Twice (film)

You Only Live Twice is the fifth spy film in the James Bond series, and the fifth to star Sean Connery as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. The film's screenplay was written by Roald Dahl, and loosely based on Ian Fleming's 1964 novel of the same name...

.

Creation

Aki does not appear in Ian Fleming

Ian Fleming

Ian Lancaster Fleming was a British author, journalist and Naval Intelligence Officer.Fleming is best known for creating the fictional British spy James Bond and for a series of twelve novels and nine short stories about the character, one of the biggest-selling series of fictional books of...

's 1964 novel. She was originally named Suki in Roald Dahl

Roald Dahl

Roald Dahl was a British novelist, short story writer, fighter pilot and screenwriter.Born in Wales to Norwegian parents, he served in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War, in which he became a flying ace and intelligence agent, rising to the rank of Wing Commander...

's screenplay. According to Steven Jay Rubin, dean of at the College of Arts and Sciences of Adelphi University

Adelphi University

Adelphi University is a private, nonsectarian university located in Garden City, in Nassau County, New York, United States. It is the oldest institution of higher education on Long Island. For the sixth year, Adelphi University has been named a “Best Buy” in higher education by the Fiske Guide to...

, the character was "Dahl's tribute to the Japanese woman of the Sixties".

Suki was cast to be played by Mie Hama

Mie Hama

is a Japanese actress, best-known outside Japan for her role as Kissy Suzuki in the 1967 James Bond film You Only Live Twice.-Career:...

, but she had trouble learning English; to solve the problem, she and Wakabayashi, originally cast to play the part of almost-silent Kissy Suzuki

Kissy Suzuki

Kissy Suzuki is a fictional character in Ian Fleming's 1964 James Bond novel, You Only Live Twice. Despite Bond's womanizing, Kissy Suzuki remains the only character known to the reader who bears a child by him...

, decided to swap their respective roles. Akiko then convinced director Lewis Gilbert

Lewis Gilbert

Lewis Gilbert CBE is an English film director, producer and screenwriter.-Early life:He was the son of music hall performers, and spent his early years travelling with his parents, and watching the shows from the side of the stage. He first performed on-stage at the age of 5, when asked to drive a...

 to change the name of her character to Aki (meaning Light).

Character

In You Only Live Twice Aki is portrayed as a beautiful, intelligent and capable young Japanese woman who works for the fictional Japanese Secret Intelligence Service (SIS). Despite her seemingly genteel manner, however, Aki can be professional when she needs to be and maintains a high standard of physical fitness, diplayed by her ability to survive her missions and avoid capture. She also showed immense courage, risking death several times during the mission and maintains a feeling of loyalty towards others in her missions, particularly James Bond

James Bond (character)

Royal Navy Commander James Bond, CMG, RNVR is a fictional character created by journalist and novelist Ian Fleming in 1953. He is the main protagonist of the James Bond series of novels, films, comics and video games...

, with whom she spends at least two passionate nights.

Like all the other operatives, Aki is an accomplished ninja

Ninja

A or was a covert agent or mercenary of feudal Japan specializing in unorthodox arts of war. The functions of the ninja included espionage, sabotage, infiltration, and assassination, as well as open combat in certain situations...

 and an expert driver who often uses her skills at driving her trademark white sports car, equiped with several communication devices to escape from trouble.
By the time of the events of You Only Live Twice Aki is already experienced enough to fulfill her mission correctly and is one of the top agents in the SIS, displayed by the fact that she was entrusted to participate in what was to be her most important and ultimately her last mission. Aside from this, not much is known about her background before the mission, or about her family or personal life.

Throughout the film Aki displayed an affinity for wearing traditional Japeneses garments and is seen in several different kimino's with her hair arranged in trditional Japenese styles. She is, however, occasionally seen in more practical western outfits when her mission requires.

Storyline

Aki is first seen when 007 meets her at a sumo

Sumo

is a competitive full-contact sport where a wrestler attempts to force another wrestler out of a circular ring or to touch the ground with anything other than the soles of the feet. The sport originated in Japan, the only country where it is practiced professionally...

 wrestling show. Bond is there to meet a contact who will take him to Mr. Henderson, M

M (James Bond)

M is a fictional character in Ian Fleming's James Bond series, as well as the films in the Bond franchise. The head of MI6 and Bond's superior, M has been portrayed by three actors in the official Bond film series: Bernard Lee, Robert Brown and since 1995 by Judi Dench. Background =Ian Fleming...

's recommended contact in Japan. He confirms that Aki is his contact by saying the code words "I love you" to her. Aki takes Bond to meet Henderson in her Toyota 2000GT

Toyota 2000GT

The Toyota 2000GT is a limited-production, front-engine, rear-wheel drive, two-seat, hardtop coupé grand tourer designed by Toyota in collaboration with Yamaha. First displayed to the public at the Tokyo Motor Show in 1965, the 2000GT was manufactured under contract by Yamaha between 1967 and...

. After Henderson is killed during their meeting, Bond attacks and kills one of Henderson's killers. Taking the man's place, he is driven to the Osato Chemical Works HQ, where he is discovered by the villains. Aki rescues him, using her skill a driver then takes him to meet Tiger Tanaka. It is after this that a bikini-clad Aki invites Bond to spend the night with her, famously saying "I think I will enjoy very much serving under you", before Bond carries her to bed.

The next morning, Bond returns to the Osato Chemical Works and meets Mr. Osato. Leaving after the meeting, he is pursued by gunmen, from whom Aki rescues him again. The gunmen chase Aki's car and she leads them out into the countryside, where a SIS helicopter lifts their car off the road with a giant magnet and drops it into the sea. She then takes him to a quayside to investigate a ship he suspects is being used by the villains. When investigating the ship Bond and Aki are attacked by SPECTRE

SPECTRE

SPECTRE is a fictional global terrorist organisation featured in the James Bond novels by Ian Fleming, the films based on those novels, and James Bond video games...

 henchmen. Bond tells her to leave and report to Tanaka; Aki refuses to leave Bond at first, but eventually complies.

Aki next appears when, after Bond is captured and almost killed by Helga Brandt, she meets with him back at Tanaka's headquarters, when Bond is about to go on another mission that she cannot accompany him on. By the time Bond returned to the base in Kyoto

Kyoto

is a city in the central part of the island of Honshū, Japan. It has a population close to 1.5 million. Formerly the imperial capital of Japan, it is now the capital of Kyoto Prefecture, as well as a major part of the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto metropolitan area.-History:...

, Aki was already fully briefed on the plan to disrupt SPECTRE's plot and she too would be part of Tanaka's ninja force, although (much to her disappointment) she could not play the part of Bond's "wife" in the cover operation.

Death

Shortly after Bond's arrival at the ninja academy an assassin stealthily enters the bedroom where Bond and Aki are sleeping together and lowers a thin cord to Bond's mouth, dripping poison down this. The writer Roald Dahl took inspiration for this by watching a similar scene in the first film in the Shinobi no Mono ninja film series. At the last moment, Bond turns in his sleep and Aki moves to his position and the poison falls on her lips which she inadvertently swallows while asleep. The poison then acts quickly causing Aki great pain and affecting her breathing, causing a desperate struggle for breath in which her agonised gasping wakes Bond up, causing him to notice and then kill the assassin. Aki has by this point woken up as well, however the poison is by now affecting her badly and she dies after desperately trying to speak while fighting to breath. Ultimately what she intended her last words to be are never known as all she could say in between pained gasping was "I’m... I’m... I..." before she succumbs to the poison and dies. The poison appeared to have been extremely deadly as Aki was dead within less than a minute of consuming it, despite her struggling. The noise had also attracted Tiger Tanaka entered the room seconds after Aki's death, shocked to find that one of his most capable agents had been killed with Bond explaining "she's dead... poisoned". The scene was accompanied by the musical track "The Death of Aki" by John Barry.

Aftermath

Up until this point Aki had survived all the dangerous situations she was in and so was eventually killed purely by chance during an attempt by SPECTRE to kill Bond. She is also the only main character on Bond's side to die in this film. Following the death of Aki, Bond then has a strong reason to seek vengeance on SPECTRE and its leader Blofeld who most likely did not know or care much about Aki or the fact that he indirectly killed her.

Aki never lived to see the island and so could not have had the opportunity to use her skills in the final battle against SPECTRE and so is replaced by Kissy Suzuki who is less experienced and able than Aki. This would most likely be a surprise to the audience because up to this point Aki appeared to be the main Bond girl in You Only Live Twice and so her death as it came would have been a serious twist in the plot. Another factor in this is that Aki's death is for Bond and Tanaka a sobering reminder of the deadliness of SPECTRE because up until that point the three seemed to have banded together as a team, which continues with only Bond and Tanaka.

Quotes

• Long enough to know not to discuss such matters with strangers [how long she's been a member of the SIS]
• I think I will enjoy very much serving under you
• He wouldn't touch that horrible girl [on Helga Brandt]
• [Last words in between pained gasping] I'm... I... I... i'm... i'm... [final gasp]

Reception

According to UGO Networks, "although Akiko Wakabayashi is charming in the role, her chemistry with Bond is disappointing, and she lacks both the look and the attitude to make her a good Bond girl." The character met with a more positive reception by Den of Geek, which put her on their 2008 list of "10 James Bond Characters who deserve their own spin-off".

Various lists frequently ranked Aki among the best Bond girls ever, including the No.10 by Zimbio

Zimbio

Zimbio.com, a San Carlos, California, USA-based company is an online magazine publisher. It was founded by Tony Mamone and Danny Khatib. The management team consists of Tony Mamone as CEO, Danny Khatib as President, John Newlin as Editor-in-Chief, and Bruce Martin as Chief Technology Officer.Zimbio...

 in 2008 ("So beautiful you almost forget that Sean Connery

Sean Connery

Sir Thomas Sean Connery , better known as Sean Connery, is a Scottish actor and producer who has won an Academy Award, two BAFTA Awards and three Golden Globes Sir Thomas Sean Connery (born 25 August 1930), better known as Sean Connery, is a Scottish actor and producer who has won an Academy...

 has been ridiculously made up to look Japanese. Almost"), No.9 by Postmedia News the same year ("Kissy Suzuki is considered the "main" Bond girl in this film, but Aki has a bigger role and is more memorable"), No.8 by WagerWeb

Wagerweb

WagerWeb.com is a Costa Rica based sports book that offers betting lines on an array of sporting and media related events.Founded in 1994, the company is a privately held online gaming company, licensed and located in San Jose, Costa Rica. Wagerweb.com features an online sportsbook and racebook, an...

 in 2009 ("Hot Japanese agent, she kicks ass and look damn fine doing it. Besides, she dies to save James Bond, you have to give her some extra credit for that"), and No.4 together with Kissy Suzuki by Examiner.com

Examiner.com

Examiner.com is a media company based in Denver, Colorado, that operates a network of local news websites, allowing "pro–am contributors" to share their city-based knowledge on a blog-like platform, in 238 markets throughout the United States and parts of Canada with two national editions, one for...

 in 2010.

External links

• Aki (Character) at the Internet Movie Database
  Internet Movie Database
  Internet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media. It is one of the most popular online entertainment destinations, with over 100 million...
  
  
• James Bond multimedia | Akiko Wakabayashi (Aki)