Manga- Netflix
Akane Heiya (塀谷 朱音, Heiya Akane) is a supporting character in Alice in Borderland. She specializes in Spades (
). She is portrayed by Yuri Tsunematsu.
Appearance[]
Heiya is a young woman with straight black hair and a mole on her left cheek. While in the Borderland, she wears a white tank top and a skirt from her high school uniform. Her left leg is covered in a beige cloth bandage that stops at her shin, which has been amputated and replaced with a Flex-Foot Cheetah after the Seven of Spades game. Additionally, a similar bandage with a brown cuff is wrapped around her left arm. She wields a large, thick, white and maroon bow with a navy quiver that contains multiple arrows.
Personality[]
Heiya is initially portrayed as a rude and flirty young woman. As the narrative progresses, she is revealed to be a deeply wounded individual, which she hides behind the mask of confidence and insolence. Due to her mother's attitude and early death, she feels the need to pre-emptively defend herself from any potential judgement, which results in her daring and cocky behavior. She is aware of her attractive appearance, so she uses it as an easy way to attract men's attention, especially in the Borderland, where her survival often depends on her allies.
The experiences in the deadly games slowly make her stronger, and she alters her opinion on how she wants to live her life. What remains unchanged is her undying will to survive, as demonstrated during the "Boiling Death" game and further confrontations with the King of Spades.
Having met Aguni, Heiya reveals her soft and caring side. She develops feelings for him, and whenever he is in danger, she always attempts to protect him.
History[]
Prior to being transported to the Borderland, Heiya was a high school student. In the flashback, she is shown walking around with her female friends, who were complimenting her nails, before a group of guys approached them and invited them to a BBQ party. Heiya refused, explaining that it was the anniversary of her mother's death, but quickly revealed that she was not bothered by it in the slightest, expressing her annoyance and disrespect towards her late mother. Rudely rejecting the guys, Heiya and her friends left, then grabbed some drinks and started gossiping, walking towards Shibuya. Suddenly, a loud noise interrupted them, and they saw the fireworks.
The next thing she knew, she was in a huge stadium, surrounded by other people, but none of her friends seemed to be nearby. There was a big screen, instructing everyone to gather in the middle of the field, and a white table with 17 phones. Heiya was the last to grab one, wondering what the "game" meant, and an older person advised her to clear the game if she wanted to survive. The game difficulty was revealed as Seven of Spades and the rule was to escape the venue. As soon as the ground started shaking, Heiya ran, and the underground geysers started breaking the surface and flooding the arena, one of them eventually erupting in front of her and causing her to fall down under the stadium. She lost consciousness, and when she woke up, she realized her left shin had been impaled by a metal rod. Seeing dead bodies in boiling water, Heiya started panicking and crying but then tried to collect herself in order to free her leg from the rod. After covering the wound with her shirt, she noticed a vent leading up, so she crawled there in order to escape.
"I know I wasn't a good person before! Is that why I was sent to this terrible place?! But why go that far?! It's all that woman's fault..."
— Heiya crawling up the vent and crying
Having crawled out to a more open space, Heiya found herself on a rock and looked down at the boiling water. She noticed her mother standing there and calling out her name, asking her to come down. Unsure whether to trust the ghost, Heiya jumped anyway and ended up in a pool that was not hot, so she managed to get out of the building as the only survivor of the game.
Using a piece of metal as a crutch, Heiya arrived at a building. She noticed that her injury was becoming infected due to the color, so she got worried it would kill her and started looking for medicine. A drunk man in medical attire came up to her and stated that her leg was beyond saving, but he refused to help her for free and looked at her skirt, hinting at sex as payment for his services. Desperate for help, Heiya agreed and urged him to do something about her leg.
Story[]
Season 2[]
Heiya's first appearance
Heiya first appears as she and Aguni save Arisu from Shirabi's pursuit. She shoots an arrow at a tree right in front of Arisu, who is erratically running around, so he hits his head on the arrow and loses consciousness. After Arisu wakes up, Heiya walks towards the fire from the forest and nonchalantly sits next to him, putting her bow down. As Arisu asks whether she is a Citizen, Heiya seems confused, but she does not care enough to inquire further. She explains why she shot the arrow and claims that she would rather leave Arisu behind, but "he" intended to save him, so they had to carry Arisu all the way back to the camp. Heiya advises Arisu to say thank you to his savior but warns him that "he" is in a bad mood since Arisu spoiled their plan.
Heiya eavesdrops on the conversation between Arisu and Aguni, seemingly upset with the latter's lack of life purpose, and then remembers herself before the Borderland. She recollects how she had fun with her friends and how she got transported to the game, blaming everything on her mother.
In the morning, Heiya wipes her body with a wet cloth, then hears Arisu wake up and talks to him. She reveals that she overheard the conversation about Usagi and wonders whether she is cuter than her, teasing Arisu. Noticing that Arisu is "nice" and "cute", Heiya jumps at him, trying to force him into sexual intercourse, but then Aguni walks towards them with a tired look on his face, so Heiya instantly lets go of Arisu and tries to find an excuse for her behavior, claiming that Aguni has already rejected her before. Aguni tells them both to start moving, throws Arisu a gun, and leaves. Heiya calls his behavior "cool" and seems to admire him.
The group preparing for an ambush
During the hike, Aguni follows a compass and voices his suspicion that the King of Spades keeps tabs on all the players and tracks them, so he plans to find a good spot for an ambush. Deep in the woods they find a player who hanged himself instead of waiting for his visa to run out, and Heiya calls it a "coward's way out", claiming that she would never choose this way herself. Arisu wonders if she ever lost anyone she cared about in the games, to which she responds negatively but points out that she lost a part of herself, drawing attention towards her Flex-Foot Cheetah. Another flashback follows, revealing how she survived the Seven of Spades thanks to her mother's ghost and how she was later forced to have sex with a doctor as payment for her leg treatment. Heiya is determined to survive no matter the cost.
Reaching a cliff, Aguni states that this is where they will prepare an ambush. Arisu says that it does not make sense, but Heiya rudely silences him. Aguni hands her a couple of smoke bombs and a wire, and to Arisu's question, she explains that a trap does not have to be real to be effective, since the purpose is to make the enemy go in a desirable direction. Arisu seems impressed with her knowledge, but Aguni breaks the illusion by claiming to have taught her.
Heiya assuming the ambush was successful
Aguni's plan works, as Shirabi follows the path, avoiding the traps, and comes close to the tent, pointing his gun at Arisu. However, right before he fires, Heiya launches an explosive arrow, which distracts his attention, and Aguni shoots him in the chest. Heiya looks at the body while sitting on a tree and waits for Aguni to check whether the King of Spades is dead. However, Shirabi gets up and starts shooting back at them, forcing Heiya to jump off and run. When Aguni and Shirabi start a brawl, Aguni falls down, and Shirabi prepares to shoot him, but Heiya jumps at him and hits him with her Flex-Foot Cheetah, which allows her and Aguni to escape by rolling down the hill. She realizes that Aguni is unconscious and covers him with her body, hoping to hide him, which ends up successful, and Shirabi leaves.
In the morning, Heiya waits for Aguni to wake up, but he remains unconscious. She leaves to gather firewood and returns to see him scream at her in panic. Not realizing that he saw Hatter's ghost, she simply runs towards him, crying that he has finally opened his eyes, and hugs him in relief.
Heiya and Aguni remain in the forest while he is recovering from the previous confrontation. While Aguni is asleep, Heiya picks up her bow and arrows, gently kisses him on the cheek, and leaves, determined to survive for her own future.
Heiya before the final battle with the King of Spades
Heiya arrives at the Shibuya Crossing just in time to save Arisu and join the group to assist with taking down the King of Spades. She uses her gigantic white bow to shoot at him and distract his attention, allowing others to escape, and then manages to flee while Shirabi is busy murdering other players. She reunites with Arisu and his friends, instantly telling Usagi that it is nice to meet her and smiling at Arisu. Suddenly, Aguni starts speaking from behind her, and she realizes that he followed her into battle.
"So you do love me after all?"
— Heiya flirting with Aguni
Heiya preparing to attack Shirabi
Despite her coy behavior, Aguni is focused on the task at hand. He points out that the King is human and not invincible, which means they have a chance to defeat him. Aguni's strategy is to lure Shirabi into an area where the blimp cannot drop supplies, which would leave him defenseless if he cannot restock the ammo. Kuina suddenly remembers about a bomb Chishiya gave her, so Arisu comes up with a plan to lure the King into a nearby drugstore, fill it with gas, and trigger an explosion at close range. Heiya points out that Arisu's whole strategy is based on "maybe", but Aguni is willing to risk it and volunteers to be the bait. The girls decide to help him, so their task is to lead Shirabi into a narrow alley first and then to the drugstore from there.
While Kuina and Ann attack the King, Heiya covers their retreat with her arrows. After Shirabi walks further into the alley, Aguni opens fire at him, so Heiya and Kuina work on preventing his counterattack. Heiya jumps on a vending machine and pushes it to fall onto him. Aguni and Shirabi engage in close-range combat, but Aguni gets pushed away, so Heiya, sliding towards them on her back, shoots an arrow at the King. Ann attracts his attention, and he opens continuous fire at her, but all the girls escape the attack.
Heiya bleeding out after having shielded Aguni
After Shirabi throws Usagi at Kuina, Heiya jumps at him with a knife; however, he easily pushes her away and points his gun at her, so Ann shoots his back to save her. Then Heiya hits Shirabi with her bare hands, which buys enough time for Ann to drag Usagi into safety. Having overpowered Heiya, the King points his gun at Aguni, who is lying on the ground, but Heiya shields him with her own body, getting shot in the chest at close range multiple times. Her blood covers Aguni's face, and her sacrifice causes Ann to lose her composure, leading to Ann getting shot as well. Heiya does not die instantly; she looks at Aguni while struggling to breathe, which fires his anger towards the King.
Despite severe injuries, Heiya survives and slowly tries to crawl out of the alley towards Aguni but quickly loses consciousness again.
Aguni hugging Heiya
After the last game is cleared, the announcement across the Borderland congratulates all the survivors and offers them a choice: stay in the Borderland and become a Citizen, or refuse the permanent residency. Heiya crawls out of the alley towards Aguni, and he reaches out to grab her hand as soon as he notices her. In response to the question in the announcement, she cries and screams:
"I decline!"
Hugging Aguni's torso, she keeps crying and moaning as she struggles to breathe.
Heiya in Shibuya moments before the meteorites
A flashback follows: Arisu was at the Shibuya Crossing, waiting for his friends. The scene repeated the same way as Episode 1 (Season 1) at first, with the zombie talk, then Karube putting Arisu on his shoulders, and then the trio causing a road accident. However, this time it is revealed that all the other people Arisu met in the Borderland were also at the Shibuya Crossing at the same time, including Usagi, who was standing nearby, Niragi sitting on a bench, Kuina decisively rushing through the crowd, Chishiya having a nonchalant stroll, Hatter and Aguni walking out of a shop and talking, Tatta sitting in a big lorry, and Ann looking at her watch as she walked past Arisu and his friends. The same scene that was shown in Heiya's flashback before repeats itself, but now shows that the assumed fireworks were actually a few meteorites that hit Shibuya, causing a massive explosion and crushing all the buildings in the area.
Later, Heiya is seen in a wheelchair in a hospital with one of her feet amputated, the same as it was in the Borderland, but she has no recollection of her experiences there. She stops by a hospital room where an unconscious man lies and looks inside. A nurse walks out and asks whether he is her acquaintance, but she denies knowing him. However, she expresses her understanding of him fighting for his life.
Season 3[]
Heiya talking to Arisu
Heiya makes a brief appearance at the end of the episode, when multiple survivors of the Tokyo Meteorite Disaster come to Arisu one by one to share their feelings about their current lives. Arisu wonders what makes life worth living, and Heiya smiles looking at her prosthetic leg:
"Of course it's about being recognized by everyone as an influencer. With this, I'm going to spread my wings to the world."
— Heiya to Arisu's question
Arisu openly admires her spirit, and she smiles at him once again.
Games Played[]
Etymology[]
- The forename Akane consists of the kanji "朱" (aka) (vermilion red) and "音" (ne) (sound).
- The surname Heiya is a combination of the kanji "塀" (hei) (wall, fence) and "谷" (ya) (valley).