Akiko (Origins) — G.I. Joe Classified Series #18

Overview

Akiko (Origins) is figure #18 in the G.I. Joe Classified Series, Wave 6, 2021 at $19.99. She is the single entirely new character introduced by the Origins wave — not a reimagining of an existing GI Joe character but a creation original to the film, played by Haruka Abe. This makes her unique in the Classified line’s Origins wave: she has no vintage figure to compare against, no comics character to honour or diverge from, no pre-existing collector expectation to navigate. She is entirely the movie’s creation, and this Classified figure is the only version of her.

The Character

Akiko is the Arashikage clan’s security expert and one of Snake Eyes’ primary internal antagonists within the clan — she doesn’t trust him from the start, tests him throughout, and the film’s central tension partly runs through their confrontations. She’s a fully committed clan member who takes her responsibilities seriously, which makes her a more compelling figure than a simple obstacle. Haruka Abe brings a focused, watchful intelligence to the role that distinguishes Akiko from the more broadly drawn characters around her.

For the GI Joe franchise, a movie-original female character who is the Arashikage clan’s security director — rather than a variant on Scarlett or Baroness — is genuinely new territory. That she received a Classified figure alongside the returning characters is Hasbro treating her as a meaningful franchise addition rather than disposable movie-specific filler.

The Jinx Comparison

Before the figure was revealed, some collectors speculated that the new Arashikage female character might turn out to be Jinx — the classic GI Joe character with her own Arashikage clan connection. The relationship between Akiko and Jinx as narrative functions is real: both are trained Arashikage operatives with loyalties to the clan over outside interests. But they’re distinct characters serving different story purposes. Jinx arrived in the Classified line as #124 (2024). Having both is the completionist position; neither replaces the other.

The Figure and Accessories

Standard Classified articulation. The figure captures Akiko’s movie outfit — structured dark clothing with Arashikage clan detailing appropriate to her role. The Tran Nguyen package art is one of the Origins wave’s most distinctive creative contributions.

Sword — the primary accessory, consistent with her role as a trained clan operative.

The accessory count is minimal compared to Baroness Origins (#19) — the scale of the Origins wave’s accessories was uneven, with Baroness getting the exceptional MP5K and kukris while Akiko and Scarlett received the more restrained treatment.

Secondary Market

AF411 data shows average sold prices well below retail — the Origins wave’s commercial underperformance applies across all five figures. Akiko’s specific position as the least familiar character in a wave tied to a mixed-reception film produces the most significant below-retail secondary market of the five.

The silver lining: she’s available cheaply, she’s the line’s only Akiko, and she occupies a unique narrative position. At clearance prices, she’s an easy addition for anyone with any interest in the Origins wave.

The Package Art Legacy

Tran Nguyen’s illustration for the Akiko package is among the Origins wave’s most striking. The fine-art approach to action figure packaging that the Classified line’s artist partnership programme championed is nowhere more evident than in this wave, and Nguyen’s contribution to Akiko specifically is regarded highly enough that some collectors who skipped the Origins figures entirely made exceptions for the box. For display-box collectors, it’s one of the Origins wave’s strongest individual pieces.

Verdict

Akiko (Origins) #18 is the Origins wave’s most interesting figure on franchise history terms and the least commercially successful on market terms. She’s the only new character, the only version of herself that exists, and she’s available at prices well below what she cost at retail. For completionists or Origins wave collectors, she’s an inexpensive and historically meaningful addition.

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Part of G.I. Joe Classified Series | Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins Wave 6 | 2021. Related: Baroness (Origins) #19 | Scarlett (Origins) #20 | Jinx #124.

Origins Wave Tier Structure

Among the five Origins figures, collector opinion settled into a consistent hierarchy based on accessory quality and character familiarity: Baroness at the top for her exceptional MP5K and kukris, Scarlett a reasonable second, Akiko third on franchise-history grounds, Snake Eyes fourth due to the trigger-finger hand limitation, and Storm Shadow last relative to expectations for the character. Akiko’s middle-tier placement isn’t a criticism of the figure itself — it reflects the relative impact of Baroness’s outstanding accessories rather than any specific failure of the Akiko figure.

At the prices the secondary market offers for the complete Origins wave, acquiring all five together is a reasonable way to own an interesting chapter in the Classified line’s history without significant financial exposure.

What a Potential Second Akiko Might Look Like

As of 2025, Hasbro has not revisited Akiko with a second figure. Given the film’s mixed commercial performance and no sequel in production, the original Origins version remains the character’s only Classified representation. Should the franchise revisit the Arashikage clan in future media, a new iteration of Akiko could emerge — but for now, #18 is definitively the only one. That permanence gives it a specific collector value that purely commercial metrics don’t capture: it will always be the first and, likely, the defining Classified version of the character.

Akiko in the Arashikage Display

For collectors staging an Arashikage clan display, Akiko belongs in this configuration: Snake Eyes Origins (#16) as the new initiate, Tommy Origins (#17) as the clan heir, Akiko (#18) as the security expert evaluating the newcomer. The clan compound dynamic that drives the film’s first half is captured by those three figures. Add the Hard Master and Blind Master if Hasbro ever produces them, and you have the complete Arashikage roster from Origins. Until then, the three main clan figures tell the story adequately.