Akari Kurusu is a character in the anime My Tiny Senpai, serving as a colleague and rival to the protagonist, Shinozaki. She works in Development Group 1 at the same company as Shinozaki and his senpai, Shiori Katase. Her direct superior is a manager named Shinobu Takatsukasa.

In terms of appearance, Akari is a short woman with short purple hair and round spectacles. Her typical work attire consists of a green blazer over a white blouse paired with a black skirt. Her personality is characterized by a shy and timid demeanor, though this belies a deeply passionate and purist attitude toward the company's mascot character, Meowtaro. She is depicted as a good person who generally gets along with her coworkers, but she holds strong, almost rigid, convictions about the Meowtaro brand and reacts with visible displeasure or lengthy rants against any changes to it. For instance, she expressed outrage at a dating simulation game featuring a human version of Meowtaro, arguing that fans of the company should spend their wages only on official Meowtaro merchandise.

Akari's primary role in the story is as a friendly rival to Shinozaki, particularly during a company recruitment competition for newcomers. The stakes of this competition are raised when her manager, Takatsukasa, declares that if Akari wins, he will have Shinozaki's manager transferred to his own group. This rivalry is not born of malice; she and Shinozaki acknowledge the pressure they both face before their presentations. Despite her initial competitive front, she shows vulnerability, struggling to complete an illustration for her project and opening up about her insecurities to Shiori Katase, who offers her advice and emotional support. In a moment of breakdown, her manager embraces her and takes responsibility for putting too much pressure on her, demonstrating a supportive relationship. Ultimately, neither Akari nor Shinozaki wins the top prize, both receiving the Excellence Award, which nullifies the bet between their managers.

Key relationships define her interactions. With Shiori Katase, she shares a bond of trust, as Katase is able to comfort her and help her through her struggles. Her relationship with her manager, Shinobu Takatsukasa, is also notable; while he instigates the high-pressure bet, he is also shown to be caring, apologizing for the stress and promising future support. She interacts with Shinozaki as a rival, but not as an enemy, and he even asks Katase to speak with Akari on his behalf, knowing that Akari would not accept help directly from him. She also shares lunch with Shinozaki, Katase, and other coworkers, reinforcing her place within the broader office group. A humorous development reveals that she speaks with a thick accent when talking to her mother, a fact she initially tries to hide from a colleague. No notable abilities are highlighted in the search results beyond her professional capabilities as an employee in a development group.