Akio Asakura is the central protagonist of Wangan Midnight the Movie. He is a high school student with an all-consuming passion for street racing on the Shuto Expressway, a stretch of highway known as the Wangan. At the beginning of the film, Akio drives a red Nissan Fairlady Z 300ZX. While racing on the expressway, he is easily defeated by Tatsuya Shima, a surgeon who drives a black Porsche 911 Turbo known as the Blackbird. Determined to become faster, Akio follows a tip from a mechanic friend and visits a junkyard. There, he discovers the wrecked body of a midnight blue Nissan Fairlady Z, an older model S30. Akio feels an inexplicable and powerful attraction to the car and decides to buy and restore it, selling his own 300ZX to fund the purchase.

The car he has acquired is infamous within the Wangan racing community as the Devil Z. It is rumored to be cursed, having been involved in a series of violent accidents that killed its previous owner, who coincidentally also bore the name Akio Asakura. Despite being warned by his friends and the junkyard owner that the car is dangerous and will rebel against its driver, Akio remains undeterred. His obsession with the Devil Z grows to dominate his life. To support the costly maintenance and repairs of the vehicle, he takes on two part-time jobs. His lack of attendance at school becomes so severe that he is forced to repeat a grade, though he remains a capable student when he does attend class. His character is defined by a gentle and humble demeanor off the road, but behind the wheel, he becomes serious, focused, and fearless, driven solely by the desire to push the Devil Z to its limits and master its unpredictable power.

In the story, Akio’s primary role is as the new driver of the Devil Z, determined to tame its legendary and deadly reputation. His main rival is Tatsuya Shima, who raced against the Devil Z on the night of its last fatal crash and feels a personal connection to the car and its former owner. This rivalry is complicated by Shima’s relationship with Eriko Asakura, the sister of the original Akio Asakura. Eriko is tormented by her brother’s death and initially views the new Devil Z as a menace that should be destroyed. Akio’s interactions with her are central to the plot, as he eventually asks her to ride with him during a race to prove that the car is no longer the same destructive machine that killed her brother. Another key relationship is with Reina Akikawa, a model who drives a Nissan Skyline GT-R and is attracted to Akio’s dedication, though his focus remains almost entirely on racing. Akio is also supported by his mechanic friend, Kota, and his friend Masaki, who help him repair and tune the Devil Z.

Throughout the film, Akio demonstrates a remarkable ability to adapt and learn. Despite the Devil Z’s ferocious and unstable handling, which causes him to crash during an early race, he does not give up. Instead, he works to understand the car’s unique characteristics, taking on a complete retuning of the engine and chassis to better control it. His abilities as a driver are rooted in instinct rather than pure logic, a style that contrasts with Shima’s more calculated approach. In the final race, Akio shows significant growth, moving beyond a simple obsession with winning. When a hostile truck driver tries to force Shima off the road, Akio maneuvers the Devil Z to take the impact himself, sacrificing his car to save his rival. This act demonstrates that his motivations have evolved from merely conquering the Wangan to a deeper understanding of respect and the bond between drivers. The film concludes with Akio already planning to rebuild the destroyed Devil Z, indicating that his journey with the car is far from over.