hi again anon ^__^ you’re right i do love dog akito (it came free with being an akitou fixer. slash joke) so i’m happy to explain my reasoning behind it. personally i can’t see cat akito like…at all, so if you want to explain that too you can. or if you see him as a different animal

basically to start, i’ll begin with the most obvious thing—he just has a lot of canon dog content. his duo name with toya is BAD DOGS. his first event is “stray bad dog”. in kick it up a notch, he got a dog-themed card. his co-op show team name when paired with kohane is something like “hamster and wolf in sheep’s clothing” (though i have to double check). in cgo the video game avatar he chose was a wolf. it’s just…constant and consistent, so it’s obvious (to me) that they have some kind of messaging they want to get across.

now dogs especially stray/street dogs such as akito have a lot of trauma related issues regarding trust and socialization due to their past experiences. when akito first started out on vivid street he was pushed back on and belittled and treated incredibly poorly by other musicians which ends up with him not trusting them and instead relying on himself for everything. he’s untrusting when he gets a bad feeling from someone (ever hear a story about a dog biting a friend/partner only for that person to turn out bad in the end?). yet like a dog he’s so massively loyal to his dream and to vivid street. he gets kicked over and over and always comes back.

his fear of dogs—while usually a point for those who insist he isn’t one—can also tie into this because you can say that it’s represented by these experiences (being bitten as a child and developing a fear = being harassed at the start of his time at vivid street and developing the issues he has with his self worth and other things). it’s also a case of a literary device (irony) at work—because akito as a character is made of contradictions. he runs off on his own but is made up of what he got from others. he wants to live despite having wanted to die. he has no natural talent but massive learned skill. he’s “hopeless and naïve” but more determined than anyone. he hates dogs but has so much dog theming. not only that, but there’s the fact that he swallows his fear and keeps pushing—he was terrified out of his mind back at crawl green, but sang anyway. he freezes up when he sees a dog but puts on a smile and tries not to flinch.

additionally dogs are very very social most of the time while cats generally are ok with doing their own thing (of course there are clingy cats but while they tend to cling to their owners they are more independent by nature while dogs aren’t like that at all, usually). a big part of akito’s arc is learning to lean on the others and accepting that yes, he needs their help and its okay to need people. akito CANNOT survive on his own. he needs his companions like a dog needs its owner or a wolf needs its pack. that’s kind of his whole thing.

also he’s very territorial? he’s extremely protective of his dream and refuses to let “just anyone” in (i mean look at how he treated kohane in mainsto) and is generally protective of his dream and his place in vivid street as well.

on a bit of a sillier note he also has a few dog traits in just his regular character…he’s physically affectionate, he likes having treats (mostly sweets) and really protective (watching over toya during the bridal event, making sure he doesn’t hurt himself in sdsc) and kind of possessive too (his pride in having toya as a partner and being jealous of tsukasa in the beginning lmao) thats just me and my delusions though

i hope this explanation helped a bit! dog akito is very important to me…