>>280049405
He did do it when the art was comparable. But when the art fell off, so did his ability to convey things through that medium. Less innovative paneling, less detail on the face to convey expressions, just less effort in general, which ultimately makes the reader care less also.
Aki's story is also pretty a "safe" bet compared to running with a character like Asa, it's one of those stories that's been done a million times and the template pretty much always works.
Fujimoto never really mentions the character because I think he knows that he wasn't exactly inventing the wheel with that one.