>>281809502
I feel like a touch of normalcy Akira provided really highlighted the craziness of the leads by contrast. On a meta level, he's got his place in the narrative, and even if it is a supporting role he's playing it well. And this is the in-story conclusion of this arc for him as well, so the writing here must have been deliberate.
It's a shame we never got to see him act after returning from the US offscreen training. Or see Arisa's method acting breakdown, since Akira would surely have opinions on this issue.