Haruko Akagi is the younger sister of Takenori Akagi and the love interest of Hanamichi Sakuragi who was responsible for uncovering his potential in basketball. She is a kind, sweet and friendly girl with a captivating personality who is always around to cheer on the players, especially her brother Takenori Akagi, who is extremely protective of her and taught her the basics of basketball, and Hanamichi Sakuragi, whom she considers her best friend. Haruko often appears at matches together with Sakuragi's cohorts and her two best friends, Fujii and Matsui. She, like most girls in Shohoku, has a strong obsession for Kaede Rukawa, although he never reciprocates her feelings and, later , she acknowledges that he will not love her the way she wants him to and tries to let go of her crush, however unsuccessfully.
