Meiko Akizuki is the best friend of Miki Koishikawa in Marmalade Boy.
The two girls met in middle school. Miki admired Meiko because she was beautiful and sophisticated.
Meiko comes from a wealthy but broken home; both her parents are having affairs but refuse to get divorced, so they fight all the time and Meiko has to live with it. Because of this, she is a bit more worldly and mature than Miki, and often keeps things to herself (whereas Miki is emotional and expresses her feelings about everything).
She is in the Literary Club at school, and often spends time in the old library.
It is later revealed that Meiko was having an affair with her teacher, Nachan Namura. Though the relationship wasn’t sexual, it was still inappropriate, and so she was suspended and Nachan resigned. He moved to Hiroshima, and Meiko begged him to take her with him, but he refused, telling her to hate him and forget about him.
Meiko publishes a novel and wins an award, and then decides to become a novelist.
Despite her popularity with other boys (like Satoshi Miwa), Meiko remained devoted to Nachan and eventually, she and Miki went to Hiroshima to confront him. Nachan at first rebuffs her, but then calls after her and asks her to marry him. She accepts.
Personality:
In contrast to her best friend, Miki, Meiko is mature and composed. She doesn’t like to talk about what’s bothering her, at least not to her peers. While she is a little more mature than the other characters, she is prone to immaturity at times (thinking she could run away with Nachan), though she can admit to her foolishness. In the end, she is just as whiny and codependent as Miki.