In my interpretation, what mattered more than Akanos background was the player characters survival. I don't think your meant to empathize with him. I don't think its about how good their writing is, but a matter of taste. I personally find it more intriguing that after all of the endings there's still a lot to be uncovered. And about his strength, (spoilers) there's an ending "She let you go" that could hint to Akano not being human at all. It may just be because the player character caught him off guard that we were able to kill him in one of the endings. And it would also explain his inhumane behavior and lust for blood.