I had one years ago....As a puppy she was the most awesome dog.
Unfortunately as she hit puberty she changed. She started getting really moody. Never aggressive with people, but would just kind of shut down and not want anything to do with me or anyone else for that matter. She would be running around the yard playing with the other dogs and then suddenly attack one of them, and wouldn't stop even when they didn't fight back. You would have to physically pry her mouth off the other dog...Spraying with a water hose wouldn't even get her off.

We rehomed her to a family with no other dogs or children because her dog aggression got progressively worse, to the point she would try to go through doors and windows if she saw another dog walk by outside. I always felt like I just somehow catastrophically screwed that dog up. I was reading training books everyday trying to figure out how to fix her, and every book pretty much said if you're dog has issues, it's the owners fault, but none of the methods worked. She had no motivation at all. A few years back I was googling to show my boyfriend what they looked like and found some information about hypothyroidism and aggression in akitas. The descriptions fit her to a tee...and while I wish I knew about that when I could have helped her, at least the info is out there now. Thyroid issues can be present in any dog, but I've seen statistics saying that up to 70% of akitas have hypothyroidism and it's something that you are going to want to discuss with the breeder. It's a fairly easy "fix" with daily medication.

Here is one link:
http://www.canine-epilepsy-guardian-...e_behavior.htm

All of that aside...I think they are among the most beautiful dogs in the world