Akikan!

Akikan! (アキカン!) is a Japanese light novel series about a group of anthropomorphic soda cans who do battle. It was created by Riku Ranjō, with illustrations by Hiro Suzuhira, known for her artistry in Shuffle!. The first novel was released on May 24, 2007, and as of March 22, 2013, ten volumes have been published by Shueisha under their Super Dash Bunko label. A manga adaptation began serialization in Ultra Jump on October 18, 2008, an anime adaptation began airing on January 4, 2009.[2] On December 22, 2008, an early release of the first episode was streamed on the internet through Bandai Channel. On the day the final episode aired on March 28, 2009, an Akikan! OVA followed on October 23, 2009.[3] At Anime Weekend Atlanta 2011, Sentai Filmworks announced that they had licensed both the TV series and OVA which released in 2012.

Story

Characters

Owners

Kakeru Daichi (大地カケル)
Kakeru is a sixteen-year-old studying at Kyuugetsu Academy and loves to crack lewd jokes. He loves juice and has made a hobby of collecting juice cans. One day, he bought a melon soda that transformed into a girl, which was an Akikan. He was later invited by Hidehiko Otoya to join the "Akikan Elect" and "Intelligence Port Project" but being a person who hated fights, he rejected the invitation (although he was later forced to participate). Later, he made up his mind to crush the projects together with his comrades. A certain incident during his sophomore/junior high school days made him afraid of hurting somebody. Later on, he will also be the owner of Shiruko, who is another Akikan.
Najimi Tenkuji (天空寺なじみ)
Najimi is Kakeru's childhood-friend and classmate, whose charm point is her "antenna" hair which changes form according to her mood. She's an heiress to the Tenkuuji group of companies and she holds a romantic feeling toward Kakeru. She's gentle and easy-going, but her weird sense of imagination tends to warp her into her own world. She became Yell's owner as she bought a sports drink on the night of Yurika Kochikaze's birthday party. She has a history of being saved by Kakeru from being kidnapped. She also gets drunk from carbonated drinks and will attempt to strip when under the influence.
Misaki Miyashita (宮下美咲)
Misaki is a junior high sophomore student who owns Budoko. She was a timid girl who hid inside her shell and didn't have friends. She was afraid of making friends, thinking that someday she and her friends might hate each other, just like her parents. Her hobby is drawing, and she often refers people to Otaku terminologies.

Akikans

Melon (メロン)
A steel Akikan who came from a melon soda, owned by Kakeru. She's competitive and strong-willed, which was the reason why she was always having a fight with Kakeru. Although she likes her owner, she cannot express her feelings well and ends up telling the opposite of what she wants to say. She likes watching baseball matches, even on midnight telecasts, though she has stated she has no clue about how the game is played. She basically hates Aluminum Akikans and is always having small quarrels with Yell. She mostly uses carbon dioxide-based cool drink sorcery in battle.
Yell (エール)
An Aluminum Akikan who came from a sports drink, owned by Najimi. She's usually cool and composed but she becomes furious when someone tries to insult her owner, going as far as to attempt to kill Kakeru when he (unknowingly) upsets Najimi. She's got sharp vision which was the cause for her being sensitive to moving objects, causing her the urge to play with them. In this aspect and several others, she is very cat-like. Her tail-like hair that twitches when she sees moving objects accentuates this fact. She also loves animals and she has a pet turtle called "Kame". She uses the "isotonic sword" as her cool drink sorcery, which can cut through anything made of organic matter.
Budoko (ぶど子)
An Aluminum Akikan who came from grape juice. She's small but strong-willed and talks in a funny way. She was killed once by Melon as a result of the "Akikan Elect" battle but was revived later as RG:A (this does not happen in the anime as Kakeru made Melon miss). She loves to watch the stars together with her owner, Misaki Miyashita.
Shiruko (しるこ)
A steel Akikan who came from a sweet red bean soup. She has the appearance of a 5th-grade school student. She is very shy is easily scared by loud noises, but she is a kind-hearted girl who worries for everyone. Unlike Melon and Yell, she dislikes being cold and prefers warm temperatures. She loves taking hot baths and she likes to eat red bean rice cakes. She wears mouse-style pajamas when she sleeps. She does not make an appearance in the anime.

Others

Yurika Kochikaze (東風揺花)
Kakeru and Najimi's classmate who claims to be Najimi's lover. She's always having fights with Kakeru and Yell as her rival for Najimi. She's also a self-proclaimed witch and she often uses cards to throw at Kakeru (which, from the back, look like tarot cards but are normal poker cards). In some instances, she shows mysterious powers. Her birthday is on Halloween, which could be the reason she believes she is a witch. Her nickname is Yuriri.
Goro Amaji (甘字五郎)
Kakeru's classmate and friend. He was nicknamed Gigolo by Kakeru, but he is far from being a ladies' man. He is often forgotten by his friends due to his lack of Existence. He also has a crush on Yurika Kochikaze but always ends up not being able to tell her or being ignored. But, he is a reliable person at times of need, always ready to help his friend. He lives together with his three sisters, all sharing the same bunk bed.
Hidehiko Otoya (男屋秀彦)
A government official designated to Department of Economy. He is the founder of the "Akikan Elect" and "Intelligence Port project", though it's unclear why. Otoya is gay and quite lascivious; he is particularly attracted to so-called "pretty boys", and he'll even resort to pretending to be the school doctor in order to be close to them. He especially makes continual sexual advances toward Kakeru, which are always rejected in the anime. In the OVA, however, he raped Kakeru twice.
Airin Kizaki (木崎愛鈴)
Otoya's secretary. Her strictness belies her timid nature, and she hates it when Otoya calls her by her given name. She later becomes the homeroom teacher to keep an eye on the Owners and Akikans. She's also one of the few characters with no outlandish mannerisms or traits.

type	tv series
director	Yūji Himaki
producer	Makoto Ōyoshi Masashi Takatori Shinya Shinozaki
writer	Hideaki Koyasu
music	Akito Matsuda
studio	Brain's Base
network	Kids Station, BS11
first	January 4, 2009
last	March 29, 2009
episodes	12 + OVA
episode list	List of Akikan! episodes

Story

Characters

Owners

Akikans

Others

Media

Light novels

Manga

Anime

External links

References