Akikan!
Encyclopedia
is a Japanese light novel
series about a group of anthropomorphic drink 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 April 24, 2009, eight 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 3, 2009. 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. At Anime Weekend Atlanta
2011, Sentai Filmworks announced that they have licensed both TV series and OVA and will be released in 2012.
Girlish
Cool Drink Sorcery
Owner
Akikan Elect
Intelligence Port Project
The ending to each episode is a variation of its theme, performed in different styles with different lyrics, but always ending with, "Would you like something to drink?" Guest artists include k. moriya, Little Non, Charmmy Queen and Miku Hatsune
.
Light novel
A is a style of Japanese novel primarily targeting junior high and high school students . The term "light novel" is a wasei-eigo, or a Japanese term formed from words in the English language. Light novels are often called or for short...
series about a group of anthropomorphic drink cans who do battle. It was created by Riku Ranjō, with illustrations by Hiro Suzuhira
Hiro Suzuhira
is a female Japanese manga artist, character designer and illustrator.Hiro Suzuhira and Aoi Nishimata have known each other from high school; their first work, Ritual, was introduced in 1996. In 2000, she joined BasiL and became the illustrator for Bless: Close Your Eyes, Open Your Mind. After...
, known for her artistry in Shuffle!
Shuffle!
is a Japanese visual novel developed by Navel. It was originally released as an adult game for Microsoft Windows on January 30, 2004. It was subsequently followed by an all-ages release for the PlayStation 2 and an expanded adult release for Windows...
. The first novel was released on May 24, 2007, and as of April 24, 2009, eight volumes have been published by Shueisha
Shueisha
is a major publisher in Japan. The company was founded in 1925 as the entertainment-related publishing division of Japanese publisher Shogakukan. The following year, Shueisha became a separate, independent company. Magazines published by Shueisha include Weekly Shōnen Jump, Weekly Young Jump,...
under their Super Dash Bunko
Super Dash Bunko
is a Shueisha publishing imprint established in July 2000 for publishing light novels aimed at teenage boys. In April 2001, the label inherited a strong lineup from the discontinued Super Fantasy Bunko label, in addition to inheriting all of their school life and slapstick light novel series...
label. A manga adaptation began serialization in Ultra Jump
Ultra Jump
is a Japanese monthly seinen manga magazine published by Shueisha under the Jump line of magazines. Originally, the magazine was a special issue of Weekly Young Jump which first issued in 1995. On October 19 of 1999, the special issue became the new monthly publication Ultra Jump...
on October 18, 2008, an anime
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
adaptation began airing on January 3, 2009. On December 22, 2008, an early release of the first episode was streamed on the internet through Bandai
Bandai
is a Japanese toy making and video game company, as well as the producer of a large number of plastic model kits. It is the world's third-largest producer of toys . Some ex-Bandai group companies produce anime and tokusatsu programs...
Channel. On the day the final episode aired on March 28, 2009, an Akikan! OVA followed on October 23, 2009. At Anime Weekend Atlanta
Anime Weekend Atlanta
Anime Weekend Atlanta is an annual three-day anime convention held in the Atlanta, Georgia area, typically in the month of September. Since the first convention in 1995, Anime Weekend Atlanta has become one of the most attended anime conventions in the United States and as of 2010 it has been the...
2011, Sentai Filmworks announced that they have licensed both TV series and OVA and will be released in 2012.
Story
Akikan (”Empty Can”) is the unlikely story of high school boy Kakeru Daichi, whose can of melon juice soda magically transforms into a human girl. More "akikan" girls begin appearing, each of them needing to be infused with carbon dioxide from their respective drink types to survive. The akikans were created as part of the 'Akikan Elect' to determine whether steel cans or aluminium cans are superior. The akikans must battle each other until only the strongest can type is left standing.Owners
- The series' main Protagonist. A sixteen year old male virgin studying at Kyuugetsu Academy. He's a perverted boy who loves to crack lewd jokes. He enjoys collecting rare juice cans and basically likes juices. 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 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.
- 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 at the night of Yurika Kochikaze's birthday party. She has the history of being saved by Kakeru from being kidnapped. She also gets drunk off from carbonated drinks and will attempt to strip when under the influence.
- 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
- 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, which ends up telling opposite of what she wants to say. She likes watching baseball matches, even on midnight telecasts, though she has stated she has no clue on 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.
- An Aluminum Akikan who came from a 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.
- 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) upset Najimi. She's got sharp vision which was the cause for her being sensitive to moving objects, causing her the urge to play with it. In this aspect and several others, she is very cat-like. Her tail-like hair that twitches when she sees moving objects ecentuates 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.
- 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 temperature. 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.
- An Aluminum Akikan who came from a can of vegetable juice owned by Toudou. At first, she seemed to be a selfish Akikan who did not care for her owner but later it was discovered that she was a caring Akikan who always thinks about what is best for her owner. She talks tomboyishly. Her cool drink spells are the vegetable-summoning "Gevetarians" and the knuckle bombing "Mixed Vegetable".
- A mixed juice Steel Akikan who appears in the anime. Her can was girlished by a cat (the same cat that is usually found on the roof of Daichi and Melon's house) who ran off right away. This caused her to have a hatred of Akikans, both Aluminum and Steel, with owners, and she began absorbing their powers and calling herself 'The Strongest Akikan'. Her main cool drink sorcery is Rainbow Splash Mixer, and she also has the ability to make clones of the Akikans she had captured called Zeros. Since she was never given a name, Kakeru gives her the name 'Miku', a name she likes but doesn't admit to it. Daichi offered the idea to be her Owner, something she considered until Otoya showed her a picture of her true Owner and ran off to find it. At the end of the series she is friends with the main cast and still chasing her Owner.
Others
- 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 HalloweenHalloweenHallowe'en , also known as Halloween or All Hallows' Eve, is a yearly holiday observed around the world on October 31, the night before All Saints' Day...
, which could relate to the reason she believes she is a witch. Her nickname is Yuriri.
- Kakeru's classmate and friend. He was nick-named Gigolo by Kakeru but he was 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.
- A government official designated to Department of Economy. He is the person who established the "Akikan Elect" and "Intelligence Port project", though his motive for their establishment is not yet clear. A self-proclaimed gay who loves pretty boys, he goes undercover at the school as the school doctor. He's often having contact with Kakeru harassing him sexually, only to be hurt severely by Kakeru every time in the anime. The only exception was when he raped Kakeru twice in the OVA.
- Otoya's secretary. She's strict but shy by nature and is always having a problem with Otoya calling her by her given name, which she was embarrassed to be heard by others. She later becomes the homeroom teacher to keep an eye on the Owners and Akikans. She's also one of the few ordinary persons in the series.
Terminology
Akikan- Literally, an empty can. They are juice cans who turn into girls when drank. Their life is the juice that is contained within them, and when they become empty, they turn back to an empty can. They can be replenished by pouring the same juice into the original can. Turning into human form consumes juice so they have to keep drinking the same juice in order to maintain their human form, although they can also eat fruits relevant to their juice. Using cool drink sorcery also consumes juice. They can also turn back into an empty can when their pull tab on their ear is pulled. Steel cans have their tab on their left ear while aluminum cans have theirs on the right ear. Depending on the kind of juice contained inside that can, an Akikan can be sensitive to temperature. This meaning that their health is affected by the temperature of the environment they live in. For example, if Melon is in a warm cupboard, once in human form, Melon would have fainted due to loss of carbon dioxide within her body (all because of the warm temperature). On the other hand, if Shiruko was placed in a fridge, due to her "juice" being red bean soup (a hot condiment) she would lose her natural heat and therefore weaken and faint, etc. There is only one Akikan in any type of juice.
Girlish
- A term for the process of turning an Akikan into human by kissing. Name derived by Otoya based on the fact that it benefits the girl.
Cool Drink Sorcery
- Magical abilities that are unique to the Akikans. Each has different kind of sorcery depending on their kind.
Owner
- Term for the person (or animal) who owns an Akikan after first awakening her. An Akikan will also stop functioning if its owner is killed.
Akikan Elect
- A competition between Steel and Aluminum cans established by Otoya. It is a death match between the cans made from different materials, and its goal is the eradication of one kind of can. According to Otoya, it was decided by the Department of the Economy that only one kind of can was needed in the juice industry to cut costs.
Intelligence Port Project
- Another project established by Otoya. Its details are still not known.
Themes
- Opening 1 - by Charmmy Queen
- Opening 2 - "Juicy Extacy" by Little Non
The ending to each episode is a variation of its theme, performed in different styles with different lyrics, but always ending with, "Would you like something to drink?" Guest artists include k. moriya, Little Non, Charmmy Queen and Miku Hatsune
Hatsune Miku
is a singing synthesizer application with a female persona, developed by Crypton Future Media. It uses Yamaha Corporation's Vocaloid 2 synthesizing technology. The name of the character comes from a fusion of the Japanese for , and future , referring to her position as the first of Crypton's...
.
- Ending - by Nomiko