Akikan!

Hobbies are often a great way of meeting new people, but how could Kakeru Daichi, who collects rare juice cans, have ever suspected that he'd meet a fascinating new girl when he attempted to DRINK her? Naming her Melon, because she's got great melon... soda, Kakeru quickly learns that she's an Akikan—a beautiful girl who's also a special can created to fight other Akikans in a strange experiment to determine what kind of container is better: steel or aluminum!

Will becoming involved in this ridiculously twisted research project gone amuck complicate Kakeru's life incredibly? Of course it will, but because Melon's steel body needs carbon dioxide to breathe, he's now stuck with her since she's too CO2 dependent! And when his wealthy, attractive, best childhood friend Najimi gets HER own aluminum Akikan, the trouble really begins!

(Source: Sentai Filmworks)

Melon Main

Narita, Sayaka Japanese

Daichi, Kakeru Main

Fukuyama, Jun Japanese

Tenkuuji, Najimi Main

Toyosaki, Aki Japanese

Yell Supporting

Noto, Mamiko Japanese

Budoko Supporting

Yuuki, Aoi Japanese

Miku Supporting

Nakajima, Megumi Japanese

Otoya, Hidehiko Supporting

Okiayu, Ryoutarou Japanese

Kochikaze, Yurika Supporting

Ookubo, Aiko Japanese

Amaji, Gorou Supporting

Okamoto, Nobuhiko Japanese

Kizaki, Airin Supporting

Toyoguchi, Megumi Japanese

Ooyoshi, Makoto Producer

Takatori, Masashi Producer

Himaki, Yuji Director, Episode Director, Storyboard

Takadera, Takeshi Sound Director

Reviews

Jul 9, 2024

CBMiura

Recommended

Akikan! it's weirdly enjoyable.

Akikan brings something different from usual. I mean who is the crazy guy that though of war of "cangirls"?

The animation it's not the greatest, but it's decent. The characters are fairly developed, even though they don't need that much development.

It's enjoyable, but things are too shallow to be more than this and we have some holes to be filled in the story. So if you want an anime without loose ends, this anime it's not for you. It's just a funny anime with a different plot, a regular pace and a ok animation.

Give it a shot if you're looking for ... something light, but don't expect great things! Akikan it's just an average/decent comedy anime that fails to show its full potential.

Reviewer’s Rating: 5

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Nov 1, 2015

Zaku88

Mixed Feelings

A guy drinks a soda and it suddenly turns into a hot girl! Add in the fact that the guy is a perverted high schooler and throw in a bunch of other akikans and you've got a comedic harem.

Sadly, despite my strong initial interest in the great potential that the series could have become, the series takes a very apathetic plot sequence and doesn't do justice to either the characters or the overall theme. There are plenty of large plot holes and things that should have been explained that the production studio decided to just leave as is.

The nature of the show is a combination ... of comedy, romance, ecchi, and action, with an emphasis on the comedic/ecchi aspect. The storyline can be understood by a 5 year old and the linear progression is quite appalling.

There are much better harems/mysteriously-appearing girlfriend series out there. Unless there is absolutely nothing else to watch, I'd avoid this one.

Animation:
The animation is fairly average for a series in its time. It is apparent that some scenes received much more attention than others. While the overall series is colored nicely, the battle sequences were fairly basic and didn't contribute much to the overall feel of the series. There is also an abundance of fan service shots.

Characters are drawn fairly well overall but it ended up looking a bit childish (minus the overflow of ecchi shots).

Sound:
The OPs/EDs were fair but nothing that great. I liked the first OP more than the second OP but they weren't great. The ED changes a bit every episode but it's sort of electro-rap? BGMs weren't very memorable but at least the VAs were good.

Music: 2/5, VAs: 4/5

Story:
Akikan had a lot of potential early on. The theme of a can turning into a girl is quite unique but the concept was explored in as great of detail as I had hoped.

There is this tournament between steel and aluminum cans (no plastic/glass bottles apparently) to determine which will be the can of choice in the nation. Apparently the cans have special powers and are very physically strong and, obviously, there is tension between steel and aluminum akikans.

The majority of the show focuses on the slice of life daily routine of Daichi Kakeru as he teaches Melon about the world and school life, and the occasion not-so-ordinary fights with other akikan.

The plot is very simple and there aren't really any serious complications till the final few episodes in which a somewhat tense but otherwise pathetic climax is reached. The overall climax and resolution are pretty pitiful as it didn't really have to do at all with the series before the final few episodes.

They could have done so much better but it felt as if they just made this a secondary show as Gonzo did with Kaze no Stigma... quite disappointing.

Character:
Daichi Kakeru, Melon, and the other main characters had fairly unique and interesting personalities, but much about the characters' pasts and relations were barely explored.

The largest issue is that the characters just suddenly have strong bonds between the akikan and the "owners". Likewise, steel and aluminum akikans suddenly work together near the end. The development of the characters sometimes didn't match up with the plot sequences and thus the overall series just felt disorganized.

Value:
This is a light, ecchi harem. Don't expect any deep philosophizing or a well-developed plot line. Though some parts of the show were fairly humorous, the lack-luster story and childish character development really made this show fall short of its initial potential.

Reviewer’s Rating: 5

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Feb 24, 2024

Animelover875

Not Recommended

Please note for this review that I began the series under the assumption that this was technically a magical girl series.

With the above information, I would like to point out that this will not factor into the show's review; I will be judging it primarily as a romance story. To start with, the premise is extremely interesting; inanimate objects, particularly consumable ones, coming to life is a novel concept, although in my opinion the series fails to utilize this properly, as either a comedy or a drama. It tends to cycle back and forth between taking its story seriously and playing it for laughs, which ... contrast heavily; the themes of martyrism play heavily into this, as do themes of capitalism ad ironically, recycling in an antagonistic light. This helps develop the primary Akikan, Melon, granting her some good character development, and Yell similarly gains some nice introspection into her own nature of existence.

Additionally, there is some room for some good comedy to occur here, which is unfortunately squandered on fanservice and failed romantic plots which never have any true payoff. The series additionally seems indecisive as to whether Kakeru will date Melon or Najimi, and every development towards one offsets the other by a wide margin. A similar situation occurs with Najimi and Yell, although it works out a bit better, as they're able to form a more cohesive couple (albeit, one we never see come to fruition in the series).

Unfortunately, these themes cannot co-exist: attempts at comedy downplay the more serious moments, while the series nature is too dark to make any of its comedy have any impact. The Akikan Elect was a seemingly major plot point that was forgotten, while Miku only had two episodes to make any impact. It does feel to a degree that Akikan was hoping the novelty of its concept could carry it to success (there was, after all, an episode dedicated to literally doing nothing), and many characters are very one-note. I believe this type of series could have worked well if there was a consistent theme chosen to stick with, although as it is, it currently is not as enjoyable or memorable as it would like to be. 5/10.

Reviewer’s Rating: 5

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	Poll: Akikan! Episode 1 Discussion ( 1 2 3 ) slayer545-sama - Dec 23, 2008	127 replies	by EmperorThor »» Apr 20, 2023 6:11 PM
	Poll: Akikan! Episode 10 Discussion ( 1 2 ) Sonja - Mar 14, 2009	52 replies	by W3TFT »» Sep 20, 2022 3:31 PM
	Poll: Akikan! Episode 12 Discussion ( 1 2 ) xyakaix - Mar 29, 2009	87 replies	by TazzyTensai »» Sep 4, 2022 12:38 PM
	Poll: Akikan! Episode 6 Discussion ( 1 2 ) Sonja - Feb 8, 2009	77 replies	by victualness »» Jan 23, 2022 1:13 PM
	Who are these characters? RenaPsychoKiller - Jul 4, 2012	1 replies	by Randomcardcaptor »» Oct 14, 2020 5:51 AM

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