Akikan! (アキカン!, Akikan!? lit. Empty Can!) is a Japanese light novel series 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 25, 2008, five 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 has been announced and will begin airing on January 3, 2009 [1]. On December 22, 2008, an early release of the first episode was streamed on the internet through Bandai Channel.

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 kissing to survive.

Characters

Kakeru Daichi (大地 カケル, Daichi Kakeru?)
Voiced by: Jun Fukuyama

The series' main Protagonist. A sixteen year old male virgin studying at Kyuugetsu Academy. He's a perverted boy who loves to play 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 those 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.

Melon (メロン, Meron?)
Voiced by: Sayaka Narita

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 with midnight telecasts. She basically hates Aluminum Akikans and is always having small quarrels with Yell. She mostly uses carbon dioxide based cool drink sorcery in battle.

Shiruko (しるこ, Shiruko?)


A steel Akikan who came from a sweet red bean soup. She has the appearance of a 5th grade school student. She's 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.

Najimi Tenkuji (天空寺 なじみ, Tenkuji Najimi?)
Voiced by: Aki Toyosaki

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 tend 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 has the tendency to become a Kuribo look-alike (from the Super Mario series) when struck by jealousy; she starts kicking Kakeru's calf.

Yell (エール, Ēru?)
Voiced by: Mamiko Noto

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. She's got sharp vision which was the cause for her being sensitive to moving objects, which causes her the urge to play with it. She also loves animals and she herself have a pet turtle called "Kame". She uses the "isotonic sword" as her cool drink sorcery, which can cut through anything made of organic matter.

Yurika Kochikaze (東風 揺花, Kochikaze Yurika?)
Voiced by: Aiko Ōkubo

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. In some instances she shows mysterious powers.

Goro Amaji (甘字 五郎, Amaji Goro?)

Voiced by: Nobuhiko Okamoto

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's also got crush for 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.

Hidehiko Otoya (男屋 秀彦, Otoya Hidehiko?)
Voiced by: Ryōtarō Okiayu

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 love pretty boys. He's often having contact with Kakeru harassing him sexually.

Airin Kizaki (木崎 愛鈴, Kizaki Airin?)
Voiced by: Megumi Toyoguchi

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 emabarassed to be heard by others. She's also one of the few ordinary persons in the series.

Kensuke Toudou (塔堂　拳介, Toudou kensuke?)


A former boxer and a participant of the "Akikan Elect". He was a good and hard-working guy back when he was still practicing boxing, but became bitter and cruel when he was forced to retire due to an injury. He is also the owner of Mai, an Aluminum Akikan.

Mai (舞, mai?)


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".

Misaki Miyashita (宮下　美咲, Miyashita Misaki?)

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.

Budoko (ぶど子, Budoko?)
Voiced by: Aoi Yuuki

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. She loves to watch the stars together with her owner, Misaki Miyashita.