Review of Akikan!
[Story: 4.0] Peppered with nothing but plenty of really cheap innuendo, I know that I'm not supposed to be expecting some fabulous scripting from this sort of show, contending for just some silly, cheap laughs. Yet even with this in mind, Akikan manage to be underwhelming. Akikan wants to achieve too much but lacked the effort to do any of them. It tried to pack in romance, drama, lewd dialogues, action and plenty more lewd dialogue, but was lazy in executing them. The comedy aspect is lackluster - you've seen them in practically any other ecchi series you can get your hands on and they're probablyfunnier too. Drink cans who transform in girls? Sounds interesting (albeit absurd) until one considers that beneath the gimmick, there's absolutely nothing outstanding about the whole magical/ super-powered girlfriend concept. Attempts to even provide examples of such titles would flood the page. Clichés in itself are NOT bad; it's because they are popular ideas that they become clichés. However, there’s a difference between getting inspirations from popular ideas and blatantly being uncreative.
Lastly, the series should have ended at episode 10. The last two episodes were redundant and just add to how haphazard the series is handled. For one thing, it was too late to introduce new characters. For another, it's not like it contributed anything to the plot anyway.
[Characters: 5.5] Kakeru, the protagonist is mildly amusing in his grandeur and crazy talks, but him alone is insufficient to hold the show together when the rest of the cast is insignificant. It also helps that he's voiced by Jun Fukuyama, who did a fantastic job. However, it is also a waste to actually have Jun Fukuyama in it - and he's actually one of the few redeeming points of the series. I admit, the nonsense babbled by Kakeru garnered a few cheap laughs here and there. In the end, however, those were cheap laughs and nothing more.
Similarly, it's also somewhat a waste to have Mamiko Noto in it as well.
Initially, the gag about how Jigoro often got disregarded and treated as invisible is chuckle worthy. Sadly (and ironically), that really is all he is, unimportant enough to be considered as being 'not there'. Furthermore, the main girl turns out to be a tsundere so there's the obligatory gag that involves her physically assaulting the protagonist. Other characters need not be explained further; generic characters through and through. Also, Budoko's voice is annoying. Really, after the first episode, the series just got lazy.
[Art: 5.5] Perhaps it is not entirely the studio's fault that the story is weak and the jokes are terrible. Perhaps it is the source materials themselves that are bad - I wouldn't know; I've read neither the novel nor manga. However, when it comes to production values, the studio has no excuse and this is the bit that came to be a surprise: Akikan is made by Brains Base. Although it is unreasonable to expect a studio to constantly create high quality productions and unrealistic to hope that all the works are to one's liking, Akikan is really a far cry from Brains Base’s portfolio, including but not limited to Natsume Yuujinchou, Baccano! and Kurenai. Akikan has the worst quality of the lot. To compare on a broader scale, Akikan isn't any better. For a series made in 2009, the art quality is inadequate.
[Music: 6.0] Music was average, typical cutesy songs. BGM was kind of lacking as well. Well then again, this being mainly a comedy, expecting Yuki Kajiura level of pieces would be superfluous.
[Summary] Akikan is, to put it simply, devoid of creativity. Plenty of titles in its genre have done the things it did and better. Really, there are just so many other titles to watch other than this.