Re-Kan!

Re-Kan! (レーカン!, Rēkan!, lit. "Sixth Sense!") is a Japanese four-panel manga series by Hinako Seta, serialized in Houbunsha's Manga Time Jumbo magazine. Re-Kan! was first published as a one-shot in Manga Time Jumbo's December 2009 issue, and it later began serialization with the February 2010 issue. It has been collected into nine tankōbon volumes. A 13-episode anime television series adaptation by Pierrot+ aired in Japan between April and June 2015.

Re-Kan!
Cover of Re-Kan! volume 1 by Houbunsha
レーカン! (Rēkan!)
Genre	Comedy, Supernatural[1]
Manga
Written by	Hinako Seta
Published by	Houbunsha
Magazine	Manga Time Jumbo
Demographic	Seinen
Original run	February 2010 – present
Volumes	9
Anime television series
Directed by	Masashi Kudō
Written by	Takahashi Aoshima
Music by	Hiroyuki Kōzu
Studio	Pierrot+
Licensed by	^AUS Hanabee ^NA Sentai Filmworks ^UK MVM Films
Original network	TBS, CBC, TUT, Sun TV, BS-TBS
Original run	April 3, 2015 – June 26, 2015
Episodes	13

Overview

High school girl Hibiki Amami has a sixth sense of perceiving and interacting with ghosts and supernatural beings as well as talking with cats and other animals. She transfers to a new school called Hanazuka Prefectural High School, but none of her peers share that ability. She becomes friends with some girls who put up with her antics. Class representative Narumi Inoue despises anything related to the occult but eventually becomes friends with Amami due to the latter's character. The story follows their everyday antics.

Characters

Humans

Hibiki Amami (天海 響, Amami Hibiki)

Voiced by: Ibuki Kido[2] (anime), Aya Endō (drama CD)

A beautiful high school student who has the ability to sense and to interact with supernatural beings such as ghosts and spirits, passed down from her late mother. She is very polite and always treats both humans and ghosts alike with respect.[2][3]

Narumi Inoue (井上 成美, Inoue Narumi)

Voiced by: Miku Itō[2] (anime), Haruka Tomatsu (drama CD)

Hibiki's classmate who becomes friends with her, despite being generally terrified of the ghosts surrounding her. She is usually not too honest with her feelings and is considered a "granny's girl", often being haunted by the spirit of her late grandmother.[2][4]

Kana Uehara (上原 佳菜, Uehara Kana)

Voiced by: Riho Iida[2] (anime), Kana Hanazawa (drama CD)

Hibiki's classmate who is childhood friends with Kyōko. Her hobby is taking pictures of ghosts, which become visible when viewed through a cellphone, and uploading them to her top-ranked supernatural blog.[2][5]

Kyōko Esumi (江角 京子, Esumi Kyōko)

Voiced by: M.A.O[2] (anime), Eri Kitamura (drama CD)

Hibiki's classmate who is childhood friends with Kana. She has a rough personality, usually the first to attack Kenta when he acts stupid, but is compassionate and helps those in trouble. She is a former delinquent,[2][6] with the nickname "Red-haired Messiah" (灼髪の救世主, Shakuhatsu no Meshia), almost always getting angry when someone brings it up.

Makoto Ogawa (小川 真琴, Ogawa Makoto)

Voiced by: Erii Yamazaki[2] (anime), Ayana Taketatsu (drama CD)

Hibiki's classmate. A bright and cheerful airhead who has an obsession with creepily made zombie dolls, of which her friends are often fearful.[2][7]

Kenta Yamada (山田 健太, Yamada Kenta)

Voiced by: Yoshitaka Yamaya[8] (anime), Yusuke Shirai (drama CD)

Hibiki's classmate, and the sole male in her group of friends. Often considered a doofus among his friends, his overly cheerful attitude and sometimes dimwitted remarks often get him clobbered by Kyōko.[9]

Asahi Amami (天海 朝陽, Amami Asahi)

Voiced by: Wataru Hatano[8] (anime), Shin-ichiro Miki (drama CD)

Hibiki's father. Similar to Narumi, he doesn't like ghosts, and the relationship with his wife supernatural ability made his hair turn prematurely white over a short duration of time.

Yūki Inoue (井上 勇希, Inoue Yūki)

Voiced by: Ayahi Takagaki (anime), Sumire Uesaka (drama CD)

Narumi's younger cousin, whose father died.

Masaki Yamada (山田 正輝, Yamada Masaki)

Voiced by: Shuhei Kajikawa

Kenta's older brother who works as a police officer. He has a crush on Kyōko, whom he had previously encountered during her delinquent days.

Ghosts

Roll Call Samurai (代返侍, Daihenzamurai)

Voiced by: Yoshihisa Kawahara[8][10] (anime), Kenyu Horiuchi (drama CD)

The ghost of a samurai who died of hunger. After Amami gave him food, he started to protect her and do anything for her in any way he can, such as answering to teacher for roll call when Hibiki falls asleep in class.[11]

Hanako-san (花子さん, Hanako-san)

Voiced by: Mikako Izawa[8][10] (anime)

A spirit who haunts one of the stalls in the school's girls' restroom.[12]

Ero-neko (エロ猫, Eroneko)

Voiced by: Kujira[8][10] (anime), Norio Wakamoto (drama CD)

A cute but perverted cat that is constantly trying to peek on girls' panties, though is often thwarted by the ghosts protecting Hibiki.[13]

Merry-san (メリーさん, Merī-san)

Voiced by: Eriko Matsui[8][10] (anime)

A ghost with long grey hair who haunts others, usually Kana, through phone calls.[14]

Kogal Spirit (コギャル霊, Kogyaru-rei)

Voiced by: Aya Uchida[8][10] (anime), Aimi Terakawa (drama CD)

A ghost girl who is dressed in the kogal style. She initially possesses Hibiki in order to make peace with her mother, but chooses to stick around.[15] She appears to have a rivalry with Roll Call Samurai.

Neckless Spirit (首無し霊, Kubi-nashi-rei) Faceless Spirit (顔なし霊, Kao-nashi-rei)

Voiced by: Futaba Kino[8][10] (anime)

A ghost girl in a sailor uniform who carries a red umbrella, which she offers to those who need shelter from the rain. She has no neck in the manga and no face in the anime.[16]

Bounded Spirit of the Park (公園の地縛霊, Kōen no Jibakurei)

Voiced by: Tsuguo Mogami (anime), Nobuo Tobita (drama CD)

A jibakurei that protects the local park, bound to the sign at the entrance. His figure is never seen.

Yūhi Amami (天海 夕陽, Amami Yūhi)

Voiced by: Yūko Minaguchi[8] (anime), Kyōko Hikami (drama CD)

Hibiki's late mother, who died when Hibiki was born. While alive, her sixth sense was said to be much stronger than her daughter's, and occasionally made prophecies with her ability. She currently resides within Hibiki's memories, looking after a flower giving Hibiki her sixth sense.

Narumi's Grandmother (成美の祖母, Narumi no Sobo)

The spirit of Inoue's grandmother who is constantly watching over her.

Media

Manga

The original manga by Hinako Seta was first published in Houbunsha's Manga Time Jumbo magazine in the December 2009 issue, and went onto serialization from February 2010. Nine tankōbon volumes have been released as of June 22, 2018. An anthology comic was released on May 7, 2015.

Anime

A 13-episode anime television series adaptation by Pierrot+ aired in Japan between April 3, 2015 and June 26, 2015 and was simulcast by Crunchyroll.[2][17][18] The opening and ending themes respectively are "Colorful Story" (カラフルストーリー, Karafuru Sutōrī) and "Kesaran Pasaran" (ケサランパサラン), both performed by every♥ing! (Ibuki Kido and Erii Yamazaki).[19] Sentai Filmworks has licensed the anime for digital and home video release in North America.[1][20]

Episode list

No.	Title[21][22]	Original air date[23][24]
1	"I Can See Them" "Watashi, Mierun desu" (わたし、視(み)えるんです)	April 3, 2015 (2015-04-03)
Narumi Inoue, a girl who doesn't like scary things, meets Hibiki Amami, a girl with a sixth sense who can communicate with ghosts.
2	"This Is My Friend" "Watashi no, Otomodachi desu" (わたしの、お友達です)	April 10, 2015 (2015-04-10)
3	"Delicious Fried Eggs" "Oishī, Tamagoyaki desu" (美味しい、卵焼きです)	April 17, 2015 (2015-04-17)
Narumi tries to appease to her younger cousin, Yuki, who is picky about the fried eggs she makes. As Narumi and Hibiki try to find out what will satisfy Yuki, they learn from his mother that he wants to eat the eggs his late father used to make. Following a recipe from the ghost of Narumi's grandmother, Narumi manages to make the eggs that Yuki wanted to eat.
4	"Summer Means the Beach" "Natsu to Ieba, Umi desu" (夏といえば、海です)	April 24, 2015 (2015-04-24)
The girls go on a trip to the beach, where Kyōko Esumi, a former delinquent, becomes concerned about classmate Kenta Yamada bringing his brother, a police officer who had developed a crush on her.
5	"The Legendary Culture Festival" "Densetsu no, Bunkasai desu" (伝説の、文化祭です)	May 1, 2015 (2015-05-01)
As the girls prepare a haunted house for the school festival, one featuring actual ghosts, they get to meet Hibiki's father, Asahi, who recounts how Hibiki got her sixth sense from her late mother.
6	"A Super Awesome Holy Night" "Choberigu na, Seiya desu" (チョベリグな、聖夜です)	May 8, 2015 (2015-05-08)
Hibiki is possessed by a Kogal Ghost, who wants to use her body to say goodbye to someone so she can pass on. During this time, she learns about how Kana Uehara doesn't get to spend much time with her parents because of their careers. After the ghost eventually manages to say goodbye to her mother, she encourages Kana to spend Christmas with her parents.
7	"A Busy New Year" "Nigiyaka na, Toshiake desu" (にぎやかな、年明けです)	May 15, 2015 (2015-05-15)
Concerned about Hibiki's increasing fatigue due to constantly helping out girls, the others give her special glasses to cut off her sixth sense so she can get some rest. However, when a child goes missing, Hibiki is forced to take them off in order to get help from her ghost friends. Later, Hibiki and the others celebrate New Year's Day, sharing the fun with humans and ghosts alike.
8	"Let's All Play Together" "Min'na de, Issho ni Asobun desu" (みんなで、一緒に遊ぶんです)	May 22, 2015 (2015-05-22)
With a lot of buzz surrounding a pair of teachers, Moriya and Kimura, who recently got engaged to each other, Hibiki comes across the ghost of a young girl who appears to be losing her memories, meaning that she won't be able to pass on if she forgets her lingering attachment. As Hibiki and the others spend time with her, they find she has some connection to Moriya. While Hibiki has Moriya spend some time with the ghost, the others learn from Kimura that the ghost was a sickly girl Moriya was friends with when he was hospitalized as a child. Later that night, after Hibiki gets a glance of her memories, the ghost, having fulfilled her promise of meeting Moriya again, gives her farewell to him on his wedding day and passes on.
9	"The Secret Valentine" "Himitsu no, Barentain desu" (秘密の、バレンタインです)	May 29, 2015 (2015-05-29)
With Valentine's Day approaching, the gang become curious when Hibiki starts looking up how to make home-made chocolates. Determined to find out if she has a crush or not, Narumi and the others follow Hibiki to the park, where she meets up with a grumpy old man, who they assume is the one she has a crush on. When Valentine's Day arrives, Hibiki delivers chocolates to the old man, which are revealed to be azuki bean chocolates she made based on his late wife's recipe in order to fulfil her Valentine's wish, after which she shares some chocolates with her friends.
10	"We've Entered Our Second Year" "Iyoiyo, Ninen-sei desu" (いよいよ、2年生です)	June 5, 2015 (2015-06-05)
Upon entering her second year of high school, Hibiki quickly ends up scaring the new freshman when she tries to get her ghost friends to help them out. When giving Hibiki an image change fails to work, the other try giving the ghosts a makeover, which has similarly bad luck. Later, zombie enthusiast Makoto Ogawa creates a teddy bear for Roll Call Samurai to possess, explaining how an old amateur manga inspired her love of creepy zombie dolls. When another spirit possesses Makoto's zombie doll and starts leading her somewhere, the girls receive help from an umbrella ghost to help the spirit pass on. The next day, Hibiki's attraction to ghosts leads some of her underclassmen to end up liking her.
11	"My Wish" "Watashi no, Onegai desu." (私の、お願いです。)	June 12, 2015 (2015-06-12)
Hibiki invites everyone over to celebrate Tanabata, claiming that her family's wishes really do come true. As everyone tries to come up with wishes, Roll Call Samurai and the Kogal Spirit notice Hibiki holding back from hanging up a wish to see her mother, who died when she was born. Having sensed a warm feeling when the Kogal Spirit possessed Hibiki before, the two ghosts venture inside Hibiki's memories, where they meet with Hibiki's mother, Yūhi, who had been watching over Hibiki from within her memories. Yūhi explains that even though she wants to see Hibiki herself, she can't leave as she needs to keep her power going in order to project some flowers from wilting. To this end, Hibiki's ghost friends offer to temporarily take Yūhi's place, allowing her to finally meet with her daughter. The next morning, however, Hibiki discovers she is no longer able to see or hear ghosts.
12	"We Are All Connected." "Minna, Tsunagatte Irun desu." (みんな、つながっているんです。)	June 19, 2015 (2015-06-19)
Narumi and the others quickly become aware of Hibiki's situation, unable to see the ghosts through their phones either. As Hibiki passes out from anxiety over not being able to see her ghost friends, she stays at home, unable to face the others. Concerned that Hibiki hasn't been eating properly, Narumi asks Asuhi to teach her how to cook Yūhi's fried eggs, getting Hibiki to eat and open up to her, lamenting how she's lost the bonds she formed with the ghosts. Narumi decides to take Hibiki outside, where they encounter all the people she's helped thanks to her sixth sense before meeting with Yuki and his new little sister Kyouka, who was partially named after Hibiki as thanks for her help, showing that even without her sixth sense, she still has so many bonds. The kindness Hibiki feels from Narumi's friendship restores the flower in her soul, bringing back her sixth sense and her ghost friends.
13	"Summer Memories" "Natsu no, Omoide desu." (夏の、思い出です。)	June 26, 2015 (2015-06-26)
Hibiki and the others go to an amusement park, with Kyōko and Kana inviting the ghosts to come along. The group soon pay a visit to the park's haunted house, which provides some unique reactions from both the living and the dead. Later, Hibiki comes across a girl helping a lost child, who she soon remembers was someone who helped her when she was lost a child. Afterwards, everyone comes over to Hibiki's house for a sleepover, where Hibiki helps Narumi sleep through the night.

Reception

Anime News Network had three editors review the first episode of the anime:[25] Theron Martin gave praise to the humor being mostly delivered by both Inoue and Amami, and the upbeat, sugary charm used throughout the episode; Rebecca Silverman found the episode confused with either being a comedic or slice-of-life supernatural show and preferred that it stick with the latter subgenre with its human moments and work out its comedy elements. The third reviewer, Jacob Hope Chapman, heavily criticized the show's cheap production for its workmanlike animation clashing with the shoddy CG backgrounds and felt the humor was undone by poor direction and writing. He concluded that there's similar anime with better writing and aesthetics compared to this, saying that, "There's just not anything unique or intriguing about this one."[25] Fellow ANN editor Paul Jensen reviewed the complete anime series in 2016.[26] He commended the spiritual humor, the different interactions both Narumi and Hibiki have with the ghosts and the moments of sweetness and melancholia throughout the various episodic storylines but was critical of the series overall not pushing forward its brand of comedy and drama beyond mildly entertaining and lacked the "sense of wonder or magic" humans have when interacting with spirits in their world compared to similar otherworldly series like Mushi-Shi and Flying Witch, concluding that "On the whole Re-Kan! is an enjoyable show that's worth a look if you've got a taste for lighthearted comedy or the slice of life genre in general."[26]

Notes

References

1. Sentai Filmworks (April 9, 2015). "Sentai Filmworks Licenses Re-Kan!" (Press release). Retrieved May 28, 2015 – via Anime News Network.
2. "Ibuki Kido, Miku Ito Lead Re-Kan! Horror Comedy Anime Cast". Anime News Network. December 12, 2014. Retrieved December 14, 2014.
3. 登場人物 – 天海 響 [Characters – Hibiki Amami]. Re-Kan! Official Website (in Japanese). TBS TV. Retrieved May 28, 2015. 礼儀正しく清楚で控えめ、そしてちょっと天然。霊感体質でありながら、自分のことよりも常にまわりのことを気にかける、今時珍しい大和撫子な女の子。
4. 登場人物 – 井上 成美 [Characters – Narumi Inoue]. Re-Kan! Official Website (in Japanese). TBS TV. Retrieved May 28, 2015. 天海のクラスメート。霊や怖い話が大の苦手でよく天海につっかかる。おばあちゃん子。
5. 登場人物 – 上原　佳菜 [Characters – Kana Uehara]. Re-Kan! Official Website (in Japanese). TBS TV. Retrieved May 28, 2015. ブログを書くことが趣味。好奇心が強く、天海の霊能力にも興味アリ。心霊写真をアップしておりオカルトブログランキングにおいて1位になった事も。
6. 登場人物 – 江角京子 [Characters – Kana Uehara]. Re-Kan! Official Website (in Japanese). TBS TV. Retrieved May 28, 2015. 上原の幼なじみ。元ヤンキーなため少々性格が荒い。しかし中身は人情深く、困っている相手を放っておけない。
7. 登場人物 – 小川 真琴 [Characters – Makoto Ogawa]. Re-Kan! Official Website (in Japanese). TBS TV. Retrieved May 28, 2015. 裏表のない明るく朗らかな性格で、やや天然。乙女…と思いきや…。
8. スタッフ/キャスト [Staff/Cast]. Re-Kan! Official Website (in Japanese). TBS TV. Retrieved May 28, 2015.
9. 登場人物 – 山田 健太 [Characters – Kenta Yamada]. Re-Kan! Official Website (in Japanese). TBS TV. Retrieved May 28, 2015. 天海のクラスメートで、メンバーの中で唯一の男子生徒。 楽しいことが大好きで、いつも場を盛り上げようとするが、 みんなからはアホ呼ばわりされる。嬉しいことには嬉しい、 悲しいことには悲しいと言える表裏がない性格。 兄は警察官である山田正輝。
10. "More Re-Kan! Cast, Theme Song Artists Announced". Anime News Network. February 10, 2015. Retrieved May 29, 2015.
11. 登場人物 – 代返侍 [Characters – Roll Call Samurai]. Re-Kan! Official Website (Friday the 13th (in Japanese). TBS TV. Retrieved May 28, 2015. 天海に大恩を感じている若い侍の幽霊。　天海のことが大好き。天海の代返要員をしたことがきっかけで「代返侍」と呼ばれるようになった。
12. 登場人物 – 花子さん [Characters – Hanako-san]. Re-Kan! Official Website (Friday the 13th) (in Japanese). TBS TV. Retrieved May 28, 2015. 天海の幽霊の友達。　「トイレの花子さん」。ちょっと寂しがり屋で天海のことを遊び相手として慕っている。
13. 登場人物 – エロ猫 [Characters – Hanako-san]. Re-Kan! Official Website (Friday the 13th) (in Japanese). TBS TV. Retrieved May 28, 2015. 天海のそばに現れてはセクハラを繰り返す不思議な猫。 性格はエロオヤジそのもので、若いおねーちゃんとパンチラが大好き。
14. 登場人物 – メリーさん [Characters – Hanako-san]. Re-Kan! Official Website (Friday the 13th) (in Japanese). TBS TV. Retrieved May 28, 2015. 都市伝説の「メリーさん」。　少しずつ近寄り電話をかけては自分の居場所を報告してくる。　天海の友達のひとり上原の背後にたびたび現れては驚かせている。
15. 登場人物 – コギャル霊 [Characters – Kogal Ghost]. Re-Kan! Official Website (Friday the 13th) (in Japanese). TBS TV. Retrieved May 28, 2015. 少し前に流行った「コギャル」の姿をした幽霊。すでに死語と化した言葉遣いでしゃべる。　彼女にとりつかれた天海は突如ギャル化してしまう。
16. 登場人物 – 顔なし霊 [Characters – Kogal Ghost]. Re-Kan! Official Website (Friday the 13th) (in Japanese). TBS TV. Retrieved May 28, 2015. 雨の日に赤い傘を持って現れるセーラー服姿の少女の幽霊。　顔はないが話すことは可能。
17. "Re-Kan! 4-Panel School Horror Comedy Manga Gets TV Anime". Anime News Network. August 9, 2014. Retrieved August 9, 2014.
18. "Crunchyroll to Stream Re-Kan! Comedy Horror Anime". Anime News Network. Retrieved April 4, 2015.
19. "Re-Kan! Horror Comedy Anime's Promo Video Previews Theme Song". Anime News Network. March 14, 2015. Retrieved March 14, 2015.
20. "Sentai Filmworks Adds Pleiades, Re-Kan, SNAFU Too, Hello! KinMoza, UtaPri Season 3, Is it Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon and Food Wars". Anime News Network. April 4, 2015.
21. "Story". Re-Kan! Official Website. TBS TV. Retrieved May 28, 2015.
22. "Re-Kan! Full episodes". Crunchyroll. Retrieved May 29, 2015.
23. 基本情報 [Basic information]. Re-Kan! Official Website (in Japanese). TBS TV. Retrieved May 28, 2015.
24. https://mediaarts-db.jp/an/anime_series/19140
25. "The Spring 2015 Anime Preview Guide: Re-kan". Anime News Network. April 4, 2015. Retrieved January 8, 2017.
26. Jensen, Paul (October 10, 2016). "Re-Kan! - Shelf Life". Anime News Network. Retrieved May 1, 2019.

External links

• Anime official website (in Japanese)
• Re-Kan! (manga) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia