Kankichi (カン吉) is a character created by Fujio Akatsuka, appearing in Akko-chan's Got a Secret! and being a member of Akatsuka's Star System. He is also present as a notable star in the seriesKibimama-chan due to the star system factor.
In his Akko-chan appearances, he is the younger brother of Moko, but may have a different setting in other uses.
Overview[]
He is initially known as Kankichi Ina (伊奈カン吉 Ina Kankichi) in the original Ribon run of the series, spanning from 1962 to 1965. In works after the first Toei adaptation, his full name becomes Kankichi Naniwa (浪花カン吉 Naniwa Kankichi) due to its influence. In Kibimama-chan, he has the surname Okawa due to the different setting.
As a character type, he can be comparable to an aged-up version of Matsuge-chan's brother Mimi or other similar mischievous young brothers that had appeared in works around this time or prior.
His given name was taken from the name of Tomoko Inao's own father, Kankichi, and was yet another influence she had on her husband's series.
Physical Appearance[]
An example of the "head swap" type of editing done to Kankichi in reprints from 1969 and on.
Manga Version 1 (1962-1967, first Akko serialization and Kibimama-chan, "Kankichi Ina" and "Kankichi Okawa")[]
The first incarnation of Kankichi is a bit infamously known for somewhat resembling a smaller, younger version of The Sextuplets, who Tomoko Akatsuka had collaborated with her husband in crafting plots around in Osomatsu-kun. A small boy named Boku, resembling those boys as well, had predated him just a chapter before.
He is depicted as a small, somewhat chubby second-grader with round features identical to those brothers, as well as wearing his hair the same way. The only difference separating his hair from their style is a single, curly cowlick sticking out in the back (though one panel in his first appearance accidentally gave him the standard two cowlicks as they have). He also has "cheek beard"-like markings on his cheeks, signifying a dirty face.
Kankichi remains in this specific visual through his other cameos in Akatsuka works up through 1967. Following this, he was redesigned to fall in line with the animated adaptation of Akko-chan, greatly lessening his resemblance to the Matsunos to a degree.
Initially, he often can be seen dressed in a shirt with three stripes, and a pair of shorts or pants. Alternatively, he can wear a blue sweater with a triangle pattern in colder seasons. When later chapters show him in his school-wear, it resembles that worn by the sextuplets, other than his uniform shirt being colored green and only having two buttons.
Manga Version 2 (1968-1969, second Akko serialization, "Kankichi Naniwa")[]
With the redraws and revisions made to various chapters for the new Ribon manga as well as the Mushi Pro reprints, Kankichi's face usually wound up being one of the changes when it came to stories. His head was redrawn to be of a wider shape, along with his hairstyle, and he gained freckles. His curly cowlick became swapped out for a standard pair, and his eyes could either still be close together like the Matsuno brothers', or smaller and separate as with the anime.
His outfits, however, usually remained the same due to either only his head being redrawn and pasted over his old one, or the choice being made to keep them similar if the entire story was redrawn. This version of Kankichi, and variations on the design, can also be seen in the Shogakukan "Picture Book" version of Akko-chan, as well as Nyarome's Expo Guide.
Manga Version 3 (1988-1989, "Kankichi Naniwa")[]
By the time of the second relaunch of the manga, Kankichi was slightly redesigned once more, with a wider face like Ataro and now usually wearing a sweater with a polygon pattern.
Though his eyes initially stayed close together more like the sextuplets', they also wound up becoming rounder and smaller like that of Ataro through the run.
Personality[]
He is initially a meek but mischievous child who winds up in trouble and gets scolded and hit by his sister and Akko for this, as well as for his weaker and cowardly nature. He is basically the bratty younger sibling type, but incredibly vulnerable and often bullied and left intimidated by those bigger and stronger than him (be they boys or girls).
When he is in a pinch, he will often feign illness to get out of studying and difficult situations, often using a stomachache as an excuse. But if the two girls or anyone else are in trouble, he'll do what he can to help, and does his best to help others in need if they are faced with hard times.
He is also committed to doing the right thing, as shown when he stole a younger boy's bike and broke it, and had to save up money to get a new one (though this was also because Chikako was threatening to tattle on him).
By the third run of the manga, he becomes much more hot-headed and ruder in speech and tone, referring to his mother, sister, and Akko in insulting ways ("kuso-baba", "Baka-Akko", etc.). Nonetheless, a softer side is shown in how he is hopelessly in love with Chikako even when Akko takes her form and treats him terribly in an attempt to drive him away from liking her.
Relationships with Other Characters[]
The Sextuplets[]
A convergence with the Osomatsu-kun cast in the Akko-chan series itself had previously involved Kankichi encountering these sextuplets while on vacation, where he was yelled at and threatened after stepping on Osomatsu in the sand. Osomatsu proceeded to steal his inner tube, and ordered him to come to a desolate house that night. Kankichi became afraid when he arrived back from the beach and claimed to have a stomachache, sleeping through the night while Akko went in his place, transforming into him to arrive at the hideout.
After Akko tricked the sextuplets by thinking the house they'd trespassed in was haunted, and retrieved the inner tube, the sextuplets wound up impressed by Kankichi. They were shown to apologize and befriend him the next day, while Kankichi only looked confused.
In a later story, Akko, Moko, and Kankichi wound up visiting the Matsuno home while trying to sell cosmetics, only to be scared off by seeing the large number of children (Kankichi in particular looking bothered by their presence).
History[]
Appearances in other works[]
See also: Akatsuka's Star System
- Kibimama-chan
- Osomatsu-kun
- Extraordinary Ataro (redesign)
- Nyarome's World Expo Surprise Surprise Surprise Guide (redesign)
Appearances in Animation[]
The Secrets of Akko-chan (1969)[]
Furious Ataro (1969)[]
Kankichi and Moko showed up in an adaptation of their manga appearance, although in this case, Moko's guest spot was voiced by Akiko Tsuboi while Kankichi was handled by Sachiko Chijimatsu (who covered various bit parts).
The Secrets of Akko-chan (1988)[]
Furious Ataro (1990)[]
Kankichi was somewhat redesigned for his cameo in this series, to tone down on the Akko-chan reference (even though Toei still had the rights to the characters). His cowlicks were removed, and he was given somewhat messier hair.
In comparison, his sister Moko became entirely replaced with a new character named Himeka Ayanokouji. Their appearance here was still nonetheless adapted from the same story, but he could still be technically considered a separate type of character in himself; his name is given a full kanji notation, as opposed to how it is usually spelled.
The Secrets of Akko-chan (1998)[]
Portrayals[]
Voice Acting[]
- 1969 series- Akiko Tsuboi
- Ataro (1969)- Sachiko Chijimatsu
- 1988 series- Noriko Uemura
- Ataro (1990)- Megumi Urawa
- 1998 series- Harumi Ikoma
Live Action[]
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- The Akko-chan story involving the trip to the ski lodge was written and published at the same time as Osomatsu-kun's "The Ski Lodge is Brutal", which had a parallel plot of Chibita working at a similar lodge and having to deal with the sextuplets' mischief. His brutality towards Kankichi can be jokingly suggested to be due to his similar appearance.
- Although they were intended as evidently the same star in different roles, by 1970 both designs of Kankichi would be depicted as separate characters in Fujio Pro's "Year of the Dog" New Year booklet. However, Katta Yoshi would temporarily revert Kankichi to his original design for the Akatsuka 80th anniversary webcomic "The Genius Birthdaybon", even if Fujio Pro artwork otherwise uses the design made popular in the 2nd Ribon run. The Shojo Manga-ka: Fujio Akatsuka book would seem to further the treatment of the two Kankichi designs as separate, in only using the Akko Kankichi's redrawn design for manga artwork (save for a reprinted image from the Akebono kashihon) while retaining the Kibimama Kankichi's pseudo-Matsuno sextuplet look.