Cannon God Exaxxion

Infobox animanga/Header
name = Cannon God Exaxxion


caption = Cannon God Exaxxion Stage 1 Front Cover
ja_name = 砲神エグザクソン
ja_name_trans = Hojin Exaxxion
genre = Comedy, Mecha, Science FictionInfobox animanga/Manga
title =
author = Kenichi Sonoda
publisher = flagicon|Japan Kodansha
publisher_other = flagicon|USA Dark Horse Comics
flagicon|France Glenat
flagicon|Germany Egmont Manga & Anime
demographic = Seinen
magazine = Afternoon
first = 1998
last = 2004
volumes = 7

nihongo|"Cannon God Exaxxion"|THE CANNON GOD EXAXXION 砲神エグザクソン|Hōjin Eguzakuson is a seven volume manga by Kenichi Sonoda that deals with Earth's fight against alien colonization with the help of giant robots and super powered battle suits.

tory

Hoichi Kano, the Grandson (revealed in stage three to be son) of world famous inventor Hosuke Kano, is a student at Howa High School in Musashino City, Japan. At the tenth anniversary of first contact with the Riofaldians, an alien race, the unveiling of an Elevator Ship, designed for orbital transport to and from the Riofaldian home world and Earth, is about to take place. However, this was just a ploy to take control of the Earth, using their advanced technology and large Riofaldian work force on Earth to their advantage. It is now up to Hoichi, with the help of Hosuke, his school friend Akane, and Isaka, who recently transferred to Howa High School, to stop them and save Earth.

The series is currently being published in North America by Dark Horse Comics.

Characters

Hoichi Kano ("Kano Hoichi")

The main character of the series, Hoichi's life is turned upside down when the Riofaldians take over the Earth by force.Hoichi is called "Gun" by his friends, which is a joke on his name. He is called this because the kanji symbol for "Ho" in his name means "gun" in Japanese.On the day of the tenth anniversary of first contact with the Riofaldians, Hoichi meets Isaka, a beautiful, not to mention "well-stacked", young high school girl who wants some time alone with Hoichi.She turns out to be a creation of Hosuke Kano, and gives Hoichi the Gunner Suit Glove, which allows Hoichi to change his clothes into a power suit. After fighting off Riofaldian robots, Hoichi is taken to the XXX Unit, Exaxxion.

Akane Hino ("Hino Akane")

Akane is, like Hoichi, a Howa High School student, and a member of the school's media club. Akane has a long-standing crush on Hoichi and is a budding young journalist who wants to interview Hoichi's grandfather for the tenth anniversary of first contact. However, when the Riofaldians take over, Akane, because of her love for Hoichi, is launched into the fight to save humankind.

Isaka Minagata ("Minagata Isaka")

Hosuke Kano created Isaka to be Hoichi's private assistant in the war against the Riofaldians. She is a humanoid colony of nanites capable of a number of tasks including, but not limited to, providing Hoichi with vital information, transforming into an air bike, interfacing with computers, and defense against nanotech viruses.

Hosuke Kano ("Kano Hosuke")

Hosuke Kano is an old scientist who was made famous by his anti-Riofaldian stance. When the Riofaldians take over, Hosuke is prepared, and has reverse-engineered the Riofaldian technology to use against them. He is expedient and willing to sacrifice many lives to gain victory over the Riofaldians. He also keeps himself a private harem consisting of his daughter-in-law/wife (in fact, Hoichi is not his grandson but his actual son) and his all-female lab assistants.

Ambassador Zobrozaphka

The Riofaldian governor on Earth and one of the main antagonists on the aliens' side. Callous and scheming, he uses the people around him to try to gain an advantage.

Kin'ba-sensei

A beautiful young Riofaldian teacher at Howa High School who quickly becomes an innocent target of hostilities by her pupils when the war breaks out. A total pacifist, she is appalled by the council's takeover, the wrath of most of her students (for whom she genuinely cares), and the horrifying methods the Riofaldians use (such as the slaughter of humans for animal food processing). She finds an ally and romantic interest in her pupil Murata, and after the end of the war both are engaged to marry.

Murata

A classmate of Hoichi. Brash and outgoing, he can also be sensitive and caring, as he reveals when he defends his teacher Kin'ba from the attacks of his agitated fellow students. When some of them even go as far as raping her, he confesses that he is actually in love with her, and with the help of Dr. Housake Kano and Hoichi, manages to protect her until the end of the war.

Mecha

An XXX, or in Riofaldian, "Ra'un Meta'ar" ("ra'un" meaning "three", "meta'ar" meaning "X"), Unit is a giant robot that uses antimatter to work.

Almost all Riofaldian warfare is based on electricity. The guns are all rail guns with small amounts of chemical propellant. The electricity is also used to generate gravity and inertial fields that lessen impacts and allow the mechs to "fall up". Exaxxion even walks on cushions of fields to prevent its feet from sticking through the ground. Because Exaxxion has antimatter, its electricity output is on the level of a huge battleship, even though its in a small body. This allows it to take hits undamaged that most mechs could not survive.

Exaxxion

Exaxxion is the main XXX Unit from "Cannon God Exaxxion". It was found by Hosuke Kano during excavation for what was believed to be a meteorite. It dates back over 2,000 years, was created by the Riofaldians, and is the most powerful XXX Unit in the series, due to its large antimatter power plant, able not only to store antimatter, but also create new reserves.

*WeaponsExaxxion is equipped not only with strong robotic arms and legs, but also with very powerful guns. In its right arm, Exaxxion holds a 88mm Gatling Gun, in its left is a 460mm chain gun.

Exaxxion's main weapon is the Exa-Cannon. It is a 12 caliber gun with a muzzle diameter of 4096mm and a barrel length of 49.2 meters. The Exa-Cannon is located in Exaxxion's chest. It fires morphing rounds that change shape in flight to allow great accuracy for hitting targets.

Publication

Cannon God Exaxxion appeared in Dark Horse's long-running anthology, Super Manga Blast!, which is currently discontinued. The English version of the manga is published by Dark Horse Comics.

* "Cannon God Exaxxion 1 TPB" (2002/12) ISBN 1-56971-745-1
* "Cannon God Exaxxion 2 TPB" (2003/08) ISBN 1-56971-966-7
* "Cannon God Exaxxion 3 TPB" (2004/05) ISBN 1-59307-087-X
* "Cannon God Exaxxion 4 TPB" (2005/07) ISBN 1-59307-338-0
* "Cannon God Exaxxion 5 TPB" (2006/06) ISBN 1-59307-571-5

Trivia

*The majority of the female characters appearing in the series have names which have been adapted from famous guns and their manufacturers. This stems from Sonoda's love of firearms, which he has already demonstrated in his previous series "Gunsmith Cats."

External links

* [http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/manga.php?id=1591 "Cannon God Exaxxion"] at Anime News Network
* [http://www.comicreaders.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=20 "Cannon God Exaxxion"] at comicreaders.com