Cannon God Exaxxion
Encyclopedia
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.
, Japan
. At the tenth anniversary of first contact with the Leopoldians, an alien race, the unveiling of an Elevator Ship, designed for orbital transport to and from the Leopoldian 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 Leopoldian work force on Earth to their advantage. It is now up to Hōichi, with the help of his grandfather, his school friend Akane, and Isaka, who recently transferred to Howa High School, to stop them and save Earth.
The series was published in North America by Dark Horse Comics
but they unexpectedly stopped and currently have no plans to release the last two volumes in English.
Akane Hino (日野 茜 Hino Akane)
Isaka Minagata (水方 勇華 Minagata Isaka)
Hōsuke Kano (加農 砲介 Kano Hōsuke)
Ambassador Zobrozaphka Shes’ka
Kin'ba-sensei
Murata
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
.
that uses antimatter
to work.
Almost all Leopoldian 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.
. It dates back over 2,000 years, was created by the Leopoldians, 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.
version of the manga is published by Dark Horse Comics
. Cannon God Exaxxion was also published in France by Glénat
, and in Poland and Germany by Egmont
.
Manga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
by Kenichi Sonoda
Kenichi Sonoda
is a comic book artist and animation character designer.-Professional career:Sonoda moved to Tokyo in 1984, at the age of 21, and began work at Artmic, an anime studio. During this time, he worked on Bubblegum Crisis, producing the original Knight Saber character designs...
that deals with Earth
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
's fight against alien colonization with the help of giant robots and super powered battle suits.
Story
Hōichi Kano, the Grandson (revealed in stage three to be son) of world famous inventor Hōsuke Kano, is a student at Howa High School in Musashino CityMusashino, Tokyo
is a city located in Tokyo, Japan.As of October 1, 2010, the city has an estimated population of 137,222 and a population density of 12,788.63 persons per km². The total area is 10.73 km².The city was founded on November 3, 1947...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. At the tenth anniversary of first contact with the Leopoldians, an alien race, the unveiling of an Elevator Ship, designed for orbital transport to and from the Leopoldian home world and Earth
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
, is about to take place. However, this was just a ploy to take control of the Earth, using their advanced technology and large Leopoldian work force on Earth to their advantage. It is now up to Hōichi, with the help of his grandfather, his school friend Akane, and Isaka, who recently transferred to Howa High School, to stop them and save Earth.
The series was published in North America by Dark Horse Comics
Dark Horse Comics
Dark Horse Comics is the largest independent American comic book and manga publisher.Dark Horse Comics was founded in 1986 by Mike Richardson in Milwaukie, Oregon, with the concept of establishing an ideal atmosphere for creative professionals. Richardson started out by opening his first comic book...
but they unexpectedly stopped and currently have no plans to release the last two volumes in English.
Characters
Hōichi Kano (加農 砲一 Kano Hōichi)- The main character of the series, Hōichi's life is turned upside down when the Leopoldians take over the Earth by force.
- Hōichi is called "Gun" by his friends, which is a joke on his name. He is called this because the kanjiKanjiKanji are the adopted logographic Chinese characters hanzi that are used in the modern Japanese writing system along with hiragana , katakana , Indo Arabic numerals, and the occasional use of the Latin alphabet...
symbol for Hō in his name (砲) means "gunGunA gun is a muzzle or breech-loaded projectile-firing weapon. There are various definitions depending on the nation and branch of service. A "gun" may be distinguished from other firearms in being a crew-served weapon such as a howitzer or mortar, as opposed to a small arm like a rifle or pistol,...
" in JapaneseJapanese languageis a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
. On the day of the tenth anniversary of first contact with the Leopoldians, Hōichi meets Isaka, a beautiful young high school girl who wants some time alone with Hōichi. She turns out to be a creation of Hōsuke Kano, and gives Hōichi the Gunner Suit Glove, which allows Hōichi to change his clothes into a power suit. After fighting off Leopoldian robots, Hōichi is taken to the XXX Unit, Exaxxion.
Akane Hino (日野 茜 Hino Akane)
- Akane is, like Hōichi, a Howa High School student, and a member of the school's media club. Akane has a long-standing crush on Hōichi and is a budding young journalist who wants to interview Hōichi's grandfather for the tenth anniversary of first contact. However, when the Leopoldians take over, Akane, because of her love for Hōichi, is launched into the fight to save humankind.
Isaka Minagata (水方 勇華 Minagata Isaka)
- Hōsuke Kano created Isaka to be Hōichi's private assistant in the war against the Leopoldians. She is a humanoid colony of nanitesNanoroboticsNanorobotics is the emerging technology field of creating machines or robots whose components are at or close to the scale of a nanometer . More specifically, nanorobotics refers to the nanotechnology engineering discipline of designing and building nanorobots, with devices ranging in size from...
capable of a number of tasks including, but not limited to, providing Hōichi with vital information, transforming into an air bike, interfacing with computers, and defense against nanotech viruses.
Hōsuke Kano (加農 砲介 Kano Hōsuke)
- Hōsuke Kano is an old scientist who was made famous by his anti-Leopoldian stance. When the Leopoldians take over, Hōsuke is prepared, and has reverse-engineered the Leopoldian technology to use against them. He is expedient and willing to sacrifice many lives to gain victory over the Leopoldians. He also keeps himself a private haremHaremHarem refers to the sphere of women in what is usually a polygynous household and their enclosed quarters which are forbidden to men...
consisting of his daughter-in-law/wife (in fact, Hōichi is not his grandson but his actual son) and his all-female lab assistants. As well as working to save the Earth, and as one of the maddest of mad scientists, old Hōsuke is planning on ruling Earth, setting up Hōichi as the first heir in his dynasty.
Ambassador Zobrozaphka Shes’ka
- AKA General' Zobrozaphka Shes’ka, The Leopoldian 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. He has a personality somewhat like the historical Cardinal Richelieu, a man who is privately contemptuous of his inferiors but a natural flatterer of people who can help his career, and capable of putting on a very convincing act of sincerity. He proves equally willing to betray Leopoldians as well as Earthlings. Very much a mirror to Dr. Hōsuke Kano, Shesh'ka is plotting to take over his own homeworld once he secures Exaxxion.
Kin'ba-sensei
- A beautiful young Leopoldian 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 Leopoldians 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 Hōichi. 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. Hōsake Kano and Hōichi, manages to protect her until the end of the war.
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
Gunsmith Cats
is a Japanese seinen manga series written and illustrated by Kenichi Sonoda. It was published in Kodansha's Afternoon from 1991 to 1997 and was followed between 2004 and 2008 by a sequel series Gunsmith Cats Burst which included the same characters and situations.The series describes the adventures...
.
Mecha
An XXX, or in Leopoldian, Ra'un Meta'ar (ra'un meaning "three", meta'ar meaning "X"), Unit is a giant robotMecha
A mech , is a science fiction term for a large walking bipedal tank or robot, including ones on treads and animal shapes.-Characteristics:...
that uses antimatter
Antimatter
In particle physics, antimatter is the extension of the concept of the antiparticle to matter, where antimatter is composed of antiparticles in the same way that normal matter is composed of particles...
to work.
Almost all Leopoldian 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 meteoriteMeteorite
A meteorite is a natural object originating in outer space that survives impact with the Earth's surface. Meteorites can be big or small. Most meteorites derive from small astronomical objects called meteoroids, but they are also sometimes produced by impacts of asteroids...
. It dates back over 2,000 years, was created by the Leopoldians, 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.
- Weapons
- Exaxxion is equipped not only with strong robotic arms and legs, but also with very powerful guns. In its right arm, Exaxxion holds an array of three 88 mm Gatling Guns, in its left is a single 460 mm chain gunChain gunA chain gun is a type of machine gun or autocannon that uses an external source of power, rather than diverting energy from the cartridge, to cycle the weapon, and does so via a continuous loop of chain similar to that used on a motorcycle or bicycle. "Chain gun" is a registered trademark of...
(the same caliber as the battleship Yamatos main battery.) Finger/thumbs can extend from the arms to manipulate things.
- Exaxxion's main weapon is the Exa-Cannon. It is a 12 caliber gun with a muzzle diameter of 4096 mm 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. For even more muzzle energy, a folding barrel extension can increase the barrel length to 21 calibers. This extension has handlebars that Exaxxion grips with its enormous arms to brace for firing.
Publication
Cannon God Exaxxion appeared in Dark Horse's long-running anthology, Super Manga Blast!, which is currently discontinued. The EnglishEnglish language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
version of the manga is published by Dark Horse Comics
Dark Horse Comics
Dark Horse Comics is the largest independent American comic book and manga publisher.Dark Horse Comics was founded in 1986 by Mike Richardson in Milwaukie, Oregon, with the concept of establishing an ideal atmosphere for creative professionals. Richardson started out by opening his first comic book...
. Cannon God Exaxxion was also published in France by Glénat
Glénat (publisher)
Glénat Editions SA is a French publisher with its head office in Grenoble. The company publishes many things, including comic books and manga in France, Benelux, and Spain; it was founded by Jacques Glénat. The Spanish subsidiary has its head office in Barcelona. The Benelux subsidiary, Glénat...
, and in Poland and Germany by Egmont
Egmont Manga & Anime
Egmont Manga & Anime is one of the largest publishers of manga in Germany. It was founded in the year 2000 as a daughter company of Egmont Ehapa, after the manga boom in Germany became apparent around the turn of the millennium. Since 2003, EMA has been part of Egmont vgs in Cologne.- History :In...
.