Re-Kan!
Re-Kan! 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 December 2009 issue, and it later began serialization with the February 2010 issue. It has been collected into twelve tankōbon volumes. A 13-episode anime television series adaptation by Pierrot+ aired in Japan between April and June 2015.
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, but none of her peers share that ability. After transferring to Hanazuka Prefectural High School, she becomes friends with some classmates who put up with her antics, including class representative Narumi Inoue, who despises anything related to the occult. The story follows their everyday antics.
Characters
Humans
;Yūki Inoue
;Masaki Yamada
Ghosts
;Neckless Spirit / Faceless Spirit
;Bound Spirit of the Park
;Narumi's Grandmother
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 into serialization from February 2010. An anthology comic was released on May 7, 2015. It moved to Manga Time for the May issue on April 7, 2018, when Jumbo was discontinued. Sixteen tankōbon volumes have been released from August 6, 2011, to November 7, 2025. It ended serialization on August 7, 2025.
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. The opening and ending themes respectively are "Colorful Story" and "Kesaran Pasaran", both performed by every♥ing!. Sentai Filmworks has licensed the anime for digital and home video release in North America.
Reception
Previews
Anime News Network had three editors review the first episode of the anime: 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."
Series
Fellow ANN editor Paul Jensen reviewed the complete anime series in 2016. 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." Allen Moody from THEM Anime Reviews was critical of Hibiki's supporting cast being made up of "one-trick ponies," the show's sentimental tales consisting of "mawkish, featherweight drama" and the lazily drawn ghost designs, but praised both episodes involving Inoue's cousin and the kogal ghost, and the slasher victim as his favorite character.