Akihabara@DEEP

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Akihabara@DEEP is a Japanese television show that was based on a manga of the same name by Ira Ishida. Taking place in the city of Akihabara, or Akiba as it is often shortened to, it focuses on a group of outcasts of society, mainly otaku and a company they establish to "troubleshoot" the problems of Akihabara.

It all begins when a mysterious online personality named Yui decides to assemble these outcasts to try and form a group dedicated to solving the problems that plague Akiba by forming the "troubleshooting" company, Akihabara@DEEP, often shortened to just @DEEP. One example of this troubleshooting would be that the otaku of Akiba have come under a surge of bullying. @DEEP's first task was to eliminate this bullying. After getting rid of this problem, @DEEP began taking up other tasks as well. Some of these include clearing the name of a cosplayer in a case that involved the distribution of underground videos depicting other cosplayers getting undressed in dressing rooms, protecting a news anchor from attacks by otaku who were enraged at a story that she had previously worked on that bashed the youth of Akiba, and helping out a maid cafe that the people of Akiba frequent from an opposing maid cafe that was acting extremely hostile to this maid cafe and even provided various prostitution services to the visitors of the opposing maid cafe.

While @DEEP solves these cases, the group unintentionally attracts the attention of a seedy character named Nakagomi Takeshi. The reason behind this is because of a secret past relationship between Nakagomi and Yui. What adds to this is a fully self-reliant AI program that Nakagomi would greatly benefit from if he got his hands on it. This is because he is the president of a very influential electronics company called Digital Capital, often shortened to DigiCap. He will eventually raid @DEEP's headquarters, steal Yui's AI, and kidnap Akira.

Contents 1 Characters 1.1 Page (ページ, Peeji?) 1.2 Box (ボックス, Bokkusu?) 1.3 Taiko (タイコ, Taiko?) 1.4 Akira (アキラ, Akira?) 1.5 Ism (イズム, Izumu?) 1.6 Daruma (ダルマ, Daruma?) 1.7 Yui (ユイ, Yui?) 1.8 Takeshi Nakagomi (中込威, Nakagomi Takeshi?) 2 Episodes

[edit] Characters

The main characters of @DEEP are all outcasts of society and usually have something fundamentally wrong with themselves. After getting advice from a Website called "Yui's Lifeguard" these six individuals are called together by the website's creator, Yui, to help clean up Akiba.

[edit] Page (ページ, Peeji^?)

(Drama: Shunsuke Kazama; Movie: Hiroki Narimiya)

Page is the leader of Akihabara@DEEP. Although articulate, he has a severe stutter that prevents him from speaking at length without the aid of a text-to-speech program on his computer, which Taiko later upgrades to speak more fluently in Page's own voice. Page is the only member of @DEEP without a particular area of expertise, but proves a worthy leader for the group. He always has his friends' best interests at heart and works hard to protect them, as seen when he stops the merciless beating of Akira, Box, and Taiko by threatening to blow himself up with 'bombs' (in actuality, fireworks) strapped to his body.

At the beginning of each mission, he often says, "All right, planning time!" to the point where he is teased by the others for its constant repetition despite his inability to say it properly.

[edit] Box (ボックス, Bokkusu^?)

(Drama: Toma Ikuta; Movie: Shugo Oshinari)

Box is @DEEP's resident graphic designer. He wears gloves at all times to prevent direct contact the world, and changes to a fresh pair every two hours. Box is afraid of women to the point that he foams at the mouth if one gets too close. He, however, has no problems at all with what he terms '2D women', for example animated women, female cosplayers, or maids (although not ero maids; Box declares them to have too much bare skin to be grouped in with his 2D women).

[edit] Taiko (タイコ, Taiko^?)

(Drama: Gen Hoshino; Movie: Yoshiyoshi Arakawa)

Taiko is a techno-musician who creates ringtones and the like as a hobby. When he is exposed to flashing lights, he seizes, freezing up like a computer. His nickname is derivative of his musical ability.

[edit] Akira (アキラ, Akira^?)

(Drama: Yuka Kosaka; Movie: Yu Yamada)

Akira is @DEEP's fighting maid, working at 'Akane-chin' during the day and fighting cat-fight cage matches at night. She provides the initial funding for @DEEP's headquarters and activities with the prize money she wins in a high-profile match. Although already quite popular among Akihabara otaku, Akira begins to attract an exponential amount of attention after Page, Box, and Taiko create her official website.

[edit] Ism (イズム, Izumu^?)

(Drama: Hatsune Matsushima; Movie: Haruma Miura)

@DEEP's coding and hacking prodigy, Ism is the one who programmed Yui's website and AI system. In the novel and film, Ism is male, but in the manga and drama is female.

[edit] Daruma (ダルマ, Daruma^?)

(Drama: Yuki Himura)

Daruma is @DEEP's cosplay expert. In the novel and manga, he is a middle-aged lawyer who provides legal consultation for the team. In the drama, he retains his cosplay expertise, and also serves as @DEEP's accountant, but mostly he provides comic relief. He was excluded from the film entirely.

[edit] Yui (ユイ, Yui^?)

(Drama: Manami Honjo)

Yui is the mysterious woman who brings the members of Akihabara@DEEP, all regular visitors to her website, together. She once had a relationship with Nakagomi which ended because of their contrary motivations; Nakagomi sought financial gain, while Yui simply wanted to help others. After Yui dies, her AI (designed by Ism) evolves into a sentient program.

[edit] Takeshi Nakagomi (中込威, Nakagomi Takeshi^?)

(Drama: Kazuki Kitamura; Movie: Kuranosuke Sasaki)

Nakagomi is the CEO of Digi Capital, and an otaku himself. After learning of the existence of Akihabara@DEEP, he attempts to help them anonymously, but when they refuse to surrender Yui's AI to him, he seeks to destroy them.

[edit] Episodes

There are 11 episodes of Akihabara@DEEP. Each episode is called a Search.

Search 1: Our City Akihabara. Exterminate the Otaku Hunts!
Search 2: Fighting Maid Akira. Get Revenge in the Cat Fight!
Search 3: Getting Over Yui's Death. @DEEP Gets Started. Catch the Cosplay Peeper!
Search 4: Taiko in Love.!? Save the Brainwashed Akiba Children!
Search 5: Appearance of Imposter Yui! Exposing the Suicide Site Targeting Ota!
Search 6: Female Announcer vs Otaku. Prevent a Media Frenzy!
Search 7: Akiba of the Dead. Repel the Otaku Zombie!
Search 8: Great Maid War. Investigate the Ero Maid Cafe!
Search 9: Box's Past. Conquer that Fear of Women!
Search 10: Daruma Falls!? @DEEP splits up!? Breakthrough Nakagomi's Net!
Search 11: @DEEP Goes Forth! Rescue Yui from the Electric Brain Castle!