Ranked #205

Shijou Saikyou no Deshi Kenichi (Manga)

There is a kind of holistic quality to this on-going manga that makes it worth the read. I was surprised to see that no one had reviewed it yet. I'll keep this short and to the point without delving much into the story.

Perhaps this is your usual martial arts manga, but it is also so much more. The story is about a talentless, downtrodden boy who works towards developing his martial arts skills through sheer hard work and will - much like Naruto. Along his journey his enemies become his friends and together they wage war against a greater evil - again, we've heard this before - what makes it special is the delivery and the characters.

Through humor and hyperbole the masters who teach young Kenichi are made into caricatures and parodies of older martial art manga characters that we're so fond of, like "Hokuto no Ken" for instance. The various individual supporting characters have also been given much thought and characters who you thought were gone come back to play the part of an important piece in a larger puzzle. With every chapter, with every fight sequence we learn about the characters and what makes them human, sometimes even evil is compassionate. It is a very optimistic manga.

With all the action and adventure, there is also a darker, more sinister and intriguing story that rears its head in the latter stages of the manga. The constant cliffhangers at the end of every chapter are so gripping that they can be called annoying!

The artwork is not extraordinary, but takes a back seat to the story and characters - which is the primary driving force of this series.

This wonderful blend of action, adventure, humor, martial arts, intrigue comes together in a very feel good package. If blood, gore, death and evil is your thing, this is probably not for you. Naruto fans will enjoy it, and I highly recommend it to fans of martial arts manga and anime like "Kenshin", "Shura no Toki", "Bleach" et al.

I also recommend the TV series which visualizes the first 100 or so chapters of the series. read more

Another martial art manga? Maybe so, but History's Strongest Disciple Kenichi has something special that makes you want to know more and more.
(...You will regret after reading the last chapiter simply because you'll have to wait another week for the next one)

"Fighting for the people I love", another cliché but trust me, this manga won't dissapoint you one bit.

Comedy, action, romance, drama - This manga has everything you need.

(No major spoils)
It begins like in most martial art manga where the protagonist is extremely weak but unlike most protagonists, Kenichi has 0 talent for martial art and will have to work much more than anyone.
He's a big coward ('I'm not running away, this is a strategy retreat!!!") but he will learn how to deal with it thanks to his desire to protect the people he cares about (Especially Miu).

I appreciate the romantic side of the manga very much, the relationship between the Miu and Kenichi is slowly developping but it's obviously there.
Usually I hate Shonens for the mere fact that they forget to add some "love spice" into the mix, this one is different!
NB: Even if there is some romance in it, this is FAR from being a shojo.

Also unlike Naruto, Kenichi learns far more techniques, I got tired of that God damn Rasengan and Shadow clowns (see what I did there?)

The author doesn't forget about his characters and will developpe every single one. (*cough* unlike Bleach *cough*)

The art is very well done and the comedy is present in every single chapiter.

Conclusion:
If you're a fan of martial art, good romantic comedy and/or shonens in general, not reading this manga is a blasphemy. read more