Taekwondo Kid

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Kicking isn't all Taekwondo is good for. Taekwondo Kid is follows the Shinhwa Academy through a series of matches and tournaments after the rules changed in their favor. The story follows main character Ihn as he develops into a professional fighter and struggles to overcome his own limits.

The plot itself is pretty basic. The team takes part in matches and tournaments getting stronger in between with training arcs. While never complicated or complex, the execution is well done. Really, the story is about the love if the sport. You can feel the love the author has for Taekwondo with every fight and it is ... the main support for the story. The author's love for the sport is expressed through the characters and their matches, almost always making a point to show the characters having fun participating. Taekwondo isn't about winning or losing, it's about having a good time. The story, while conclusive, leaves a lot of plot threads seemingly unfulfilled. Each story arc has a conclusion, but the story easily feels like it could have a second season and continue on from its end.

The characters all have rather basic personalities, but it's made up for in how the personalities effect everyone's different fighting style. Ihn is a well rounded fighter but is a hothead who lacks discipline. Taehun is shy and afraid of getting hurt, but his natural ability and stamina are the best of any student. Donghyeon is a thug who's new to the sport and uses hand abilities to adapt his Street fighting style. The main cast of characters also have a fun dynamic and naturally work well as a team. Their coach adds another layer to the dynamic and is always pushing his students without ever crossing any lines. Beyond the main cast, the characters are rather forgettable. Cheongdo (Shinhwa's rival team) has a few developed characters, but none of the other teams stand out much besides some of their gimmicks. Even some of the characters who were implied to have plot significance never ended up doing anything, making me question why there were built up in the first place.

The art is appealing and stylized to a degree. The fights are choreographed well and mostly natural to follow. Character designs are simple and some are identical to others. The formatting made the story easy to read.

In the end, Taekwondo Kid is for people who loves sports stories. It follows the same plot beats as most other sports stories but has a fun main cast of characters who carry the story well. I'd recommend it to people who like Slam Dunk and similar stories, though don't expect the quality to be the same.

Story: 8/10
Characters: 7/10
Art: 8/10
Enjoyment: 8/10
Overall: 8/10

Very casual sports drama where kids compete and learn good sportsmanship. I think the author kind of forgot to develop a story because there is no hook to this whatsoever. Kids just appear out of nowhere and start kicking each other... It seems like a missed opportunity since they could have used this story as a way to teach the reader about taekwondo. The chapters are incredibly repetitive and the artwork is so basic you can't tell one chapter from another. I wouldn't be surprised if half the panels are reused. If you are expecting a traditional sports story like Haikyuu then definitely stay away ... from this one.