Shijō Saikyō no Deshi Ken'ichi

:Ken'ichi is a first year high school student, who likes to read "How to..." books. He was initially viewed as a weakling by the rest of his school, and was ranked as the weakest student. In order to become strong enough to protect others, he becomes a disciple of the Ryōzanpaku Dojo, and eventually lives there, so he can fully embrace his masters' teachings. Despite his whiny nature, he grows to be a strong fighter when motivated, usually when using his skill to protect others, adversary and ally alike. Isshinsai Ogata believes that he possesses untapped potential, and if he could unlock it, Kenichi would become the strongest in the world.

Terminology

;Dō:A Dō type martial artist uses his anger to exceed his limits. According to the manga, Apachai and Sakaki are both Dō types. It seems that Dō types are more prone to move onto the Asura path (the killing path), because they fight with anger, and can hardly control themselves when fighting. However, Apachai and Sakaki are kind by nature, so they avoided walking onto the Asura path; though they are still hot blooded fighters.

;Sei:A Sei type martial artist hides his intention to fight, then releases it quickly. According to the manga, it actually means that this type of martial artist fights not with power or anger, but with talent, skills, and wit. These traits are evident in Shigure, Kensei and Akisame.

;"Attacks and techniques:"

;Sōtenshu:A Hakkyōken's attack learned from Kensei Ma. You push away the attacks of the enemy, and when you get closer, push the enemy with both hands. :Details: You stand with your right foot front. As you make a circular movement with both your hands, you step with your left foot. Then (while stepping), you bring your hands to your right. You then push both your hands forward and hit the ground with your left foot at the same time. This move is seen in episode 32.

;Seikūken:A defensive technique first deployed by Odin. It involves controlling the entire radius within one's arm length, creating an impenetrable shield around oneself. Odin supplements this technique by releasing high amounts of ki, allowing him to confuse and scare his opponents, causing wayward attacks. The Seikūken can only be erected with a calm mind (i.e. jumping around or moving will make it difficult); if one is not calm, it would be near impossible to erect the Seikūken. In volume 16 of the manga, during his battle with Kenichi, Odin shows that he is able to overcome this limitation. The Sei type masters at Ryōzanpaku were able to implement Seikūken with just their mind. In chapter 257, Kenichi understands the second level of Seikuken, and is able to deflect stones from an explosion with seemingly no effort. :It is also a term actually used by the Karate and Aikido (See also: Maai).

;Yamatzuki:A Karate's attack learned from Shio Sakaki. You pretend to aim for the head with your left fist, but when they try to block it, you hit them in the stomach with your right fist. This attack is forbidden in sport karate. :Details: Step in with your left foot, and pretend that your main attack is a punch to your opponent's head. When they block it, pull the fist back, and use that fluent motion to make a punch to the opponent's stomach with the opposite fist.

;Kao Loy:A Muay Thai's knee-dive to the opponent's head learned from Apachai. :Details: Grab the opponent by their neck or head. Then jump up and hit their face with your right knee. In the anime, this attack is said to be useful when the opponent is running towards you.

;Kuchiki Taoshi:A Jujitsu attack learned from Akisame Kōetsuji. Grab the opponent's knee with both hands and lift it up, making the enemy fall. :Details: Shirahama uses this attack after a "Ugyuhaitou", a punch in the stomach. While punching in the stomach with his right hand, he grabs the opponent's knee with his left. After that, he grabs it with his right too and he proceeds as above.

;Sawk Klab:A Muay Thai technique Ken'ichi learns from Apachai.:Details: This technique is performed by getting your opponent behind you, then turning and hitting his/her neck with an elbow blow (reverse elbow). This is the first Muay Thai technique that Kenichi learns after starting the techniques with his masters.

;MEOTOODE: A Karate's attack learned from Shio Sakaki. It use both hands for offense and defense.: Details: This technique involves both hand to attack and defend.

;nihongo|Kouho and Haiho|扣歩・擺歩:A Hakkeshou's sidestep technique taught by Fūrinji Miu. When an opponent attacks, you circle around his side, and appear behind him. :Details: When someone attacks with their right hand, put your right foot behind their left, with your two feet pointing towards each other. After that, follow up with your left foot, circle behind your opponent's left side and you appear behind the opponent. This can be followed by a throw; when behind the opponent's rear, hit their neck with your right arm, and put your right leg behind their legs. You should not necessarily hit the oppponent's neck too severely, as the opponent will have lost their balance already depending on the speed of the attack, not the strength of it.

Adaptations

Anime

An anime adaptation of "Shijō Saikyō no Deshi Ken'ichi" animated by Tokyo Movie Shinsha first started airing on October 7 2006. It aired a total of fifty episodes, covering from the beginning of the story to the confrontation against the top members of Ragnarok. Funimation is currently in the process of dubbing "Kenichi:the mightiest deciple".

Music themes

Games

On March 15 2007, Capcom released the series' first game,"Shijō Saikyō no Deshi Kenichi: Gekitō! Ragnarok Hachikengō", exclusively on the PlayStation 2. It is currently only available in Japan. The story is based on the Ragnarok arc which was the main storyline of the anime, so most of the main characters from the anime are in the game. It contains a fast paced versus battle mode with 14 characters. There is also an option to play in story mode or in practice mode for learning new attacks.

Differences between the manga and anime

* In the manga, Kenichi starts training at Ryōzanpaku after beating Daimonji. Miu's map was so confusing that Kenichi needed Honoka to decipher it for him.

* A short arc before Kenichi's showdown with Hermit showed that Akisame had brought Kenichi to train in the mountains to learn the art of strategy. However, at the end of the short arc, Kenichi showed that training can surpass even strategy. This arc is not shown in the anime.

* In the manga, after the battle between Kenichi and Hermit, there is a short arc where Kenichi and Sakaki challenged another dojo, where one of the members of the Shinpaku Alliance was learning an unsportsmanlike version of martial arts (poking the opponents' eyes, using foldable chairs to attack, etc.). This arc is not shown in the anime.

* Right after defeating Thor, the next chapter showed Kenichi slacking off in his training as he thought he was strong enough. His masters proved otherwise, with Apachai getting him severely injured. This is not shown in the anime.

* Right after the arc where Kisara quit Ragnarok, the following 5 chapters followed Hayato's recounts of his meeting with Apachai, and how the latter followed him to Ryōzanpaku. This arc, which is not shown in the anime, was then immediately followed by Nījima's plan 'H' to get Hermit to join the Shinpaku Alliance. This is set after Kenichi went on the mountain retreat with Hayato in the anime, but in the manga, Kenichi participated in the action.

* There is a short arc where Kenichi's father visited him at the Ryōzanpaku Dojo, and after witnessing the actual training, tried to get Kenichi to return home. He brought along his new gun, Ludwig, which he secretly bought without his wife's knowledge.

* In the manga, the 馬 family (Kensei, Sōgetsu, Renka, etc.) pronounces their family name ば, (Ba); in the anime, and in some translations, this has been changed to the usual Chinese pronunciation, ま (Ma.)

* Blood in the anime version is either significantly reduced, or removed entirely when compared to the manga.

* The anime ends before the YOMI arc, thus its existence is omitted. So far there is no news if they are going to make a sequel for the YOMI arc.

Differences from Tatakae!! Ryōzanpaku

The plot to the 5 volume monthly predecessor to the series was mostly the same, with a few major differences:

*Shigure does not exist in the monthly version, and two of the masters are said to be away on a journey (the silhouette of one of them seems to be Shigure, though). There is also an implied sex scene between Nanjou Kisara and Takenouchi Ikki. Also, Akisame's age is said to be 28 instead of 38, but despite the 10 year age difference his looks are the same.
*Kenichi and Miu do no attend the same high school.
*Ba Sougetsu and Ikki Takeda both look completely different. Additionally, Takeda is named nihongo|Takenouchi|竹ノ内 (possibly a parody of Ippo Makunouchi from Hajime no Ippo) and is the captain of the boxing team. Natsu Tanimoto is also instead named nihongo|Natsu Sugimoto|杉本 夏|Sugimoto Natsu.
*The group Kenichi battles against is named nihongo|Snake|スネイク and is headed by three main members: nihongo|Shōgo Furukawa|吉川 将吾|Furukawa Shōgo (Top One), Natsu Sugimoto/Hermit (Top Two), and Kisara Nanjō (Top Three). The three of them later appeared in "Kenichi" as members of Ragnarok (Furukawa appeared as Berserker). Ragnarok was used as the name of Snake's rival group.
*The original Hermit looked exactly like the new Takeda, still however clothed in the same Hermit outfit.
*Ryōzanpaku Master Differences: Shio Sakaki was build much slimmer than in the spinoff, Apachai Hopachai was fashioned in the same clothes, with hair resembling Guile from Street Fighter, Shigure Kosaka is fashioned in more of a sterotypical ninja suit, Elder resembled a more feeble old man fashioned in a suit similar to that of the captains in Bleach, Ma Kensei had the same outfit without his signature hat and a yin yang symbol on his shoulders, and Akisame Koetsuji had shorter hair.

External links

* [http://websunday.net/rensai/set_ken.html "Shōnen Sunday"'s official "Shijou Saikyou no Deshi Kenichi" page]
* [http://www.tv-tokyo.co.jp/anime/kenichi Official "Kenichi" anime site for TV-Tokyo]
* [http://www.tms-e.com/tv_movie/kenichi/index.html Official "Kenichi" anime site for TMS]
* [http://cal.syoboi.jp/tid/988/subtitle episode list]
* [http://www.m-bros.net/~shinpaku/index.html Official "New White Union" site]
* [http://www.m-bros.net/~wazadepa/index.html Official "Syun Matsuena" site]
* [http://www.funimation.com/kenichi Official Site]
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