Jack's Movie Picks

Kenichi History’s Strongest Disciple also known as Kenichi The Mightiest Disciple in the US release.

I’ve been a long time anime fan and I would like to recommend a great one. The one I would like to recommend is history’s strongest disciple Kenichi! It’s an anime series that is 50 episodes long and the story focuses on Kenichi Shirahama, an average 15-year-old weakling, whose life is upended with the appearance of the naive, beautiful, and strong transfer student, Miu F?rinji. After Kenichi witnesses Miu’s skills in martial arts, he joins the Ry?zanpaku dojo, a gathering place of those who are truly strong, which coincidentally also happens to be Miu’s home. After beating a karate student in a match, he is soon targeted by all the delinquents in the school. Since then, Kenichi’s daily routine is divided between his hellish training with the six masters of Ry?zanpaku, and his fights against the members of Ragnarok, a gang who views him as either a possible ally or an impending threat to their plans.

Let me start off by saying this is one of my favorite shows currently being aired. The basic story is cliche. A humble, picked-on nice guy type is put in a situation where he is constantly bullied and needs to become stronger to survive.

Although this formula is a bit overdone in anime as a genre and has a tendency to be campy, this show is an exception. The character development is solid focusing on the emotional and personality growth Kenichi goes through due to the fear and humiliation dealt him by the members of his karate club. Kenichi, having been a member for some time, has been relegated to the “punching bag/ gopher” of the club and is subsequently challenged by the rookie bully of the club loser must quit. This leads him on a road of personal growth and discovery that transforms kenichi from “weak legs” into history’s strongest disciple.

Animation: The art style is a little rough around the edges and a bit derivative with respect to the masters that train him. But it lends itself well to the character development and has great potential for future episodes. It also makes the various disciplines easier to relate to for the uninitiated. There is also a healthy dose of fan-service in the anatomical proportions and design of Miu and Hagane the female characters (think DOA physics) as well as fast paced and smooth fight scenes.

Characters: Are great and well developed emotionally, although I’d like a little more background on each teacher and how they all meet.

Overall: This show has so many little odd ball aspects which if taken individually would have poisoned any show, but when combined have formed a humorous and exciting story that will keep you hooked till the next release. This is a definite must see anime for those looking for an escape from the all too prevalent romance and drama fare popular this time of year. I give it a 4 1/2 out of 5.