Posted: 10/02/2011

Kenichi: The Mightiest Disciple Season One

(2011)

by Amber Burnham

Now available from Funimation Entertainment.

Kenichi: The Mightiest Disciple is a story centering on a first year high school student named Kenichi Shirahama. He has always been a wimp and everyone seems to know it. He is interested in the martial arts and even joins the karate club despite his reputation. On his first day of high school, he meets a girl named Miu Furinji. She is cute, sweet, wants to be his friend, and can hold her own in a fight. Miu finds out Kenichi is not only interested in martial arts but would like to learn them in order to become more powerful. Miu lends her help by telling Kenichi about the Ryozanpaku dojo. But what does being her friend have in store for Kenichi?

Kenichi’s personality is high strung, jumping from serious to out of control at the drop of the hat. This affects the story line in the first few episodes because the reasons for his actions are not always clear. Once the story gets on track, his quick jumps between levels of control lend to Kenichi’s character in a charming way. It makes him more fun loving and comical. Not to mention he gets thrown into a dojo full of characters stranger then he, creating a tone of normality to his personality. The outlandish characters balance well with the seriousness of the conflicts and focus on the martial arts trainings and philosophies, scattered though the episodes.

While the story may have had a slow start, the show hits you from the first second visually. The art is full of depth and detail. Kenichi: The Mightiest Disciple is drawn in a way that gives the impression of love and devotion being placed within every line and color. No matter what you are looking at, shortcuts and improper coloring are hard to find. At the same time, the character design stands out as an aide to the story. Kenichi is designed to appear as a normal teenager, normal to subpar in size, intelligence and looks; he is cute but not overly attractive. Where as everyone else around him is designed in over the top ways. They are either overly muscular or resembling an alien with pointy ears and green hair. This design gives a visual imprint that Kenichi is just an average unimpressive kid. Because of this, the viewer finds themselves rooting for him not only because of his personality but also due to his obvious underdog status.

Kenichi: The Mightiest Disciple is a fun, comical, look at how a below average boy can improve his life and become better than he ever thought he could be. Season one is the beginning of his journey. You will chuckle at Kenichi’s attempts to learn martial arts and revel in his small victories along the way. Included on the discs along with the first twenty-six episodes are textless opening and ending songs as well as trailers for other Funimation releases.

Amber Burnham has a BA in Early Childhood Education from Kendall College. She is also a regular panelist on Kichicast, the all-girl, Chicago-based podcast devoted to anime, manga, and Japanese culture. You can listen to Kichicast at kichigi.com.

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