Okay. I've seen threads for One Piece, Naruto, Bleach, and Shingeki no Kyojin, so I figured that now is as good a time as any to post a thread about one of my favorite manga: History's Strongest Disciple Kenichi, created by Syun Matsuena. This manga was first released in 2002, and as of today, consists of 534 chapters (as of 20 August 2013) spanning 50 volumes. It's also known as Kenichi: The Mightiest Disciple in the U.S.A., thanks to Funimation's English dubbing (which is just as good as the Japanese subs, I'll admit) of the 50 episode anime adapted from the first 150 chapters. Three OVAs animated by Brain's Base that cover post-Ragnarok events are out there on the internet as well.
START SYNOPSIS
Kenichi Shirahama is a 17-year-old book- and gardening-loving high school student who has been the target of bullies for his whole life. On his first day of class, he meets Miu Fūrinji, the new transfer student, who floors him (both literally and figuratively). Thanks to his desire to become stronger, he follows her to Ryōzanpaku, a dojo that houses six of the strongest martial arts masters, including the proclaimed "Strongest Man in the World," who happens to be Miu's grandfather and master of the dojo. After defeating a high-end member of the high school's karate club with basic moves he learned from Miu, Kenichi becomes a target of the other delinquents in the school, many of which are members of Ragnarok, a powerful gang. While Kenichi initially agrees to train with the masters of Ryōzanpaku to grow stronger and defend himself, he eventually decides to become a dedicated disciple so he can fulfill his motto of defending those who cannot defend themselves, with special focus towards Miu, whom he develops a crush on. As a result, his daily routines are split between training (from hell) provided by the six masters and fights with the members of Ragnarok (and eventually their Eight Fists, which are their strongest members).
Later on in the series, Kenichi faces down YOMI, a group of ten disciples who are trained by Yami, a dark counterpart to Ryōzanpaku, based primarily on the ethics of martial arts they follow. While Ryōzanpaku opts to follow the ethics of Katsujin-ken, which follow the belief of always sparing their opponent's lives, Yami (and YOMI) believe in Satsujin-ken, which states that any method of victory in a fight, including murder, is acceptable. As the two martial arts powers clash, Kenichi, Miu, and their allies are caught up and forced to fight YOMI while the masters of Ryōzanpaku clash with Yami's One Shadow Nine Fists and other members to shift the fate of the martial arts realm.
END SYNOPSIS
After a fight between the Shinpaku Alliance and YOMI in an amusement park, Yami decides to initiate their Eternal Sunset operation, which will start another world war which the One Shadow Nine Fists of Yami will utilize to maintain their skillset and not have them "rot away in these times of peace." The Japanese government has turned against Ryōzanpaku, much to Inspector Honmaki's dismay, and decided to support Yami's One Shadow Nine Fists. Meanwhile, Hayato Fūrinji, the master of Ryōzanpaku and "the Invincible Superman" is being stalled out by the head of the Weapons Division of Yami on an unknown island, cutting the readily-available masters of Ryōzanpaku down to five. To make matters worse, Shigure Kōsaka, the weapons master, is left to defend Kenichi, Miu, and the Shinpaku Alliance out of concern for the movements of Yami's Weapons Division, cutting Ryōzanpaku's numbers down to four (Akisame Kōetsuji, Apachai Hopochai, Kensei Ma, Shio Sakaki) against Yami's seven, which includes their One Shadow, Saiga Fūrinji, as well as Mikumo Kushinada, Sōgetsu Ma, Sehrul Rahman, Agaard Jum Sai, Ogata Isshinsai, and Akira Hongō.
