History's Strongest Disciple Kenichi is over

[danzibr]

Dunno if people knew, but Kenichi finally ended after 12 years. Not my favorite series, and definitely too much fan service (was like soft core porn at some points), but overall I liked it. The very last page really gave it a great ending. Thoughts?

[Partysan]

I consider HSDK's ending the coup de grâce for a series that has long been in a more than sorry state. The series was great as long as the author managed to couple the progression of martial arts skills with character growth and general story progression, but for several story arcs there hasn't been anything of the sort. Instead there was a lot of pure nonsensical story without any meaning, finished by a climax that was essentially a deus ex machina that did nothing for me but to end the pain of seeing what it had become.

[Metahuman1]

Finally over huh? I'll have to pick it up again. (Eventually most super long running series like this hit a point were I just stop caring enough to remember to do regular check in's, so I wait till there over and check in then.)


Apart from that, do we know if were getting an OVA or a new Anime that are gonna pick up after the Ragnarock story line or just start fresh and cover the whole storyline?

[danzibr]

Finally over huh? I'll have to pick it up again. (Eventually most super long running series like this hit a point were I just stop caring enough to remember to do regular check in's, so I wait till there over and check in then.)


Apart from that, do we know if were getting an OVA or a new Anime that are gonna pick up after the Ragnarock story line or just start fresh and cover the whole storyline?

They actually made 2 episodes of the tournament arc (or whatever it's called). I don't believe there are currently any plans to make any more.

And a shame: the first intro song is one of the catchiest songs ever.

[MLai]

Thank god.

If the series remained like its early arcs, I'd still be reading it. But at some point, the manga prioritized T&A fanservice over martial arts and character progression. Considering the latter 2 factors are why I started reading Kenichi in the first place, and the first factor is 1 of the things I fiercely hate about American comics.... it's easy to see why I stopped.

Edit: I want to clarify... I don't hate drawings of beautiful women. But I want to sense "art" in the depictions. For example, I adore every panel of Blade Of The Immortal which depicts a woman. The women in Kenich are artless.

[danzibr]

Time to look at Blade of the Immortal.

[Lurkmoar]

Thank god.

If the series remained like its early arcs, I'd still be reading it. But at some point, the manga prioritized T&A fanservice over martial arts and character progression. Considering the latter 2 factors are why I started reading Kenichi in the first place, and the first factor is 1 of the things I fiercely hate about American comics.... it's easy to see why I stopped.

Edit: I want to clarify... I don't hate drawings of beautiful women. But I want to sense "art" in the depictions. For example, I adore every panel of Blade Of The Immortal which depicts a woman. The women in Kenich are artless.

Some bits, especially where they were fighting in that amusement park made me thought I was reading Ikkitousen. I'm no prude, but I generally like to leave T&A out of combat. The implications leave me staring at the ceiling...

[Math_Mage]

I stuck with the HSDK manga for what I now consider to have been an embarrassingly long time. My reward is not remembering more than a few idiotic snatches of plot and a few gratuitously unbelievable fights.

[Lurkmoar]

Just read there are supposed to be some one shots that settle outstanding issues sometime down the road.

[Areswargod139]

Dunno if people knew, but Kenichi finally ended after 12 years. Not my favorite series, and definitely too much fan service (was like soft core porn at some points), but overall I liked it. The very last page really gave it a great ending. Thoughts?

I liked it well enough. I don't really mind a self-proclaimed ecchi series being ecchi--and "ladies' hit points=clothes" has been a long mainstay in manga, especially ecchi. I did get tired of there being only one body type in the series--Absurd Hourglass.

What I hated the most though, was how meaningless the master vs. master fights were. It was always guaranteed that the ryuzanpaku masters would win and it was meaningless whether kenichi won or lost. He loses to the muy thai appentice and...nothing happens.

Near the end they tried to shake things up a bit--Appa merely gains a "moral victory" against his opponent (read: he loses but it doesn't matter), Shigure looses to a three vs one fight...with no repercussions. The series felt like it didn't matter whether anyone won or lost. There was no sense of peril or of what the stakes were.

[danzibr]

I liked it well enough. I don't really mind a self-proclaimed ecchi series being ecchi--and "ladies' hit points=clothes" has been a long mainstay in manga, especially ecchi. I did get tired of there being only one body type in the series--Absurd Hourglass.

What I hated the most though, was how meaningless the master vs. master fights were. It was always guaranteed that the ryuzanpaku masters would win and it was meaningless whether kenichi won or lost. He loses to the muy thai appentice and...nothing happens.

Near the end they tried to shake things up a bit--Appa merely gains a "moral victory" against his opponent (read: he loses but it doesn't matter), Shigure looses to a three vs one fight...with no repercussions. The series felt like it didn't matter whether anyone won or lost. There was no sense of peril or of what the stakes were.

Good point. I like it when people actually die (makes me sound terrible).

Looking back, I should say... I actually kind of feel shorted. I liked the very last page, but we're missing out on an awful lot. While some people are saying good riddance to the series, I actually would have liked to see how Kenichi and Miu end up together, for example. And several other things come to mind. Which ties back in with Lurkmoar's comment.