The new series will begin publication in March.
After more than a decade, Shun Matsuena’s popular martial arts manga “Kenichi: The Mightiest Disciple” is making a comeback! The author himself announced a sequel manga on his X (formerly Twitter) account. Fans who have been waiting for the anime to return can quench their thirst with this new manga.
Kenichi: The Mightiest Disciple sequel manga details
According to Shun Matsuena’s post, the new manga will be titled Tatsujin-hen (Masters Arc). The sequel will begin publication on 25 March, 2026, on Shogakukan's Sunday Webry digital platform. The author also posted an illustration of the main characters of the manga to commemorate the news.
Matsuena published a manga titled “Tatakae! Ryōzanpaku Shijō Saikyō no Deshi” on Shogakukan’s Shōnen Sunday Super from 1999 to 2002. Later, a remake of the manga titled “Kenichi: The Mightiest Disciple”, was published in Shogakukan's Weekly Shōnen Sunday magazine from 2002 to 2014. The series has been collected into 61 tankōbon volumes.
A 50-episode anime adaptation by TMS Entertainment aired from 2006 to 2007. An 11-episode OVA titled “The Attack of Darkness” by Brain's Base aired between 2012 and 2014. In North America, the anime is licensed by Crunchyroll, which describes the story as:
Kenichi, who has been bullied but wishes to be strong, joins Karate club upon entering senior high school. However, he gets picked on by the other pupils in the club everyday. One day, Kenichi meets Miu, a beautiful girl who has just transferred from another high school. On Miu's suggestion, Kenichi decides to be a disciple of Ryozanpaku, a mysterious training establishment. Kenichi could not imagine the brutal training he receives from the martial arts masters there... However, now Kenichi is marked by Ragnarok, a street gang group, and he is constantly defending himself from them.