Finished
“Bullied karate student Ichi fears fighting until classmate Dai challenges him, triggering a violent impulse within him.”
1
1〈イチ〉
6.21
20,728 rank · 5,153 readers · 13 favorites
Seinen
Martial Arts
Psychological
School
Action
Drama
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Based on your preference for character-driven stories with layered emotional arcs, this title's exploration of identity and belonging would deeply resonate. The pacing mirrors series you've rated highly, and its thematic depth aligns with your appreciation for nuanced storytelling...
However, the slow initial episodes might test your patience given your history of dropping shows that don't hook you early. The art style shift in the middle arc could also be a concern...
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Synopsis
Bullied karate student Ichi fears fighting until classmate Dai challenges him, triggering a violent impulse within him.
Growing up a target of bullying, senior high student Hajime "Ichi" Shiroishi is a skilled karateka, but goes completely weak in the knees with fear when it comes to fighting. Among all this, a power junkie and classmate of Ichi who does nothing but fighting, Dai Akakuma, sets his eyes on Ichi!! When Ichi starts to shed tears, all of a sudden a violent impulse that resided inside him is unleashed!!!! (Source: Shogakukan, translated)
What people say
Community consensus
Derived from 3 sampled reviews
6.3
/10
What 3 readers settled on.
100%
recommend
Score distribution
median 6
mode 4
σ 2.05
Agreement
Polarized
σ 2.05 · split reception
The polarity gap
—
Not enough recommend signal yet
Score over time
↑ 0.33
Running avg · Feb 2018 → Oct 2025
Snap verdicts
· shortest highly-rated reviews
- 9 “Currently reading the full Ichi the Killer story as of writing this. I read this before moving on to the full story. I am a big fan of older classical styles of manga illustrating, and this book...”
- 6 “If you read Ichi the Killer, you maybe were looking for a little more hyper violent action featuring your favourite sadistic crybaby manchild. The thing is, Ichi the Killer was written five years...”
- 4 “It's incredible to see what old-timey edgy media was like back on the day. TLDR; not recommended if you're not interested in a little edgy prototype of the sequel. It's just depraved with no reason...”
Verbosity
Short · 67%
Medium · 33%
Long · 0%
Read Order & Related
Explore the 1 universe
Cast
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A Manga Publication
- Format 11 × 1 ch × vol
- Total read 1h 28m approx
- Published Jan 1993 – Jun 1993
- Source Manga media type
- Ref. BS-M23785 catalog