'Shijou Saikyou no Deshi Kenichi' Manga Sequel Begins in March 2026

Shun Matsuena, the creator of Shijou Saikyou no Deshi Kenichi (Kenichi: The Mightiest Disciple), announced on X (formerly Twitter) on Thursday that he will begin a sequel manga on the Sunday Webry website titled Shijou Saikyou no Deshi Kenichi 2: Tatsujin-hen (Kenichi: The Mightiest Disciple 2 - Masters Arc). The first chapter will be released on March 25.

Matsuena originally serialized the Tatakae! Ryouzanpaku Shijou Saikyou no Deshi manga in Shounen Sunday Super from October 1999 to February 2002, which became a prototype for Shijou Saikyou no Deshi Kenichi. Shounen Sunday from August 2002 to September 2014. Shogakukan published the 61st and final volume in February 2015. Shijou Saikyou no Deshi Kenichi has a cumulative 12 million copies of its volumes in print.

TMS Entertainment adapted the manga into a television anime that aired in 50 episodes from Fall 2006 to Summer 2007. Brain's Base produced 11 original video anime episodes that were bundled with multiple manga volumes between March 2012 and May 2014.

Funimation licensed the television anime in North America and aired it on Funimation Channel. Discotek Media relicensed the anime and released it on home video in two Blu-ray volumes in August 2021 and January 2022. Crunchyroll added the anime to its catalog in September 2021.

Synopsis
Kenichi Shirahama is a good-natured but bullied 15-year-old boy. Tired of being weak, he joins his school's karate club to grow stronger, only to end up as mere target practice for his seniors. However, the beautiful transfer student Miu Fuuriniji changes Kenichi's undesirable fate: she is a first-rate martial artist who introduces him to Ryozanpaku dojo.

There, Kenichi meets the dojo's six eccentric masters, who then decide to take him in as their disciple! Shijou Saikyou no Deshi Kenichi tells the story of history's strongest disciple Kenichi as he trains tirelessly under the world's greatest martial artists—who each specialize in their own martial art—to gain the strength to protect the people and values important to him. [Written by MAL Rewrite]

Source: Manga Watch