One of Shonen’s Strongest Heroes to Return in New Sequel After 24 Years (First Look Revealed)

One of Shonen action series’ strongest heroes, and the mightiest in one category, is coming back in a brand new sequel 24 years after the debut of the original. It’s been a great time to be a fan of Shonen action series as we have not only seen of ton of action packed content making their debuts across the anime world this year, but we’ve also seen all kinds of franchise flourish in the modern era. This is especially true for classic and nostalgic projects that have been coming back with new looks at their original debuts.

Kenichi: The Mightiest Disciple is one such series as while it was big 20 years ago thanks to the popularity of its anime and manga release, the franchise has been dormant since the manga ended its run back in 2014. Now 12 years after the series came to an end, and 24 years from when it first began, Kenichi: The Mightiest Disciple has announced it’s coming back for an official sequel. Series creator Shun Matsuena shared a first look at the new sequel and you can check it out below.

Kenichi: The Mightiest Disciple Sequel Announced After 12 Years

Shun Matsuena has officially announced that he is now returning for Kenichi: The Mightiest Disciple 2 Masters Arc, 12 years after the end of the original manga’s run. This new sequel series is teasing returns of all the fan favorites from the classic series with this first look from the creator alone, and thankfully it won’t be too much longer until we see it in action as the manga will be running in Shogakukan’s Sunday Webry platform on March 25th. There have also yet to be any international release plans for the new sequel as of this time.

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It’s great to see this franchise return for a new sequel after all this time as many other anime and manga hits from the 2000s are currently enjoying a revival period. Fans have seen other hits return with special remake projects, feature films or otherwise, but a full sequel manga is especially rare as Kenichi: The Mightiest Disciple is ready to jump back into action with whatever the next phase of its story has planned. There’s just a hope that it might lead to a potential new anime return as well.

What Is Kenichi: The Mightiest Disciple?

Kenichi: The Mightiest Disciple has an interesting origin as while creator Shun Matsuena debuted the series in 2002, it was actually a remake of the creator’s prior work, Tatakae! Ryozanpaku Shijo Saikyo no Deshi, that released a couple of years before. It’s probably why if you searched up the series online back then, there were two seemingly different looks for it. But the one that fans will likely remember the most is the official anime adaptation for the series.

Premiering in 2006, Kenichi: The Mightiest Disciple ran as an anime for 50 episodes, and an 11 episode OVA series that followed. It wrapped up its run long before the manga release did, and had been caught up in some rights disputes following Funimation’s closure. If you wanted to check out the classic series about a student who eventually gains the martial artistry of many different masters, you can now find it streaming with Netflix.

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