Kenichi: The Mightiest Disciple, Season 1, Part One

This 13-episode compilation from the first season of the 2006 vintage anime Kenichi: The Mightiest Disciple might be considered as the ‘roid-raging trans-Pacific cartoon cousin of The Karate Kid. Teenage runt Kenichi Shirahama is the too-easy target of school bullies, but a chance encounter with blonde bombshell Miu Furinji leads him to the door of the martial arts school from hell. Despite having no natural athletic ability, Kenichi is pushed by six overly aggressive teachers to learn and master a variety of martial arts practices, ranging from karate to kenpo to Muay Thai. The good news is that Kenichi overcomes his natural cowardice and wimpy personality and emerges as the proverbial lean, mean fighting machine. The bad news is that his one-time school adversaries are even more eager to pick fights with the newly empowered Kenichi. While the series is basically one joke stretched to the fraying point, the characters are genuinely interesting—each of the six teachers has a decidedly offbeat yet charming personality—and the training regimen used to transform Kenichi from zero to hero makes for entertaining viewing. Presented in a dual-language double-disc set suitable for 13-up, this is recommended. [Note: Kenichi: The Mightiest Disciple, Season 1, Part Two is also newly available.] Aud: P. (P. Hall)