History's Strongest Disciple Kenichi (Animé Series)

Rating:
I'm not a big fan of Japanese Anime but out of the three series i've watched in my whole life (the other two being Death Note and Cowboy Bebop), this is my second favorite.

It's about your typical high-school weakling, Kenichi, and how he meets sexy, gorgeous Miu who just happens to live in a dojo with six masters of martial arts. Needless to say, we join him in his training adventures and follow him in his many unsuccessful attempts to woo his crush, Miu.

This has all the makings of a great story--
... the beat up, naive hero with self confidence issues who reminds me a lot of wimpy Peter Parker! (Think Rocky Balboa meets Spiderman.)

... there's the sweet (but tough) love interest, Miu, who's always looking after our hero! Her close-but-not-quite-there relationship with Kenichi is reminiscent of Mulder and Scully in the X-Files! Can't they just cut through all the tension and get it on!?

... naughty jokes! just when you start thinking that the show is too goody-two-shoes, you get a cheeky boobs/butt/groping/peeping joke! Only in japanese animé...

... there are the six masters each with their own unique character. the Zen-like "Elder", sex crazed pervert Ma Kensei, seductive weapons expert Shigure, brusque Karate master Sakaki, man-of-steel bone-doctor Akisame and my favorite, the man-child muay thai expert Apachai (whose only dialog is exclaiming Apa! Apa! Apa! It's gi-joe and Charlie's Angels sprinkled with some Friends love all rolled into one!

... and an interesting soundtrack too! pay attention to the 60's swing-beat taiko drums of the opening credits, the cheesy pianos during dramatic moments and the inspiring feel-good vibe of the ending credits.

Four pawikan points! Plus points for just having a fun, light story where the underdog struggles and wins. It's cheesy, playfully animated and very entertaining.

Each episode is like a Rocky movie but filled with such gems like: "Humans don't have a can do or can't do attitude. We have a should do or should not do!" (Of course this implies that we can do anything as long as we set our heads to it.) Bonus points for the generous sub-titles provided by the Kuro-Hana and Umai-Doremi fan subs.

Feeling down? Losing hope? Stuck in a struggle you can't win? Watch this series and maybe it will lift you up.