Kenichi Shirahama

Appearance

Kenichi is a young man of average height with medium length spiky brown hair in the back and some hanging in the front on the sides and brown eyes. He usually wears his long-sleeved blue school uniform with the Yin-Yang badge trade to him by Miu for a Cat badge when they were younger. When he first started practicing martial arts, Kenichi wore just a traditional Dougi when training and fought in civilian clothing but after the Ragnarök Arc, he begins to start wearing a Dougi (for Karate and Jujitsu), chainmail underneath (Weapons), muay Kaad Chuek on his hands (Muay Thai) and Kung Fu Pants and shoes (Kung Fu/Chinese Kempo) for when he trains or fights. He wears his wrests guards given to him by the Elder and Miu whenever he fights with a weapon user. When not in school or training, for casual wear, he's seen in jeans and a plain shirt that tends to either be plain or nice looking and with stripes. Physically, Kenichi has changed over the course of the story. In the beginning, due to his inexperience in fighting, he was thin and somewhat scrawny and frail physique. After his continuous training with his masters, Kenichi's physique has become lean yet well-muscled and defined all-around body. The most notable feature of his appearance is the band-aid that he constantly wears under his left eye which hasn't changed.

Personality

Kenichi is good-natured, timid, polite and cowardly, frequently treated as a friendless loser at the beginning of the series. He loves gardening and reading "How to..." books. However, it all changed when he first met with Miu Fūrinji and has shown no fear in the face of true danger. After the fateful meeting, he decided to stand for himself and be truly strong; or at least, strong enough to protect those who are dear to him. Though he's constantly considered cowardly at the beginning of the series, he shows that when his loved one's lives are on the line, he's actually much braver than he appears, going as far as to jump into an ocean full of sharks and fight one of them just to save his little sister Honoka. He continuously grows braver and more confident in himself to the point he now rushes into any form of danger without a second thought. Unlike most of the other characters, Kenichi tends to think logically, often crushing the dreams of young fighters who strive to create a strong gang in the future. He also sticks to his convictions, be it fair (such as never hitting a guy with glasses) to very controversial, such as his belief to never hit a girl, no matter the situation. This vow often backfires as when women try to fight him, as they become extremely irritated and mistake it for overbearing sexism (this is proven false as Kenichi has no problem with other men, such as Hayato Fūrinji or Natsu Tanimoto, fighting females). Kenichi even cares about the enemy's health and always tries to help them. Despite his strong moral standards, Kenichi is not above buying perverted pictures of Miu and Shigure from Ma or going with him to spy on them while they're bathing. He is still scared of delinquents as shown at his school, despite defeating opponents like Shō Kanō and other Yomi members.

Weakness

Despite his strength, it is noted by his masters that Kenichi lacks any form of killing intent even towards his enemies. It is most likely because of this many stronger opponents tend to look down on him and become overconfident in their own abilities, which leads to their downfall and the fact Kenichi's heart is very gentle and his desire to end fights peacefully and only leave them unable to fight any further. Also because of his lack of killing intent, he is able to avoid detection from all three levels of Master Class fighters for a period of time.

Karate User

Sakaki has taught Kenichi multiple stances and Kata from different Karate styles, which has taught him the essence of self-defense and countering. Sakaki has mainly taught Kenichi a variety of defensive techniques, stressing the philosophy of "Defense" being the true nature of Karate; as a result, Kenichi has a very strong sense of defense, being able to effectively attack and defend at the same time using the techniques he has learned from Sakaki.

Chinese Kenpo

Kensei Ma has taught Kenichi various types of Chinese Kenpo, although his has mostly learned the soft forms of kenpo, including: Baguazhang and Taichi. Because of this, Kenichi has learned the Kung-Fu principles of Inner Strength, which has made his body incredibly durable to internal damage and even given him the ability to cause internal damage to his opponents.

Kōsaka Style User

Despite being an unarmed fighter, Shigure has taught Kenichi the basics of the Kōsaka Style, how to use weapons and fight against weapon users. Shigure has mostly taught him swordplay and techniques that counter melee weapons. Because of his refusal to use weapons however, Kenichi has had to learn how to adapt these techniques of the Kōsaka Style with his own techniques, in order to effectively use them without a sword. Kenichi achieved this by using knife hand strikes he learned from Karate as a sword substitute. This has given him a great sense of adaptability during his fights and has even given him a unique new form of counterattacking.

Fūrinji Style User

as Hayato had taught Kenichi only three techniques from the Fūrinji Style: Seikūken, Ryūsui Seikūken and Korui Nuki. Despite only knowing these three techniques, Kenichi has taken full advantage of the benefits each technique gives him in battle, from an absolute defense, to outmaneuvering his opponents, and finally, to a technique that can break almost any defense. Additionally, in the process of teaching him these techniques, Hayato has given Kenichi greater reflexes, more balance, and has given him greater use of his Ki.

Jujutsu

Akisame has always been teaching Kenichi different throwing techniques from more than one variation of Ju-jitsu. As a result, Kenichi is able to throw his opponents in various positions and put them in various submission holds. Kenichi has even begun to learn throwing techniques that involve using no strength and using the enemy's own power against them. Although it has been shown that Kenichi can only achieve these kinds of techniques

Mixed Martial Artist

ever since entering the Ryōzanpaku dojo, Kenichi has been trained in six different styles of martial arts as in: Karate, Muay Thai, Chinese Kenpo, Ju-Jitsu, Kōsaka Style, and even Fūrinji Style, which makes him a Mixed Martial Artist. as being trained in six different many styles, none of the Masters have made Kenichi concentrate on only one type of martial art style and in fact, have him learn several variations of their martial arts. Despite this, the Masters have focused Kenichi's training on physical conditioning and in practicing the basic forms and techniques of each style to the point of refinement. This would give Kenichi a solid martial arts foundation and in turn allow him to develop his own techniques and fighting style in time. As a result of practicing so many fighting styles and the hellish training he undergoes on a daily basis, Kenichi developed from being weak who was repeatedly bullied and beaten to being so powerful and extremely great fighter, who has received praise and respect on multiple many occasions from several disciples and masters, friend or foe those alike:

Immense Determination

The Ryōzanpaku masters mention that Kenichi has no talent for martial art, but he is a genius at hard work and getting beat up, which enables him to improve at an amazing rate. Kenichi has defeated countless opponents who have been studying martial arts their entire lives and were considered true geniuses. Even in the midst of battle, Kenichi is able to calculate and develop a strategy quickly and even outsmart even the most intelligent of fighters, such as being able to trick Ryūto's inner eye technique with his Ryōzanpaku's Rhythm he just made up, something Akisame noted was a genius move on Kenichi's part. The Elder stated that though Kenichi lacks killing intent, he has incredible memory, being able to remember and perceive even the most complicated techniques his masters teach him and be able to use them in a short amount of time.

Speed

He can outrun a truck on full speed due to the amount of running he does with Akisame. Currently, his speed has increased enough to the point he can close a considerable distance in seconds. Although Kenichi has become very fast, he isn't fast enough to keep up with Miu unless she holds back (a lot). His speed has reached a point that during sparring matches with Akisame, Kenichi kept up and even blocked his attacks (albeit the said master was still holding back considerably). Even in a severely battered state at the hands of Ogata Isshinsai, Kenichi still managed to save Miu from a collapsing building on fire, closing a good distance in mere moments. He has even shown the ability to outstrip someone as fast as Satomi Kajima, the leading disciple of Yomi.

Enhanced Physical Prowess

Over the course of the two years that he has spent at Ryōzanpaku, as Kenichi has gone from a very physically weak person who gets bullied day in and day out, to a powerful fighter who has defeated numerous opponents', thanks to the unpleasant training that he receives every day at the dojo. All of the Masters have combined their training methods in order to give Kenichi a body that is perfectly suited for all the styles that they are teaching him. Akisame and Kensei have completely redesigned Kenichi's body over the course of two years, as they have continuously experimented with new ways to train his body. Akisame has made Kenichi undergo his special muscle enhancement training, which has developed a body that has absolutely no useless muscles in it and an almost inhuman amount of strength and speed, and Kensei has strengthened Kenichi's organs and core using various methods from multiple forms of Chinese Kenpo and medicine. Sakaki has trained Kenichi in various exercises involving strengthening the toughness and flexibility of his body, Shigure's weapons training has helped with Kenichi's reflexes in a lot of different ways, and just surviving one of Apachai's attempts to safely train him counts as endurance training. After training with the Elder, Kenichi's physical development reached an even higher level, giving him more agility and balance and completely speeding up the other masters training, forcing them to start trying slightly harder during his training sessions. He is able to take damaging hits from a Dou Ki user and the strongest member of Yomi, Kajima's, strongest technique. Also, according to Kajima, the fact that Kenichi's body can survive being hit so many times by his strongest technique: Shinogidachi, means that he must have mastered the principles of Yin Kung Fu, which involves strengthening the body's defenses to its highest point using both Ki and his own blood vessels, and Kenichi himself admitted that this was only b

Immense Endurance

Even before starting his training, Kenichi possesses a level of endurance that is nearly at master level. Since beginning his rigorous and grueling training, his endurance has grown considerably higher. Even when he was battered, bleeding and barely conscious, he was able to unleash a powerful "Mubyōshi" and "Korui Nuki" against Pengulu. According to himself, he was a prodigy at getting beaten up. During his early fights, Kenichi was able to withstand a body battered and even fractured or broken bones from skilled enemies who trained far longer than him, and ultimately win. Even taking a critical knife wound from Jihan, Kenichi was able to win the battle despite the blood loss. Against Shō Kanō, the former leader of Yomi, Kenichi was also able to win despite sustaining broken bones and bruised organs. Kenichi can also take high-voltage electric shocks with little damage (thanks to Akisame's training). Kenichi's endurance now can also take a serious direct kick from Apachai, and quickly jump back to his feet, seemingly unfazed and amazing his masters. The pinnacle of his endurance was seen against another Grand Master, Isshinsai Ogata. Despite being hopelessly outmatched and taking a severe one-sided beating, he still had the fortitude to fight on, something Ogata praised him for. Also, after taking a critical blow from Ogata that initially left him incapacitated, Kenichi was soon after, capable of returning to his feet to save Miu from falling rubble. He's able to endure and retaliate against powerful hits from Kajima whilst the latter was using his Dou Ki in his attacks.

Botanical Knowledge

even though not a useful skill at times, Kenichi has repeatedly shown to have a large amount of knowledge and expertise in plants, which has been useful in tracking the location of others and even saving his life when chasing after Shō Kanō.

Ki

Kenichi uses Sei Ki, giving him a style, which allows him to fight with a calm and peaceful spirit instead of with rage and anger. This allows him to calmly observe his opponents and see what is in their heart. Even when his emotions overwhelm him, Kenichi demonstrated his ability to channel emotions such as anger into his Sei Ki. Statements from Akisame indicate that such as feat requires a high level of talent. On one occasion, he instinctively unleashed his ki so fiercely that his master martial artists were surprised. Even a master-class martial artists like Christopher Eclair were startled by the intensity of Kenichi's ki, momentarily mistaken it for Sakaki's. Also complimenting its potency is Kenichi's excellent control over his ki, allowing him to use such complex Sei techniques as the Ryūsui Seikūken instantly and to a near-perfect degree. During his battle with Satomi Kajima, Kenichi's control over his Ki became so well-developed that he completely skipped one stage of Ki mastery and managed to reach the last stage: known as the "holding" of Ki, a stage that normally only masters can achieve, hinting that Kenichi's Ki control has possibly become just as great as a master class fighter. Seeing Kenichi reach this stage left both Miu and one of his masters, Shigure completely speechless

History

Despite his strength, it is noted by his masters that Kenichi lacks any form of killing intent even towards his enemies. It is most likely because of this many stronger opponents tend to look down on him and become overconfident in their own abilities, which leads to their downfall and the fact Kenichi's heart is very gentle and his desire to end fights peacefully and only leave them unable to fight any further. Also because of his lack of killing intent, he is able to avoid detection from all three levels of Master Class fighters for a period of time. During his second training with Hayato, Kenichi's leg strength and dexterity were pushed to higher levels, granting him greater agility and a more acute sense of balance. His newfound agility has been commented by the other masters, even forcing them to put a bit more effort in their sparring sessions. Kenichi has also developed acrobatic abilities almost at Miu's level, able to easily scale and glide down a skyscraper with complete control and no wasted movement.