is a Japanese

manga Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is u ...

series written and illustrated by

Hideki Arai (born 15 September 1963 in Kanagawa Prefecture) is a Japanese manga artist. He received the 38th Shogakukan Manga Award for general manga in 1993 for ''Miyamoto kara Kimi e''. His manga '' The World Is Mine'' was chosen by the editors of ''Pulp'' ...

. It was serialized in

Shogakukan is a Japanese publisher of dictionaries, literature, comics (manga), non-fiction, DVDs, and other media in Japan. Shogakukan founded Shueisha, which also founded Hakusensha. These are three separate companies, but are together called the Hit ...

's ''seinen'' manga magazine ''

Big Comic Superior is a semimonthly seinen manga magazine published since July 1, 1987 by Shogakukan in Japan. Its target audience is somewhere between the audience for ''Big Comic Original'' and ''Big Comic Spirits''. The magazine has published works by a number ...

'' from 2001 to 2006, with its chapters collected in nine ''

tankōbon is the Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or cultur ...

'' volumes. It tells the story of Kiichi's life beginning at the age of three. A sequel, titled ''Kiichi VS'', was serialized in the same magazine from August 2007 to July 2013, with its chapters collected in eleven ''tankōbon'' volumes.

Story

The series begins with Kiichi, aged three, and living with his parents. In the second volume they are killed, and he runs away from home. After living with some homeless people for a while, he ends up surviving in the woods by himself for nearly a year before being returned to his grandparents. The second arc of the story begins with Kiichi in fifth grade, teaming up with a much more verbal and intelligent friend. They attempt to save a girl from classroom bullies, and then discover her father is forcing her to work as a prostitute. Political pressure keeps the police from doing anything about it, and they are forced to stage a hostage crisis in front of the capitol building to gain media attention. ''Kiichi VS'' takes place ten years later, and finds Kiichi running a large organization dedicated to improving the world.

Publication

Written and illustrated by

, ''Kiichi!!'' was serialized in

's ''seinen'' manga magazine ''

'' from 2001 to 2006. Shogakukan collected its chapters in nine ''

'' volumes, released from January 30, 2002, to May 30, 2006. A sequel to the series, titled , was serialized in ''Big Comic Superior'' from August 10, 2007, to July 12, 2013. Shogakukan collected its chapters in eleven ''tankōbon'' volumes, released from April 26, 2008, to August 30, 2013.

Volume list

''Kiichi!!''

''Kiichi VS''

Legacy

Manga author

Tatsuki Fujimoto is a Japanese manga artist, known for his works '' Fire Punch'' and ''Chainsaw Man''. Early life Fujimoto was born on October 10, 1992 or 1993, in Nikaho, Akita Prefecture, Japan. He started drawing at an early age. He had no preparatory school ...

commented the influence that Arai's ''Kiichi!!'' and '' The World Is Mine'' had on his manga series ''

Fire Punch is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Tatsuki Fujimoto. It was serialized through Shueisha's ''Shōnen Jump+'' website from April 2016 to January 2018, with its chapters collected in eight ''tankōbon'' volumes. In North America ...

''.

References

External links

* * * {{Big Comic Superior Seinen manga Shogakukan manga