is a Japanese
manga
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 history in earlier Japanese art. The term is used in Japan to refer to both comics ...
series written and illustrated by
Hideki Arai. It was serialized in
Shogakukan
is a Japanese publisher of comics, magazines, light novels, dictionaries, literature, non-fiction, home media, and other media in Japan.
Shogakukan founded Shueisha, which also founded Hakusensha. These are three separate companies, but ...
's
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 numb ...
'' from 2001 to 2006, with its chapters collected in nine 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 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
Hideki Arai, ''Kiichi!!'' was serialized in
Shogakukan
is a Japanese publisher of comics, magazines, light novels, dictionaries, literature, non-fiction, home media, and other media in Japan.
Shogakukan founded Shueisha, which also founded Hakusensha. These are three separate companies, but ...
's
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 numb ...
'' 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 volumes, released from April 26, 2008,
to August 30, 2013.
''Kiichi!!''
''Kiichi VS''
Legacy
Manga author
Tatsuki Fujimoto Tatsuki (written: 樹, 達樹, 竜樹, 立規 or 辰希) is a unisex Japanese given name. It is also a Japanese surname (written: 立木). Notable people with the name include:
Given name
*Tatsuki, Japanese director for anime shows such as '' Kemon ...
commented the influence that Arai's ''Kiichi!!'' and ''
The World Is Mine'' had on his manga series ''
Fire Punch''.
References
Further reading
*
*
External links
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{{Big Comic Superior
Seinen manga
Shogakukan manga