Kiichi!!

A manga about the strange fate and eccentric life of a boy named Kiichi.

We’ve discussed this series on a recent episode.

I’m a big fan of Hideki Arai’s manga as he has a penchant for creating and drawing characters who are very human-like in their flaws and dysfunction. He also doesn’t shy away from very adult topic that make his seinen series stand out to me in the same way Jiro Matsumoto’s manga do as well.

Initially I thought Kiichi! was Arai’s take on a child with special needs so I was slightly disappointed that it wasn’t the case when the story follows the boy though his childhood. It goes into some really strange places and ultimately ends up with Kiichi fighting against government corruption to protect a friend. The series has a follow up called Kiichi VS that concludes the life of the character.

~dakazu