Kenichi Shirahama



Kenichi Shirahama is the title character and main Protagonist of History's Strongest Disciple Kenichi. He is the Disciple of the six masters of Ryōzanpaku, studying martial arts from them to not only get stronger, but to ultimately gain the strength and courage needed to protect the people and values that are most important to him. He is also a member and the honorary "co-founder" of the Shinpaku Alliance, alongside the founder Haruo Niijima (the later of which he is not entirely happy about) and is currently a second year student at Kōryō High School in class 2-E. At the conclusion of the series, he not only marries the love of his life, Miu Fūrinji, but he finally becomes a Master himself.

Background
Kenichi was born to Mototsugu Shirahama, a businessman to an unknown firm and Saori Shirahama, a homemaker and later in his adolescence, brother to his sister Honoka Shirahama. Contrary to many characters in the series, Kenichi grew up in an average lifestyle and was friends with Ryūto Asamiya, and were best friend back when they were 6 years old mainly because they both were picked on by others, Kenichi's life changed abruptly when he and Ryūto saw a young Miu defend an elder woman who was being harassed by thugs. Miu was about to be attacked from behind by one of the thugs when Kenichi used Ryūto's whistle to alarm her and allowed her to defeat him and alert her grandfather. However, the thug accidentally let a bottle he held fly in the air and bash Kenichi in the head, knocking him unconscious and Miu thanked Ryūto thinking he thinking that he was the one who blew the whistle. After seeing Miu defeat the thug trying to assault a kind old lady, both Ryūto and Kenichi vowed to become strong, but Kenichi forgot the fact and that it was Miu who traded him the Yin Yang badge he carries on the neck of his shirt all the time for a cat badge, as a remainder of said promise. Because of this, Ryūto would want the badge, but Kenichi would refuse because of Miu giving it to him and the two would fight over it and though Kenichi won, yet he gave the win to Ryūto, leaving Ryūto angry. Kenichi would eventually move one day with his family and not be able to say goodbye to Ryūto due to his father being overly dramatic. This would cause Ryūto's friendship with Kenichi to be destroyed.

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 met Miu Fūrinji, and shows 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 ones 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 sister Honoka. He continuously grows more brave and confident in himself to the point he now rushes into any form of danger without a second thought.

After entering Ryōzanpaku he has slowly begun to change. Although at first he ran at the very first sign of danger, and didn't want to train unless forced by his masters, he endured the hard training and is slowly growing to love martial arts. He was not seen as a serious fighter by any of his opponents, which has led to many victories over seemingly impossible odds (Boris notes that Kenichi has had the bad, or good depending on how one views it, luck of fighting martial artists who were stronger than him in terms of pure skill in every one of his main battles), and his care for his newly found friends has made him prove victorious time and time again, thus changing his attitude to the point where many of his classmates think he is cool.

Due to Kensei Ma's influence on him, Kenichi has shown a bit of a perverted side, such as when Ma takes Kenichi to a secret location to watch Miu and Shigure bathe in their usual spot (and later uses him as a decoy to escape). Kenichi was even given magazines based off of pictures of Miu and Shigure and other nude pictures (though Kenichi states they are really only pictures of chickens or baby chicks and at times Tōchūmaru posing covering them). Kenichi even used Ma's technique when he told him to let Miu attack him so his face would be shoved into her chest (which was later proven so Kenichi would learn a head-butt move) and even said how wonderful it felt. However, despite Ma's influence, Kenichi has shown a modest and innocent side towards women, such as when he ever sees Miu's breasts almost sticking out, seeing her almost naked, accidentally seeing up her skirt or seeing Renka's breasts causing Kenichi to be very flustered. When Shigure wanted to bathe with him, he was very flustered and wished not to, showing innocence. Whenever he sees women barely dressed or almost naked, he tends to have a nosebleed.

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.

Though his masters claim that he has no talent or whatsoever for Martial Arts, this could possibly be a ploy to motivate him to work harder. Despite the fact that Kenichi has not even been studying martial arts for a year, he has defeated countless opponents who have been studying for their entire lives and considered true genius. Hayato Fūrinji, the Elder of Ryōzanpaku has stated that Kenichi reminds him of himself in younger days. The claim could be an encouragement from his masters not to be laid back. While his masters always states that Kenichi has no talent at martial arts, Akisame stated that Kenichi is a genius at hard work. This is further reinforced where Odin commented that Kenichi has mastered the essentials of the Seikūken in just a matter of days.

Though he is no longer picked on by the delinquents at his school, Kenichi's excessive mistreatment by others is one of the main sources of humor in the series. He is constantly ridiculed and looked down on, physically abused for no reason, denied his only pleasures of reading and gardening, and receives no praise at all for his accomplishments and actually only gets ridiculed more (sometimes by people much weaker than himself). As a result of this, Kenichi is frequently shown to be very susceptible to negative comments about his appearance or strength, easily falling into (comical) depression whenever someone scoffs at his abilities (so much so that Miu once referred to name calling as Kenichi's "Weak Spot").

Kenichi seeks "enough power to protect those that he loves". However, the Elder told Kenichi that saying that is the same as stating "I want the power to kill those who are my enemies". What Kenichi really seeks is the power to definitely protect his loved ones by defeating his enemies without causing more than enough damage to and protecting them as well. Hayato Fūrinji stated that this is already the level of strongest in history. Kenichi seems to have another power within him, which his opponents often describe as light in the middle of darkness. This often results in many of those he has defeated turning over to the good side. Rachel Stanley described him as a ceramic vase being beautifully crafted. Isshinsai Ogata also states that Kenichi possesses infinite potential inside him and that his bases are so solid, he could become the highest building ever.

Kenichi has constantly shown to be a very kind, selfless, polite, and helpful young man and always put others before himself. Even when it comes to his enemies, he shows them respect and never speaks ill of them and even cares for their well-being and refuses to allow them to ever speak ill of others. Whenever he's injured or someone else is, he states the other people injured should be tended to first. He constantly tries to befriend others such a Chikage, even if they were former enemies and always acts friendly towards them. It is because of his kind nature that he lacks killing intent due to his desire not to kill others. Several people are moved by his kindness and selfless nature, to the point they even change sides and befriend him. Because of his kindness, Ethan Stanley states that his heart is enormous. Chiaki Yūma would state his heart has become even stronger lately from his continuous fighting.

Despite his friendly, kind nature, he does enjoy teasing Natsu Tanimoto. He usually does this by annoying Tanimoto (by adding the chan suffix in his name or acting friendly), and once Tanimoto gets so irked to the point that he attacks Kenichi, Kenichi points out people are watching, causing Tanimoto to revert to his false persona.

He has a habit of constantly watering plants and tending to his books when he gets excited. His habit of this kick in when he and Miu held hands. He also is very intelligent in plant types, such as knowing how they work or grow and considers them some of his closest friends, which was shown when he relied on plants to save him from Shō Kanō. He also is afraid of weapons, as he usually shouts "weapons are scary!", though he slowly loses his fear for them. He also has a fear of riding scary or dangerous rides such as roller-coasters, much like Thor (though his fear is mostly due to his hellish training from Akisame's brutal machines which seem to have left a bad impression on Kenichi).

Kenichi is known for being somewhat attractive by numerous girls his age throughout the series due to his strength, bravery, and kind heart. Yūka Izumi loves him due to his kindness and tries to ask him out more than once only to be interrupted or Kenichi leaving before she notices he left and Kenichi is oblivious of this. Raichi Li is attracted to him due to him standing up to her and considering her a friend and admiring him for his kindness. Rachel has shown to find him "cute" and has an attraction towards him, going as far as to kiss him on the cheek, causing Miu to be very angry and jealous from her. Also Rachel also appreciates him and his friends saving her from Jenazad and helping her brother. Renka Ma is attracted to him due to how strong he has become and brave, going as far as transferring schools to be close to him and always trying to cling to him and fight over his attention with Miu and her "strong liking" has eventually developed into "strong love" which she refuses to admit, but her emotions prove otherwise. Also, Renka also is taken back by him when he compliments her in anything and blushes around him when he does. Miu developed feelings towards him when he proves his worth as a fighter and when she sees how much he cares for her in numerous moments and is very appreciative of everything he does for her as a friend. Miu even gets jealous and possessive of Kenichi when other girls are around him and fights for his attention. When Kenichi saves her life on the School Ski Trip, Miu tearfully hugs him and thanks him for saving her, making Miu much more open physically and emotionally. Whenever Kenichi is done fighting a long fight, she is usually running up to him and tearfully hugging him and states how glad she is when he's alright. When Kenichi tries to state how he wants to protect her more than anything, Miu starts to understand her feelings for him, going as far as kissing him on the cheek. Since then she's started acting more happy, cheerful, and eager to be around him. According to Junazard, Miu's feelings for Kenichi has developed into love (though Miu doesn't seem to be aware of this). Miu has even stated she does not mind dying for Kenichi so he can live. Kenichi has earned the trust of the One Shadow, Miu's father for protecting Miu from Junazard and stopping him and breaking the his spell on her. ==Trivia==
 * Though he's not a master (until the end of the series), Kenichi has defeated more opponents than any other character in the series. At the end of the story, Kenichi is revealed to have become a master and married Miu, implying that he was finally able to defeat the Elder in combat.
 * Though Kenichi didn't have friends at the beginning of the series, since defeating Ragnarök and meeting Miu, he's gained several friends. Ironically, most of his friends he made are former enemies.
 * His nickname from Chikage before she befriended him was "band aid".
 * As a child, he was called "Shindou", meaning shaking.
 * He is a bookworm and aspires to become a novelist.
 * He once used one of Niijima's techniques to escape the hellish training of Ryōzanpaku masters.
 * He is one of three disciples that fight in the Underground Fighting Ring.
 * He is the first character to have died and then brought back to life, the second being Apachai.
 * Kenichi has four girls that are in love with him, that being Miu, Renka, Raichi and Izumi. This makes him considered the most popular with women more than any other character. Interestingly, he was never popular with girls his age until after his continuous training and his continuous efforts to protect his loved ones that caused him to have gained their affection towards him.
 * Although he dislikes using weapons and never uses them during his fights, he still trains with Shigureto learn how to properly use them and how to fight against them. Despite this training, he is still shown to still be afraid of weapons, although this fear dies down as the series progresses.
 * It is stated that he officially died twice. Once was during training, but was resuscitated by Akisame Kōetsuji through CPR.
 * Despite his ongoing infatuation and love for Miu Fūrinji, their relationship was unclear for most of the series beyond friendship, especially with Hayato Fūrinji's excessive protection of Miu. It was not until receiving a kiss on his cheek from Miu that their relationship showed actual development.
 * Kenichi's book collection consist of over 5,000 volumes. The official guidebook lists of few of the titles: "Special Moves made so easy that even a monkey could understand", "Never be late again after you read this", "The Book of Making 100 Friends", "The 10 Laws of Becoming Popular", "100 rules to follow when you befriend an alien", "How to become a hero without getting injured", "100 Rules of attracting a girl's affection", "Speaking skills for clearing up false rumors", "The Lives of the World's Karake Fighters", "You too can become Bruce Lee!!", "~What about the love between you and the girl you like?~ 108 abosulutely correct love oracles", "Surefire ways to make your girlfriend's family like you", "Survival during threats! These are the plants you can eat!!", "How to walk when you want to avoid delinquents", "300 proverbs you will need when you are discouraged.".[2]
 * Kenichi inherited his mother's gentle character, but looks-wise he takes after his father. It is not quite obvious now, but as he grows older he will come to resemble his father.[3]
 * Several characters have noted how Kenichi reminds them of the Elder, including but not limited to: Saiga Furinji (stated at the end of the series), Silkwat Jenazad (during his fight with brainwashed Miu),and even the Elder himself (after saving Honoka from sharks).