Aiki (manga)

Aiki
File:Aiki volume 1.jpg Cover art of the first Aiki manga volume
愛気
Genre	Martial arts, Comedy
Manga
Written by	Isutoshi
Published by	Shōnen Gahosha
Magazine	Young King
Demographic	Seinen
Original run	2005 – present
Volumes	8

Aiki (愛気) is a Japanese seinen martial arts manga created by Isutoshi.

Synopsis

A dispute arises on a local high school due to the absence of the director. The principal is rumored of overtaking control of the school with the help of his daughter. Kizuki, the granddaughter of the director with the help of her two loyal teachers seek to fight the regime but in the process they need the help of Kunitoshi, a local bad boy. It is later revealed that there never were any plans to take over the school, it was just a cover for Karasumaru to attempt to take control of the world of martial arts.

Characters

Main characters

Joukyuu Kunitoshi

Despite his seemingly normal appearance, Kunitoshi is actually a martial-arts prodigy. He specializes in Aikido and possesses extensive knowledge of many other fighting styles. He also has an incredible "reading" ability which allows him to see the strengths and weaknesses of his opponent's body and techniques. His father, believing Kunitoshi had grown complacent due to his natural talent, drugged his son, dislocated and reattached every joint in his body, effectively cutting his power down by half. Since that time, Kunitoshi has avoided battle and instead spends his time seducing random women, since pushing himself in a fight results in the automatic dislocation of one or more limbs. Though generally cool and level-headed, Kunitoshi is highly sadistic and brutal when angered and is speculated by the others to be so because of the way his mother cruelly raised him. His personality also shows that he does not care to get emotionally involved with anyone and says he has no friends when asked. He is currently a lecturer at Ryobu University because of his mother, who made an agreement with the school's principal, and forced him to become one. In an attempt to restore his body to 100% he has hired a acupuncture therapist, which slowly restored his body to 60% of his abilities. However, his body can't fully return back to its former condition, but to compensate for his speed and strength, he has sharpened all his reflexes and abilities; therefore, his body can operate at 70% allowing him access to more advanced techniques. He initially appears as a high-school delinquent, with shirt untucked and no tie. Upon entering Ryoubu, he changes his attire to a formal suit and tie. This apparently does not affect his movements or fighting skills in any way. Houju Kaneoto gives him his prized sword the tengoku, which he starts to train with.

Techniques:

• An unnamed technique where Kunitoshi curves his arm like a snake and throws his opponent.

• Wind Step is a technique in which Kunitoshi moves his body fast enough that it looks like his body splits apart and turns into the wind. This allows his movements to be hard to read and lets him land multiple blows within seconds.

• Thunder Step is a more powerful version of Wind Step that makes his body look like lightning instead if wind.

• Iaibarai or Nadare is a technique where he uses his hands to increase the drag force of his opponent and juggle him around by continuously hitting him until he finally blasts him away. The results of this technique leave his opponent feeling like they just got hit by a car. He can alter this technique by using just his feet or by using both his hands and feet.

• Raijin is a technique that allows Kunitoshi to reach 80% power for a brief moment. His arms disappear completely and create what looks like a whip of lightning. It thrashes his opponent around and then slams them on the ground, which makes his opponent feel like he's controlling gravity. This technique is his trump card that can only be used for a few seconds, any longer and his arms will become dislocated. He can also alter this move with his legs by using Raijin Kick.

Kizuki Rin

Being the granddaughter of Juuzenji High's director, Kizuki retains a considerably high standing within the school. A formidable fighter in her own right, she is able to throw opponents many times her size with relative ease. Though usually calm and collected, Kizuki enthusiastically jumps at the chance to improve her skills. She is currently under the tutelage of the reluctant Kunitoshi. According to Daiki Karasamaru, Kizuki possesses a "seriousness" in her that makes her a potentially dangerous opponent as she tends to learn techniques and skills quickly. Sometimes she even surprises her own companions and even makes Joukyuu curious. She recently had a fight against Seiji of Karasu's group and defeated him though he had given her time to recover from his blows and didn't have it in him towards hurting her. Unlike most of the other females in the series, Kizuki is portrayed much less provocatively, providing almost no fanservice. Her clothing is much less revealing, and even when she wears a skirt, her panties have rarely been seen.

Techniques:

• An unnamed technique where she curves her arm like a snake and throws her opponent. She copied this move after watching Kunitoshi use it.

• Wind Step, which she copied after watching Kunitoshi use it. She broke Kanisaki's whip with this technique.

• Iaibarai which she can't use perfectly yet. She was only able to use this move while working together with Miu.

Hou Mei & Metara

Homei is a teacher at Juuzenji High, but also serves as a loyal subordinate to Kizuki (whom she like Metara affectionately refers to as Mistress or Milady). She has a large muscle build with long black hair tied into a single ponytail. Once considered a child prodigy, Homei specializes in Chinese kempo and grappling. However, she now relies solely on physical strength and as a result drastically diminished her own ability as a practitioner too much, thus causing her skill to become dull and broad. Later when she was losing a battle she heard Joukyuu teasing her until she eventually was beaten. Later as others were mad that Joukyuu stood by and watched her lose she told them that while he was teasing her he was also trying to tell her how she could improve and win. Like Homei, Metara is also a teacher at Juuzenji High. She is Caucasian with long blonde hair and a voluptuous body. At one point to coax Joukyuu to teach their mistress she let him sleep with her but found he wouldn't take the deal saying she shouldn't try to sell her body for it. She also serves as a loyal subordinate to Kizuki (whom she like Homei affectionately refer to as Mistress or Milady). Unlike her partner, Metara prefers long-range combat, using a pair of six-shooter air guns with a .45 modified caliber said to possess the destructive capabilities of a baseball pitched at 150km/h. She uses them since she actually has no martial arts training. After constantly losing and in a moment of self pity for not being able to help her mistress, Joukyuu mentioned that even she could get stronger if she wanted to if she combined martial arts with her guns. After Hou Mei returns she manages to fight against Chamoni, in a brief panel a shadow can be seen on top of a building indicating that Metara has taken up sniping. While Chamoni's weapons are being destroyed by Hou Mei's authentic weapons and raw power. She runs to her once open suit case, it shuts close without any indication as to how, allowing Hou Mei to defeat Chamoni.

Takatori Miu

As the daughter of the school principal, Takatori holds commands a substantial amount of power inside Juuzenji High. Thought by many to be the school's top fighter, she not only controls the Ten Knights, but many of the clubs and organizations on campus. Though not a malicious person by nature, Takatori's ambition and selfishness often put her at odds with Kizuki, her primary opposition and later ally. Despite their blood relation, Takatori seems to be infatuated with her cousin Joukyuu never missing an opportunity to try and seduce him when she isn't asking for a fight to see his skills. Miu also has currently been training with Kizuki and Kageyasu under Kuntoshi to improve themselves. She soon begans a fight with Kani and proves to have become much stronger opponent. she has developed her Wind Step by watching Kizuki's fight against Seiji and, learning about his movement technique, combines it with hers and creates her new technique, "Falcon Wind" She learns how to use Kageyasu's truncheons and used them to counter Kani's whips.

Techniques:

• Falcon Wind is her own Wind Step technique which she learned by watching Kizuki's fight against Seiji and, learning about his movement technique. She combined his technique with hers to create this move. She uses Wind Step to disperse her bodies' movements and then she uses Seiji's technique to quickly strike her opponent.

• Iaibarai which she can't use perfectly yet. She was only able to use this move while working together with Kizuki.

Karasumaru Daiki

Daiki is reputed to be the top student at Ryoubu University and the story's primary antagonist. He enjoys testing his skill against other fighters, often taking on multiple combatants at once. His younger brother, Kosuke, is the captain of the Ten Knights. Daiki possesses a "reading" ability, allowing him to anticipate and evade his opponents' attacks with ease, despite being severely visually impaired (not blind, as is initially implied). He is capable of taking on the combined efforts of Miu, Kizuki and Kageyasu with apparaent ease which is a great indication of his strength. When he and Joukyuu meet for the first time he made the obvious statement that he'd win if they fought then and there. Some of the members of his group wonder if he is truly blind as he is shown to be able to drive, read and even distinguish colors. Though, he has shown using his hands to help him find his utensils when he is eating. At one point, when asked by Joukyuu how he drives Karasumaru remarks he has Retinitis pigmentosa. He was defeated by Joukyuu in chapter 53.

Kageyasu Akemi

Formerly a student of Kunitoshi, Kageyasu now attends Ryoubu University. She is an extremely skilled fighter, able to fend off Takatori's attacks with little effort, and has learnt Kunitoshi's Wind Step move. At one point she trained with Kunitoshi under the identity "Joan the Shadow" in hopes that he would regain enough of his former strength to defeat her boyfriend, Daiki Karasumaru. Aside from hand-to-hand combat, Kageyasu is also very proficient with truncheons ("Jutte"). Kageyasu's appearance has changed since the beginning of the series as she no longer wears lipstick and appears much younger looking since she broke up with Daiki.

Techniques:

• Wind Step is a technique in which she moves her body fast enough that it looks like her body splits apart and turns into the wind. This allows her movements to be hard to read and lets him land multiple blows within seconds.

Minor characters

Ten Knights

The Ten Knights are an essembly of enforcers that serve the top fighter at Juuzenji High. The organization itself is loosely knit with the members caring little for the well-being of their comrades.

Karasumaru Kosuke

Kosuke Karasumaru is the younger brother of Daiki and the captain of the Ten Knights though he is often mistaken for a grade-schooler due to his appearance. While not a very skilled fighter, his limited "reading" ability allows him to anticipate his opponent's next move based on their facial expressions. In spite of his status, the Ten Knight's captain is noted for being a coward with little interest in combat and frequently calls his older brother for back-up. Kosuke spends most of his time on the Juuzenji High rooftop eating ramen.

Ozeki Nancy & Ryogoku Santana

Hailing from the school Wrestling Team, these two work exclusively as a team. Their most notable technique is a joint attack the Ground Tornado: by scurrying around their opponent in a circle, they are able to stir up strong winds.

Keichou Kiku & Ouei Chie

Though currently new members of the Kickboxing and Karate Clubs respectively, Kiku and Chie's experience in gymnastics make them experts in mid-air combat. Between Kiku's punching techniques and Chie's kicks, their combined strengths make them a formidable duo.

Wado Akifumi

Wado, one of the few male students at Juuzenji High, is a member of the Swordfighting club and a practitioner of the Katori Shinto Style. To maximize the speed of his swing, he uses a titanium katana instead of standard steel.

Eishou

Eishou, the only member of the Sumo Club, can generally be found in the company of Kangen and two unnamed female fighters. Like Kangen, Eishou has no sense of honor and views the other Ten Knights as little more than tools. His cruel outlook, hot temper and 170 kg girth make him a particularly dangerous opponent.

Kangen

Though generally seen with Eishou's group, Kangen often acts independently of the Ten Knights, especially when doing so can further his own goals. A prominent member of the Ninjutsu Club, Kangan prefers to fight from a distance with kunai. Despite his skill and agility, he is not above employing underhanded tactics. He has a tendency to be vulgar.

Meitoku

She is one of the Ten Knights, usually seen alongside Kangen and Eishou. Soon after her introduction, she seduced Kunitoshi in hopes of gathering information. In combat she uses a three-sectioned bo staff.

Unnamed Member

She is one of the Ten Knights and usually seen alongside Kangen and Eishou. Her child-like appearance and tomboyish mannerisms suggest she is younger than the other Knights. Her name and martial-arts style are never identified.

Road of Talent

The Road of Talent is a group of skilled fighters from Ryoubu University led by Daiki. Unlike other organizations, the Road of Talent supports neither the government nor the criminal underground; they use their abilities solely to advance their own ambitions.

Saruwatari Seiji & Kanisaki Rei

Seiji is the first member of the Road of Talent to be identified by name. Despite his childish facade, he is skilled in Chinese Kempo. Unlike Homei, a fellow practitioner, Seiji does not rely on physical strength and seems to have perfected his form. This in conjunction with the machete he carries on his back make him a dangerous opponent. Though largerly uninentional, he has a habit of making homoerotic double-entendres and mishearing things. He also has taken a liking towards Kizuki. He recently had fought Kizuki and was defeated though because he let her recover from his blows and didn't have it in him to hurt her. He is usually seen in the company of fellow member Kanisaki Rei, the second of the group to be formally introduced. She is a Bendou master, specializing in a variety of whip-like weapons. Though a very powerful fighter (able to fend off both Kizuki and Miu simultaneously) Rei seems to limit the use of violence to missions and self defense. Her key physical attribute is her "twister-like" hair-style which is often referenced by other characters. She is almost always seen with Sawatari Seiji with whom she shares a sibling-like relationship. She got upset at Joukyuu after he ran by her and comically waved her stolen bra for her to see. Both of them were taken to the hospital for a half year before returning back to the group.

Inoguchi & Shikae

Shikae is a large, muscular fighter who takes teamwork very seriously. He's almost always seen in the company of his partner, Inoguchi, a female martial-artist who uses a red sickle. They may be holding back their true strength as Kunitoshi noted when he fought them. Shikae is a practitioner of the Brazilian style of capoeira and Inoguchi uses a bo staff as her main weapon. Inoguchi's gender has been questioned by Miu, as her figure lacks feminine features of any kind.

Kujirai, Habu and Chamoni

Kujirai is a tall attractive girl with pointed ears and a patch over her right eye. Her primary weapons are a pair of gauntlets which she uses to maximize the damage inflicted by her melee attacks. She was brutally defeated by Joukyuu. Habu, named after the deadly pitviper, is a small, child-like poison-user who wears traditional Japanese garb and a deadpan expression. They are normally seen in the company of French exchange student called Chamoni, a girl who uses specialises in Chinese weapons (even tough Joukyuu commented that she is not expert, but merely a Chinese weapon maniac). She also mentioned that she has live in Osaka long enough to be considered a native. They were all easily beaten by Joukyuu. Chamoni was beaten in Joukyuu's ero-mode, a mode where attacks without holding back anything to get to a female's body, after she offered to sleep with Joukyuu if he could defeat her. She later tried to defeat the weakened trio of Kizuki, Miu and Kageyasu. However, she was defeated in a weapon battle by Hou Mei.

Others

Joukyuu Tatsukuni

Tatsukuni, a chiropractor of unsurpassed skill, is the father of Kunitoshi. Believing his son had grown complacent due to his natural talent, Tatsukuni drugged Kunitoshi and dislocated every joint in his body, effectively cutting his power down to less then one tenth. By the start of the manga, he is implied to be deceased.

Shinonome Ayaka

Ayaka is Kunitoshi's cold, stern and extremely violent mother. She works as a high profile orthepedic surgeon that is well known on television which allows her to pay her son's bills and living expenses. When he was a child, Ayaka used in her own words continually thrashed him psychologically to keep him in line but in reality to make sure he couldn't lay a hand on her in the future meaning she possibly feared his dangerous potential. Some of the methods she divulged were abandonment, starvation, and her most cruel method to show him the actual insides of the human body (More specifically to hold the entrails of the person she operated on in her hands.) while teaching him about the human body when he was young and innocent. This may explain Kunitoshi's own evil streak making her the only person he truly fears. She may be trying to either get Joukyuu to lose his job or return him to the person he once was by having Tenhou work with Daiki's group to improve their martial arts.

Tenhou Kanemoto

Tenhou is a late transfer student who somehow managed to become a candidate for Ryoubu in just a month after his transfer without arousing the attention of any of the other students. He has a rather weak and fragile appearance and looks like a otaku. He is revealed to be Kunitoshi's little brother or his half sibling and told Miu that Kunitoshi's mom married and divorced 3 times. Nobody has even seen him do martial arts and Tenhou even said that he never even learned martial arts. His presence is so weak that a female student in his class never even noticed that he was still in the classroom when he was a few desks away from her. However, he has an been shown to be able to jump on top of a post for the candidates of Ryobu that is at least more than double his height with no problem which is an indication that there is more to him than what has been shown so far. He is shown with his mother looking around Ryobu University though he complains about it. After that is shown that his real talent lies in his intellect which is around the same level as Kunitoshi and is now working with Daiki to improve the martial arts of those serving under him. Joukyuu mentions that he is only capable of 1st dan judo at most.

Balboa

Balboa is or appears to be an old associate of Joukyuu's. Not much is really known about her except that she has a large bounty on her head in some country in eastern Europe.

Osamu Kizuki

Rin's grandfather and director of Juuzenji. According to him he just loves blonde haired girls after Joukyuu Balboa and Akemi walk in on him having sex. He brought Joukyuu because he wanted him to meet Houju Kaneoto.

Houju Kaneoto

A Showa era martial artist that Osamu wants Joukyuu to meet. He specializes in swords and apparently uses no style. Akemi mentions that he is the same as Joukyuu and Joukyuu mentions that, like him, he wont just up and teach some stranger his craft. Currently he had a brief fight with Kunitoshi, and was able to match him blow for blow. He even blocked Raijin and gave Kunitoshi several small cuts across his body. However, due to being 80 years old he had to stop fighting and agree to a draw.

Media

Manga volumes

No.	Release date	ISBN
1	May 26, 2005	[[Special:BookSources/978-4785925413%7F%27%22%60UNIQ--ref-00000008-QINU%60%22%27%7F |978-4785925413]]
Chapters 1-7
2	December 28, 2005	[[Special:BookSources/978-4785925949%7F%27%22%60UNIQ--ref-0000000B-QINU%60%22%27%7F |978-4785925949]]
Chapters 8-14
3	August 07, 2006	[[Special:BookSources/978-4785926687%7F%27%22%60UNIQ--ref-0000000D-QINU%60%22%27%7F |978-4785926687]]
Chapters 15-21
4	April 26, 2007	[[Special:BookSources/978-4785927752%7F%27%22%60UNIQ--ref-0000000F-QINU%60%22%27%7F |978-4785927752]]
Chapters 22-28
5	August 20, 2007	[[Special:BookSources/978-4785928384%7F%27%22%60UNIQ--ref-00000011-QINU%60%22%27%7F |978-4785928384]]
Chapters 29-35
6	April 19, 2008	[[Special:BookSources/978-4785929381%7F%27%22%60UNIQ--ref-00000013-QINU%60%22%27%7F |978-4785929381]]
Chapters 36-42
7	October 20, 2008	[[Special:BookSources/978-4785930431%7F%27%22%60UNIQ--ref-00000015-QINU%60%22%27%7F |978-4785930431]]
Chapters 43-49
8	April 10, 2009	[[Special:BookSources/978-4785931414%7F%27%22%60UNIQ--ref-00000017-QINU%60%22%27%7F |978-4785931414]]
Chapters 50-55

External links

• Aiki (manga) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia