Tenohira no Netsu wo

I was really sad to see this series end so quickly.

Tenohira no Netsu wo is a 23-chapter manga centering around a really go-lucky guy named Shinya who has never been involved in any prior sport. After a chance meeting, he somehow gets sucked into karate at the national level, and gains experience/strength along the way.

I don't exactly know why, but the characters, the story... there is a certain force that just makes you want to keep reading. From the very first chapter, I actually began to feel genuinely excited about turning to the next page - a feeling I rarely experience. It's not just about karate: the author artfully makes it about the characters, their interactions, their emotions, and every panel is used to add to its mosaic.

However, it seems that the collective humanity of 2016 (or some stingy editors) did not concur, and discontinued this work before it could develop even further. Yet, even with such a short span, these 23 chapters were able to show that correct storytelling can turn a simple topic into something more.

Of course, because of the cutoff, the ending feels abrupt. Although he did tie up things pretty well considering the circumstances, you are just left wanting more - or you could be at the end thinking, "why did I listen to this guy?"

Hehe.

In the end, you don't need to be a karate fan to enjoy the moments of thrill these pages will illustrate. I'm not a personal butt-kicker, but this manga has certainly done that to some of its fellow works.

My only wish is that you feel the same joys I did while reading it.