Kengan Ashura

Alternate Title

ケンガンアシュラ

Synopsis

In the bloody and brutal world of Kengan Ashura, businesses and merchants spend large sums of money to hire gladiators to fight in hand-to-hand combat in Kengan fighting competitions where the winner takes all. The fights are used by merchants and businessmen in order to resolve disputes. Ohma, nicknamed Ashura, is a fighter who is as strong as he is mysterious, and he is about the enter the Kengan fighting fray.

Background

Kengan Ashura began as a manga written by Yabako Sandrovich with illustrations by Daromeon on Shogakukan’s shonen manga website Ura Sunday and app MangaONE in April 2012. The original series ended in August 2018, and a sequel titled Kengan Omega began in January 2019 in Ura Sunday.

An anime adaptation was announced in May 2015 after the series won a fan poll in Ura Sunday to decide which manga should receive an anime. The anime is being directed by Seiji Kishi at Larx Entertainment with Makoto Uezu penning the script, Kazuaki Morita designing the characters, and Yasuharu Takanashi composing the music. The opening theme song is “King & Ashley” by MY FIRST STORY, and the ending theme song is “Born This Way” by BAD HOP. The anime will premiere worldwide through Netflix on July 31, 2019.

Characters

Ohma Tokita (Voiced by: Tatsuhisa Suzuki)

Affiliation: Nogi Group
Nickname: Ashura
Fighting Style: Niko-Style Martial Arts
A gladiator for the Nogi Group, Ohma uses a mysterious fighting style and has sharp observational skills and a powerful aura which hints at his unusual past. He has no interest in money or power and fights only to prove that he is the strongest.

Kazuo Yamashita (Voiced by: Cho)

Affiliation: Nogi Publications
Age: 56
A middle-aged salaryman who has worked for Nogi Publications, a subsidiary of the Nogi Group, for many years, Kazuo’s dull life completely changes when he meets Ohma and learns of the Kengan Tournament. Though overwhelmed by this strange world and Ohma, Kauzo finds himself drawn into it.

Hideki Nogi (Voiced by: Jouji Nakata)

Affiliation: Nogi Group
Age: 61
Chairman of the Nogi Group, Hideki is a ruthless businessman with an eye for talent who finds promising gladiators, including Ohma. He keeps his true motives hidden from the Kengan Society.

Kaede Akiyama (Voiced by: Yumi Uchiyama)

Affiliation: Nogi Group
Age: Unknown
Secretary of the Nogi Group, Kaede is a cool and intelligent beauty who looks great in glasses. As secretary, she is deeply involved in the Kengan battles and supports Hideki and Kazuo from behind the scenes.

Lihito (Voiced by: Hayato Kaneko)

Affiliation: Yoshitake Real Estate
Nickname: Super Human
Age: 26
Height: 188 cm
Weight: 102 kg
A gladiator for Yoshitake Real Estate, Lihito has an incredibly powerful vice-like grip. His name, a self-imposed moniker, means a “superhuman who defies reason.”

Jun Sekibayashi (Voiced by: Tetsu Inada)

Affiliation: Gandai
Nickname: Hell’s Angel
Fighting Style: Pro wrestling
Age: 38
Height: 196 cm
Weight: 141 kg
A gladiator for Gandai, Jun is the undisputed champion of Japan’s extreme wrestling scene that includes deathmatches and traditional wrestling matches. Even among the Kengan gladiators, he is top-tier. He enjoys putting on a good show for the crowd and allows himself to get hit without putting up a defense.

Takeshi Wakatsuki (Voiced by: Yasuyuki Kase)

Affiliation: Furumi Pharma
Nickname: Wild Tiger
Fighting Style: Karate
Age: 40
Height: 193 cm
Weight: 193 kg
A gladiator for Furumi Pharma, Takeshi holds the most records of a Kengan fighter and is the most experienced. He is a strong favorite to win the Annihilation Tournament. He can break concrete blocks with his bare hands and is friends with Cosmo and Jun.

Cosmo Imai (Voiced by: Junya Enoki)

Affiliation: Nishihonji Security Services
Nickname: King of Stranglers
Fighting Style: Jujitsu
Age: 19
Height: 171 cm
Weight: 68 kg
A gladiator for Nishihonji Security Services, Cosmo is the youngest Gladiator in Kengan history, having made his debut at the age of 14. After 21 battles, he remains undefeated. True to his nickname, he uses various stranglehold techniques to defeat his opponents. Outside the world of Kengan, he is friendly and sociable.

Setsuna Kiryu (Voiced by: Daisuke Namikawa)

Affiliation: Kouou Education Group
Nickname: Beautiful Beast
Fighting Style: Koei-Style Martial Arts
Age: 26
Height: 180 cm
Weight: 75 kg
A gladiator for the Kouou Education Group, Setsuna is a mysterious and handsome fighter capable of taking on multiple opponents at once. He is strongly drawn to Ohma, and there seems to be a history between them.

Sen Hatsumi (Voiced by: Ryuzo Hasuike)

Affiliation: Nogi Group
Nickname: Floating Cloud
Age: 41
Height: 178 cm
Weight: 80 kg
A gladiator for the Nogi Group, Sen is a playboy and party animal notorious for no-shows and oversleeping. Despite his negative reputation, Sen possesses lightning quick reflexes and undeniable fighting talent. His rank as a Kengan gladiator surpasses that of Ohma.

Ryo Inaba (Voiced by: Megumi Ogata)

Affiliation: Penasonic Corporation
Nickname: Black Phantom
Fighting Style: Inaba-Style Martial Arts
Age: 30
Height: 155 cm
Weight: 62 kg
A gladiator for Penasonic Corporation, Ryo is the current head of the Inaba Clan of assassins who have served the Penasonic Corporation’s CEO, Urita Sukizo, and his family for generations. He hides his face with his long hair and even uses it in battle as a weapon. His relationship with Urita is closer to that of a friend than that of master and servant. Ryo is quick and agile, and often walks strangely on all fours.

Hajime Hanafusa (Voiced by: Akira Ishida)

Affiliation: University of Teito
Nickname: Dissector
Fighting Style: Lingshu Chin Na Martial Arts
Age: Unknown
Height: 174 cm
Weight: 62 kg
A gladiator for the University of Teito, Hajime is a mysterious character who is also a surgeon. He desires to perform autopsies on living humans and is regarded as eccentric by himself and others. He fights by using his fingertips to strike his opponent’s body at specific acupuncture points, allowing him to deal critical damage with little effort.

Keizaburo Sawada (Voiced by: Soichiro Hoshi)

Affiliation: Murder Music
Nickname: Bird of Darkness
Age: 25
Height: 181 cm
Weight: 74 kg
A gladiator for Murder Music, Keizaburo bases his fighting style on ballet, drawing on nimble and graceful footwork. He is is old friends with Lihito. Keizaburo has an androgoneous appearance and wears makeup, yet he has an unquestionably masculine side to him.

Julius Reinhold (Voiced by: Hiroshi Shirokuma)

Affiliation: Toyo Electric Power Co.
Nickname: Monster
Age: 36
Height: 205 cm
Weight: 210 kg
A gladiator for Toyo Electric Power Co., Julius has unparalleled strength thanks to excessive doping and training that would be fatal to an ordinary human. He believes that depending on a particular fighting style is for the weak and that brute power can trump anything.

Suekichi Kaneda (Voiced by: Koji Yusa)

Affiliation: Ginokuniya Bookshop
Nickname: Giant Killer
Fighting Style: Kujin-Style Martial Arts
Age: 27
Height: 170 cm
Weight: 73 kg
A gladiator for Ginokuniya Bookshop, Suekichi fights using the Kujin-Style of martial arts employed on the battlefields for close combat during the Warring States period. He is a master shogi player and has incredible foresight and analytical skills, which he has honed to make up for his average physique and strength.

Naoya Ohkukbo (Voiced by: Katsuyuki Konishi)

Affiliation: Muji Television Network
Nickname: King of Combat
Fighting Style: MMA
Age: 32
Height: 195 cm
Weight: 116 kg
A gladiator for Muji Television Network, Naoya is the champion of the Ultimate Fight MMA. He trains incessantly and has immense strength and endurance. He uses a fluid style that mixes blows, throws, locks, and grappling.

Saw Paing Yoroizuka (Voiced by: Nobuyuki Hiyama)

Affiliation: Village of Dawn
Nickname: Howling Fighting Spirit
Fighting Style: Lethwei
Age: 30
Height: 184 cm
Weight: 88 kg
A gladiator for Village of Dawn, Saw Paing is a boistrous fighter who uses the Myanmar fighting style Lethwei and rarely blocks against opponents’ attacks. His self-proclaimed rival is Gaolang Wongsawat, whom he lost a match to when he was 16. Though the rivalry is one-sided, Saw Paing won’t give up on beating Gaolang, much to his annoyance.

Rei Mikazuchi (Voiced by: Daisuke Ono)

Affiliation: Gold Pleasure Group
Nickname: Lightning God
Fighting Style: Raishin-Style Martial Arts
Age: 26
Height: 179 cm
Weight: 77 kg
A gladiator for Gold Pleasure Group, Rei is an assassin and the current master of the Raishin style of martial arts which dates back 1200 years. He gets his nickname from his lightening quick speed. He is blunt and arrogant, and is madly in love with his employer, Rino Kurayoshi.

Mokichi Robinson (Voiced by: Katsuki Murase)

Affiliation: Sentory
Nickname: Exterminating Vicar
Fighting Style: Baritsu
Age: 34
Height: 189 cm
Weight: 99 kg
A gladiator for Sentory, Mokichi was originally involved in the criminal underworld, but after learning he has a younger sister named Elena he decides to fight to protect her. He dotes on his little sister, which he is ruthlessly teased about by others.

Masaki Meguro (Voiced by: Noriyuki Kawamoto)

Affiliation: Umiichi Securities
Nickname: Crying Man
Fighting Style: Judo
Age: 33
Height: 195 cm
Weight: 130 kg
The gladiator for Umiichi Securities, Masaki is a prodigal judo fighter with an innate impulse to murder. At the age of 13 he savagely killed his father and fellow pupils. Immediately after, he changed his appearance and has eluded police for 20 years until suddenly appearing for the Kengan Tournament.

Ren Nikaido (Voiced by: Chiharu Sawashiro)

Affiliation: The Byakuya Shimbun Company
Nickname: Watchman
Fighting Style: Tenro-Style Martial Arts
Age: 24
Height: 174 cm
Weight: 73 kg
A gladiator for the Byakuya Shimbun Company, Ren uses a lost Japanese-style Chinese technique known as the Heavenly Wolf Fist. Skilled in subversion and espionage, he is the captain of the Chinese mercenary group Heavenly Wolves and is a top-tier assassin.

Takayuki Chiba (Voiced by: Takanori Hoshino)

Affiliation: Yoshitake Real Estate
Nickname: Faceless Man
Age: 37
Height: 179 cm
Weight: 85 kg
A gladiator for Yoshitake Real Estate, Takayuki is an underworld actor who is able to perfectly copy any opponent’s fighting style after seeing it once. He relies on deception and changes his persona to suit his needs, whether to play a shogi master or a deceased karate teacher, and with such accuracy that even those close to him fall for his cons.

International Streaming

• Netflix

• Website (Japanese)
• Twitter (Japanese)

• Original Creator: Yabako Sandrovich
• Original Character Designer: Daromeon
• Director: Seiji Kishi
• Series Composition: Makoto Uezu
• Music: Yasuharu Takanashi (Team-MAX)
• Character Designer: Kazuaki Morita
• Producer: Yuji Higa
• Animation Production: Larx Entertainment