“Karate Shoukoushi Kohinata Minoru”or “The Little Prince of Karate: Kohinata Minoru”, that name in full is just too much. I'm just gonna call it “KSKM”...
Making use of the general provided synopsis here:
Kohinata Minoru is a college student at a college that is popular for its sports rather than academic orientation. Although he starts out as a gymnast alongside his friend, Nana, Minoru is bullied by the higher ranked gymnasts. One evening, a karate student at the college, Mutou Ryuuji, witnesses Minoru being bullied and comes to the rescue... but his intentions are not to save Minoru, but to drag him into the world of karate.
.. Right on, so it's a shounen/seinen underdog series about a young karate rookie, that follows his growth as a martial artist. I came across this series while reading through Hajime no Ippo, since it was in the related results. And I must say, I'm pretty happy with it. The characters are amusing and well-rounded, the art is great and really detailed, and whenever there's a training/fight scene you get a solid feel of what's going down. The impact of the fighter's strikes is conveyed very well, and you can almost feel it when someone gets a rib broken. So far, I've gotten up to ch.408, which is the most recent to my knowledge.
There are a few snags in it however. The series, at the start, plays up karate as if it were the best of all styles of martial arts. And while the title character is likable, after several volumes he does drop off and the other characters become more appealing. The female characters are all strong and solid, but as the series progresses they become more like cheerleaders for the guys.
There is an art shift that occurs as the series takes a more MMA-oriented turn, the guys get more shading and detailed line-work on muscles and the women are drawn curvier and more attractive. Overall the art for both genders depicts everyone as a little older and better looking, with the “gag” characters looking more normal and mature.
So, aside from a few small hang-ups, KSKM is a solid martial arts manga with a good flow, the cast is diverse, and it can actually be pretty educational. Throughout the series, notes are provided regarding terminology used for karate, as well as the other fighting styles that are encountered. I'd recommend this series to anyone that's into martial arts, and mature enough to handle content aimed at older readers. While the general premise is more shounen in nature, the actual age range of the cast is more in the adult(seinen) range, which makes sense as it's about University-aged young adults. There is some fan-service, but very little (almost none) of your typical shounen harem shenanigans. For real, check this shit out. The art quality when you see a dude take body blow and get his ribs shattered is amazing.