Kenka Dokugaku

The bullies at Yoo Hobin's high school are no ordinary trouble-makers: they are NewTubers, budding internet celebrities who force Hobin to partake in humiliating videos and host live-streams in his house. Hobin only manages to stay strong by reminding himself that he needs to work hard to support his hospitalized mother. However, during his classmate Woo Jihyeok's live stream, Hobin completely snaps after a humiliating incident. As a result, the two men engage in a grotesque fistfight that lasts until dawn.

The following day, Hobin discovers that the livestream of his fight went viral on NewTube, turning him into a celebrity overnight. After he realizes that making viral videos is a very lucrative endeavor, Hobin agrees to team up with Jihyeok to create a channel that features his martial prowess. However, Hobin needs to become a seasoned fighter and keep his distance from those who seek to use him for his newfound fame, unless he wants a lack of views to become the least of his problems. Thankfully for him, the unexpected discovery of a series of obscure self-learning videos might be just what he needs to survive in the content creation industry.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Yoo, Ho-bin Main

Niwa, Satoshi Japanese

Ga, Eul Main

Fairouz Ai Japanese

Choi, Bo-mi Main

Ishikawa, Yui Japanese

Woo, Ji-hyeok Main

Okamoto, Nobuhiko Japanese

Seong, Tae-hoon Supporting

Ishikawa, Kaito Japanese

Ssamdak Supporting

Sugita, Tomokazu Japanese

Kim, Moon-seong Supporting

Nakamura, Yuuichi Japanese

Yeo, Ru-mi Supporting

Aoyama, Yoshino Japanese

Seong, Han-soo Supporting

Hwang, Man-gi Supporting

Maeno, Tomoaki Japanese

Mori, Akitoshi Producer

Yonemori, Hiroto Producer

Otokawa, Masashi Producer

Hishida, Masakazu Director

Reviews

Feb 7, 2026

Krohanar

Recommended

In short:
If you want a fun anime with a martial arts background, and you don't care that they exaggerate a lot, this is for you!

Intro:
I mean, this anime is dumb. But it has a lot of interesting moments! It is about a guy who is bullied because he is weak, and he is used as content for "NewTube" videos.
The anime tries to make a connection with the current "YouTubers" wave, especially those who expose and mistreat other people for likes and money.

Art: 7
It is really well animated. The art style and character designs are really good! It looks like a simple design, but ... every character is memorable and has unique characteristics! The MC, who is just an "average guy in Japan" (small and slim), has some memorable traits too. The fight scenes are not outstanding, but I guess they are okay(?)

Story: 4
I don't want to be mean, but the story kinda sucks. They have a plot, but it is not that important. The anime is carried by the fun moments, fights, and some comical parts, not because the story is really engaging. The "NewTubers" parallel is really fun and it is a good premise, but everything happens just because... well, because it is what it is. The story lacks a bit of logic.

Sound: 6
I'm no sound expert by any means. My opinion is just based on whether anything sounded off, or if there was anything memorable (like great music or a great dub)... So, it is average overall.

Characters: 7
This is one of the anime's strong suit! The characters are simple, but that works for this kind of anime. It is really plain and over-exaggerated, yes, but they are built well for the show. The MC and the side characters have some development, but nothing too deep. The show is not for that. The show is about watching a guy work hard to fight.

Enjoyment: 8
It is enjoyable for sure. The fight scenes are comical, but they have some thought behind them. Of course, you need to turn off your brain 99% of the time, but hey, it is fun!

Overall: 6
Just go for it. It is really dumb, but it is a good anime.

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

What did you think of this review?

Nice 0

Love it 0

Funny 0

Confusing 0

Informative 0

Well-written 0

Creative 0

More reviews by Krohanar (25)

Show all

Read more

Show less

Open

Gift

Report

Jun 26, 2024

ST63LTH

Mixed Feelings

Hobin Yoo is a high schooler who falls victim to bullying and humiliation from his classmates. While slaving away at a part-time job to pay his mother's medical bills, Hobin discovers a faster and more lucrative way to earn money: NewTube, a social networking site where streams and videos that go viral turn financial situations. He sees his classmates, like Pakgo and Rumi, uploading content daily and is compelled to start his own.

Under the guise of a channel named "Viral Hit," Hobin challenges bullies, armed with effective fighting techniques learned from a mysterious NewTube channel. Determined to turn his life around no matter the ... cost, Hobin dives into the world of content creation prepared to put his life on the line. Will his efforts be in vain, or is there still hope for Hobin's career as a content creator?

Story & Character: 5/10 & 6/10
Viral Hit does well to articulate struggle and wit through its narrative, but it lacks depth and intensity. Any attempt to develop the story deeper is met with cheaply executed humor. The power scale is so arbitrary that battles with powerful foes don't feel suspenseful, and to make matters worse, the action sequences lack any form of animation whatsoever. Conflict slowly becomes more predictable as Viral Hit adopts battles of attrition, making them less interesting as the opponents become more prominent.

Viral Hit maintains a set of unique characters fairly well within a short time frame. There are delinquents, stoics, schemers, and many in-between. As the main character, Hobin feels like a convincing representation of an everyday high school student with his degenerate lifestyle and sly persona. His character execution was done a little too well to the point where I started to loathe his existence as the lead because his growth is belittled by fragile self-confidence. The drama felt more dynamic due to the shifts in each character's agenda to grow their following, which was a welcome inclusion despite being the only prominent source of drama in the series.

Art & Sound: 4/10 & 6/10
For a series that prides itself on its fights, there seems to be a major discrepancy with its animation. The consistent use of panning stills, re-used animations, and lack of movement limited the viewing experience. Character proportions, especially faces, fell apart whenever the character wasn't facing directly ahead or in profile view, which we see in characters like Rumi, Bomi, and Taehoon. However, the character designs were visually appealing when done right, with attractive eyes, hair, and teeth.

I enjoyed some of the soundtracks used in the background of the episodes; they featured punchy Korean rap in many of the conflict scenes, which set a wild and rebellious mood. Beyond that, there weren't many great attempts at thematic soundtracks or theme songs used in the series. The voice acting and sound effects met modern standards, so there weren't many gripes against either.

Overall & Enjoyment: 5/10
Viral Hit had me dying of second-hand embarrassment for lack of a better explanation. It was designed well in that regard, but it didn't have much impact visually or narratively, which made the progression and milestone events more or less unsubstantial. It was a decent watch, nothing spectacular in terms of art, character development or its plot. Not even an underdog style story because it lacks much of the assured growth you'd expect from constant self-sacrifices.

Reviewer’s Rating: 5

What did you think of this review?

Nice 0

Love it 0

Funny 0

Confusing 0

Informative 0

Well-written 0

Creative 0

More reviews by ST63LTH (235)

Show all

Read more

Show less

Open

Gift

Report

Aug 7, 2024

PixelB

Not Recommended

Funny

Preliminary (9/12 eps)

I watched 8 episodes in a single day. It's actually abnormal how much I watched when it was so bad. However, as if it was like a fever dream, the next day I picked up the show, it just got worse and worse to the point that I dropped it.

The more you think about a show like this, the more you realize how garbage it is. It truly is the epitome of "turn your brain off" type of shows. It hits all the shitty tropes and more when you look into it even a little bit. First off is the truly abysmal characters. Hobin is ... the typical isekai/cheat character where he gets to fight people much stronger than him and somehow come up on top due to a cheat-like tutorial video series that allows him to train for months to specifically target the person he's fighting. Similarly, despite never doing any sports, not being athletic, not being tall, not weighing anything, he's still able to fight people many times his weight class and size. Overall, it really is reminiscent of a typical fantasy hero-type character blessed with cheats to combat powerful foes.

Of course, I get that this show kind of hinges on the setting that Hobin is a bullied loser that has nothing. Plus, he's poor and has no opportunities That's kind of the only reason why he starts fighting back. However, how hard is it to just insert a time-skip where he trains for 5+ years before starting the show then? At the very least, even with his small build, he'd at least have good muscle strength. But no...Hobin just needs to go to his metabolic time chamber and cheat video series train one month to beat pro-level MMA fighters.

On the other hand, Hobin also gets love interests. Why not? Bomi is the main female love interest, and her only role is to be the damsel in distress and for the MC to have a reason to keep fighting. Bomi doesn't actually have a personality, and apart from her good looks, contributes nothing to the story. Hobin falls in love with Bomi for her looks, and that's about as much as you need to know. Incidentally, Hobin gets another love interest who's also cute and whatever. Hobin simping for Bomi was already cringe as hell, but double that now? Plus, He's in a love triangle with his best friend, Jihyeok loves Gaeul, and Gaeul likes Hobin. So boring. Hobin is simultaneously a guy that gets flustered easily, stutters, can't hold a conversation, but at the same time all the girls love him. Hmm...no wish fulfillment here I think.

Similar to Tokyo Revengers, the only thing you're here for are the fights. There's not really any character development or anything. Hobin fights stronger and stronger foes and befriends them, extending his social circle and social media presence while simultaneously finding harder and harder opponents for himself to fight. That's about it.

Also, for a fighting show, the animation is fairly below budget. Animation is reused constantly, slideshows are aplenty, and many times people are standing still, or otherwise reusing a very poor lip-sync animation. Backgrounds are dull, shading is done like the original webtoon (which is fucking as simple as possible), and overall the rendering of many fight scenes are just mediocre.

For a similar theme, Lookism is better on almost all counts.

Reviewer’s Rating: 5

What did you think of this review?

Nice 0

Love it 0

Funny 0

Confusing 0

Informative 0

Well-written 0

Creative 0

More reviews by PixelB (472)

Show all

Read more

Show less

Open

Gift

Report

Anime Adaptations of Manhwa and Webtoons

by Ssnowyy

34 Entries · 88 Restacks

+Ultra (Programming Block)

by MyAnimeList

28 Entries · 138 Restacks

Korean Manhwa with Japanese Anime Adaptations

by Kyolus

21 Entries · 30 Restacks

Spring 2024 Simulcast List [Update 6/10]

In this thread, you'll find a comprehensive list of television anime acquired for simulcast release during the Spring 2024 season. Anime series licensed for hom...read more

Apr 5, 2024 1:40 PM by Snow | Discuss (29 comments)

Spring 2024 Preview

In this thread, you'll find a comprehensive list of Spring 2024 titles with an accompanying promotional video, commercial, teaser, or trailer. This post will be...read more

Mar 29, 2024 10:02 AM by Snow | Discuss (1 comment)

	Poll: Kenka Dokugaku Episode 12 Discussion ( 1 2 ) Stark700 - Jun 26, 2024	79 replies	by Pecola »» Oct 19, 4:47 AM
	Poll: Kenka Dokugaku Episode 1 Discussion ( 1 2 ) Stark700 - Apr 10, 2024	87 replies	by christheislander »» Sep 13, 3:15 AM
	How do you feel about viral live action on netflix or stream? Avamarie316 - Jun 12	0 replies	by Avamarie316 »» Jun 12, 2:53 PM
	Poll: Kenka Dokugaku Episode 11 Discussion Stark700 - Jun 19, 2024	30 replies	by riko-q »» Apr 12, 7:26 PM
	Poll: Kenka Dokugaku Episode 8 Discussion Stark700 - May 29, 2024	39 replies	by Tennouji »» Jan 9, 7:38 AM