lead=yes is a Japanese kabaddi manga series written and illustrated by Hajime Musashino. It was serialized on Shogakukan's Ura Sunday website and MangaONE app from July 2015 to July 2024 and has been collected in thirty-one volumes. An anime television series adaptation by TMS Entertainment aired from April to June 2021.
Burning Kabaddi won the 70th Shogakukan Manga Award in 2025.
Characters
Nōkin High School
- Yoigoshi Tatsuya
- A former soccer player who quit due to his teammates talking behind his back out of jealousy. He was reluctant to join the Kabaddi, but he learned to enjoy it overtime. He has a naturally athletic build, and a gift for speed. Before joining the Kabaddi club, he was a live streamer under the name "Night's End".
- Ōjō Masato
- Azemichi Sōma
- The one who brought Yoigoshi to the Kabaddi club fue to requests from his upperclassmen. Although he is short, he is very strong due living in the mountains and helping his families business as potters. He is the only one in the club with a girlfriend.
- Iura Kei
- Misumi Kyōhei
- Date Shinji
- Ban Nobutaka
- Seki Ryūta
- Hitomi Yūki
Souwa High School
- Rokugen Ayumu
- Takaya Ren
- Kizaku Shintarō
- Eikura Yū
- Muroya Daisuke
Saitama Kōyō High School
- Sakura Manabu
- Utō Hiromoto
Media
Manga
Burning Kabaddi is a manga series written and illustrated by Hajime Musashino. The series began serialization on
Shogakukan's
Ura Sunday website and
MangaONE app in July 2015. In May 2024, it was announced that the series had reached its climax.
The series published its final chapter on July 23, 2024.
Shogakukan has collected its chapters into individual volumes. As of November 12, 2024, thirty volumes have been published.
Anime
An
anime television series adaptation was announced on July 6, 2020.
Produced by TMS Entertainment, the series is directed by Kazuya Ichikawa and written by Yūko Kakihara. Mari Takada is designing the characters and Ken Ito is composing the series' music. Domerica is credited with animation cooperation. The opening theme, "Fire Bird", is performed by Shunya Ōhira, while the ending theme, "Comin' Back", is performed by
Yuma Uchida.
The series aired from April 3 to June 19, 2021, on
TV Tokyo,
TV Osaka, TV Aichi, and AT-X.
Crunchyroll streamed the series outside of Asia.
Medialink has licensed the series in Southeast Asia, and is streaming it on their partnered platforms.
Reception
Burning Kabaddi was nominated for the 66th Shogakukan Manga Award in the category in 2020;
along with
Draw This, Then Die!,
Natsume Arata no Kekkon, and
Puniru Is a Cute Slime,
Burning Kabaddi won the 70th edition in 2025.
Anime News Network had six editors review the first episode of the anime: Caitlin Moore critiqued that it contained "moderately typical sports anime beats" but felt its cast displayed "little in terms of depth or complexity" and the animation degraded as it went into the kabaddi scenes; Nicholas Dupree commended the episode for explaining the central sport's fundamentals but criticized the stiff animation and shoddy direction of the kabaddi matches, and the unlikable cast ranging from "mildly unpleasant to loudly unpleasant"; Richard Eisenbeis also praised the explanation of the sport but was unimpressed with the overall cast and humor, saying: "Frankly, despite the rather fluid animation and interesting subject matter, this is not a series I would likely choose to pick up"; James Beckett criticized the production for having weak direction in its character interactions and not displaying "fast, fluid, and impactful animation" in its kabaddi scenes; Rebecca Silverman wrote: "In all honesty, Burning Kabaddi looks like it's going to be like any other sports anime ... It'll probably be fine, and the lure of a somewhat unusual sport may be enough of a draw for those on the fence". The sixth reviewer, Lynzee Loveridge, wrote: "I want to recommend Burning Kabaddi for its efforts to highlight a unique sport and for its particularly dumb teen protagonist, but I found nothing impressive about this premiere and much of its sports action falls flat".
Notes
External links