Kenichi Shirahama/Personality

Personality
Kenichi is good-natured, timid, polite and cowardly, frequently treated as a friendless loser at the beginning of the series. He loves gardening and reading How to... books. However, it all changed when he met Miu Fūrinji, and shows no fear in the face of true danger. After the fateful meeting, he decided to stand for himself and be truly strong; or at least, strong enough to protect those who are dear to him. Though he's constantly considered cowardly at the beginning of the series, he shows that when his loved ones lives are on the line, he's actually much braver than he appears, going as far as to jump into the ocean full of sharks and fight one of them just to save his sister Honoka. He continuously grows much more brave and confident in himself to the point he now rushes into any form of danger without a second thought.
After entering 'Ryōzanpaku he has slowly begun to change. Although at first he ran at the very first sign of danger, and didn't want to train unless forced by his masters, he endured the hard training and is slowly growing to love martial arts. He was not seen as a serious fighter by any of his opponents, which has led to many victories over seemingly impossible odds (Boris notes that Kenichi has had the bad, or good depending on how one see's it, luck of fighting martial artists who were stronger than him in terms of pure skill in every one of his main battles), and his care for his newly found friends has made him prove victorious time and time again, thus changing his attitude to the point where many of his classmates think he is cool.
Due to Kensei Ma's influence on him, Kenichi has shown a bit of a perverted side, such as when Ma takes Kenichi to a secret location to watch Mui and Shigure bathe in their usual spot (and later uses him as a decoy to escape). Kenichi was even given magazines based off of pictures of Mui and Shigure or other nude pictures (though Kenichi states they are really only pictures of chickens or baby chicks and at times Tochumaru posing covering them). Kenichi even used Ma's technique when he told him to let Miu attack him so his face would be shoved into her chest (which was later proven so Kenichi would learn a headbutt move) and even said how wonderful it felt. However, despite Ma's influence, Kenichi has shown a modest and innocent side towards women, such as when he ever sees Mui's breasts almost sticking out, seeing her almost naked, accidently seeing up her skirt or seeing Renka's breasts causing Kenichi to be very flustered. When Shigure wanted to bathe with him, he was very flustered and wished not to, showing innocence. Whenever he sees women barely dressed or almost naked, he tends to have a nosebleed.
Unlike most of the other characters, Kenichi tends to think logically, often crushing the dreams of young fighters who strive to create a strong gang in the future. He also sticks to his convictions, be it fair (such as never hitting a guy with glasses) to very controversial, such as his belief to never hit a girl, no matter the situation. This vow often backfires as when women try to fight him, as they become extremely irritated and mistake it for overbearing sexism (this is proven false as Kenichi has no problem with other men, such as Hayato or Natsu, fighting females). Kenichi even cares about the enemy's health and always tries to help them. Despite his strong moral standards, Kenichi is not above buying perverted pictures of Miu and Shigure from Ma or going with him to spy on them while they're bathing. He is still scared of delinquents as shown at his school, despite defeating opponents like Sho Kano and other Yomi members.
Though his masters claim that he has no talent or whatsoever for Martial Arts, this could possibly be a ploy to motivate him to work harder. Despite the fact that Kenichi has not even been studying martial arts for a year, he has defeated countless opponents who have been studying for their entire lives and considered true genius. Hayato Fūrinji, the Elder of Ryōzanpaku has stated that Kenichi reminds him of himself in younger days. The claim could be an encouragement from his masters not to be laid back. While his masters always states that Kenichi has no talent at martial arts, Akisame stated that Kenichi is a genius at hard work. This is further reinforced where Odin commented that Kenichi has mastered the essentials of the Seikūken in just a matter of days.
Though he is no longer picked on by the delinquents at his school, Kenichi's excessive mistreatment by others is one of the main sources of humor in the series. He is constantly ridiculed and looked down on, physically abused for no reason, denied his only pleasures of reading and gardening, and receives no praise at all for his accomplishments and actually only gets ridiculed more (sometimes by people much weaker than himself). As a result of this, Kenichi is frequently shown to be very susceptible to negative comments abouts his appearance or strength, easily falling into (comical) depression whenever someone scoffs at his abilities (so much so that Miu once refered to name calling as Kenichi's "Weak Spot").
Kenichi seeks "enough power to protect those that he loves". However, the Elder told Kenichi that saying that is the same as stating "I want the power to kill those who are my enemies". What Kenichi really seeks is the power to definitely protect his loved ones by defeating his enemies without causing more than enough damage to and protecting them as well. Hayato Fūrinji stated that this is already the level of strongest in history. Kenichi seems to have another power within him, which his opponents often describe as light in the middle of darkness. This often results in many of those he has defeated turning over to the good side. Rachel Stanley described him as a ceramic vase being beautifully crafted. Isshinsai Ogata also states that Kenichi possesses infinite potential inside him and that his bases are so solid, he could become the highest building ever. On occasions, he breaks down into Dou like combat when someone insults his masters or hurts Miu.
Kenichi has constantly shown to be a very kind, selfless, polite, and helpful young man and always put others before himself. Even when it comes to his enimies, he shows them respect and never speaks ill of them and even cares for their well-being and refuses to allow them to ever speak ill of others. Whenever he's injured or someone else is, he states the other people injured should be tended to first. He constantly tries to befriend others such a Chikage, even if they were former enimies and always acts friendly towards them. It is because of his kind nature that he lacks killing intent due to his desire not to kill others. Several people are moved by his kindness and selfless nature, to the point they even change sides and befriend him. Because of his kindness, Ethan Stanley states that his heart is enourmous. Thor would state his heart has become even stronger lately from his continuous fighting.
Despite his friendly, kind nature, he does enjoy teasing Natsu Tanimoto. He usually does this by annoying Tanimoto (by adding the chan suffix in his name or acting friendly), and once Tanimoto gets so irked to the point that he attacks Kenichi, Kenichi points out people are watching, causing Tanimoto to revert to his false persona.
He has a habit of constantly watering plants and tending to his books when he gets excited. His habit of this kick in when he and Miu held hands. He also is very intellegent in plant types, such as knowing how they work or grow and considers them some of his closest friends, which was shown when he relied on plants to save him from Sho Kanou. He also is afraid of weapons, as he usually shouts "weapons are scary!", though he slowly loses his fear for them. He also has a fear of riding scary or dangerous rides such as rollercosters, much like Thor (though his fear is mostly due to his hellish training from Akisame's brutal machines which seem to have left a bad impression on Kenichi).
Kenichi is known for being somewhat attractive by numerous girls his age throughout the series due to his strength, bravery, and kind heart. Yūka Izumi loves him due to his kindness and tries to ask him out more than once only to be interupted or Kenichi leaving before she notices he left and Kenichi is oblivious of this. Li Raichi is attracted to him due to him standing up to her and considering her a friend and admiring him for his kindness. Rachel has shown to find him "cute" and has an attraction towards him, going as far as to kiss him on the cheek, causing Miu to be very angry and jealous from her. Also Rachel also appreciates him and his friends saving her from Jenazad and helping her brother. Renka Ma is attracted to him due to how strong he has become and brave, going as far as transfering schools to be close to him and always trying to cling to him and fight over his attention with Mui and her "strong liking" has eventually developed into "strong love" which she refuses to admit, but her emotions prove otherwise. Also, Renka also is taken back by him when he complements her in anything and blushes around him when he does. Miu developed feelings towards him when he proves his worth as a fighter and when she sees how much he cares for her in numerous moments and is very appreciative of everything he does for her as a friend. Miu even gets jealous and possesive of Kenichi when other girls are around him and fights for his attention. When Kenichi saves her life on the School Ski Trip, Miu tearfully hugs him and thanks him for saving her, making Miu much more open physically and emotionally. Whenever Kenichi is done fighting a long fight, she is usually running up to him and tearfully hugging him and states how glad she is when he's alright. When Kenichi tries to state how he wants to protect her more than anything, Miu starts to understand her feelings for him, going as far as kissing him on the cheek. Since then she's started acting more happy, cheerful, and eager to be around him. According to Junazard, Miu's feelings for Kenichi has developed into love (though Miu doesn't seem to be aware of this). Miu has even stated she does not mind dying for Kenichi so he can live. Kenichi has earned the trust of the One Shadow, Miu's father for protecting Miu from Junazard and stopping him and breaking the his spell on her.