Keijo!!!!!!!! Review: A Sport Designed to Be Absurd Takes Itself Completely Seriously and Becomes Something Wonderful
by Daichi Sorayomi
*Affiliate link — I earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.
Quick Take
- The premise is deliberately absurd; the execution is completely sincere; the sincerity is what makes it work
- Keijo treats its ridiculous sport with the same technical seriousness that Haikyu!! treats volleyball — every technique has a name, a biomechanical logic, and a counter
- 18 volumes complete; the most committed comedy in sports manga
Who Is This Manga For?
- Readers who can engage with absurd premises taken completely seriously
- Fans of sports manga who want to see the genre's conventions applied to an unexpected context
- Anyone who enjoys sports manga that generates genuine excitement from its match sequences
- Readers who understand that the M rating is primarily for fanservice
Content Warnings & Age Rating
Age Rating: M (Mature) Content Warnings: Significant fanservice — the sport's nature means character bodies are prominently depicted; this is a sports manga built around a concept specifically designed to generate fanservice
The content is not graphic in an explicit sense but the premise is built around it.
Yu's Rating
| Category | Score |
|---|---|
| Story Depth | ★★★☆☆ |
| Art Style | ★★★★☆ |
| Character Development | ★★★☆☆ |
| Accessibility for Non-Japanese Readers | ★★★★★ |
| Reread Value | ★★★☆☆ |
Story Overview
Keijo is a professional sport played on floating platforms called "lands." Athletes can only touch opponents using their chest or backside. The goal is to knock opponents off the platform into the water. Athletes are called "players" and train in professional schools.
Nozomi Kaminashi is a gymnast with extraordinary physical ability. She enters the Setouchi Keijo Training School to earn prize money for her family. She is talented but undisciplined, and the sport is more technically demanding than she expected.
The series follows her training and competition. Every technique is named and explained. The match sequences are structured exactly like conventional sports manga matches. The comedy comes from applying this serious structure to an absurd premise, and the series never flinches.
Characters
Nozomi Kaminashi — The same character type as most sports manga protagonists: naturally talented, insufficiently disciplined, driven by something external. What makes her specific is her gymnastic background providing techniques the sport's conventions don't anticipate.
Sayaka Miyata — Nozomi's roommate and training partner whose complementary strengths provide the central friendship.
Non Toyoguchi — A rival whose analytical approach to the sport contrasts with Nozomi's instinctive style.
Art Style
The sport demands dynamic body movement and the art delivers it — match sequences are kinetically drawn with the same panel energy that conventional sports manga applies to volleyball or basketball. The technique illustrations are clear and sometimes genuinely creative in how they explain the biomechanics.
Cultural Context
Keijo!! operates in the tradition of absurdist sports manga — a tradition that includes other series that took impossibly specific premises and applied genuine craft to them. The series's sincerity about its premise is part of a Japanese manga tradition where commitment to concept is itself a value.
What I Love About It
The technique naming. Every major move in Keijo has a name that sounds exactly like a martial arts technique and is accompanied by a diagram explaining its physical mechanism. The gap between the seriousness of the naming convention and the nature of what is being named generates consistent comedy while also making the match sequences genuinely follow-able.
What English-Speaking Fans Say
Western readers are divided: readers who engage with the premise find it one of the most entertainingly committed manga they have encountered; readers who can't get past the premise don't get far. Those who engage consistently cite the tournament arc as generating genuine sports manga excitement from a premise designed to be ridiculous.
Memorable Scene ⚠️ Spoiler Warning
The debut of the "Vacuum Butt Cannon" technique in competition — a technique so mechanically improbable that it becomes a genuine tournament turning point — is the series' clearest example of what it is.
Similar Manga
- Haikyu!! — The sports manga template that Keijo is applying to its premise
- Bamboo Blade — Kendo, similarly sincere about its sport
- Scorching Ping Pong Girls — Non-traditional sports competition, female athletes
- Food Wars — Absurd premise taken with complete culinary seriousness
Reading Order / Where to Start
Volume 1 — the premise is established immediately.
Official English Translation Status
Viz Media published the complete 18-volume run. All volumes available.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Commits completely to its premise
- Match sequences generate genuine sports manga excitement
- The technique system is surprisingly sophisticated
- Complete in English at excellent value
Cons
- The M rating is earned through consistent fanservice
- Not suitable for readers who cannot engage with the premise
- Character depth is secondary to sport mechanics
Format Comparison
| Format | Notes |
|---|---|
| Individual Volumes | Viz; standard |
| Digital | Available |
Where to Buy
Get Keijo!!!!!!!! Vol. 1 on Amazon →
This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase through these links, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
*Affiliate link — I earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.
Written by
Yu
Manga Enthusiast from Japan
I grew up in Japan and manga literally saved me during a tough time in elementary school. My English isn't perfect, but my love for manga is real — and I want to share it with you.
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you.