Wanna Be the Strongest in the World

Wanna Be the Strongest in the World (Japanese: 世界でいちばん強くなりたい!, Hepburn: Sekai de Ichiban Tsuyoku Naritai!), is a Japanese manga by ESE and Kiyohito Natsuki.^[1] It was adapted into an anime television series in October 2013.^[2]

Plot

Sakura Hagiwara is a pop idol and member of the fictional Japanese idol group Sweet Diva. However, one day, a female wrestler named Rio Kazama beats up Elena Miyazawa, a fellow Sweet Diva member and Sakura's rival. To avenge Elena, Sakura is introduced to the Berserk Wrestlers team, of which Rio is a part of. Eventually, Sakura proves to be a natural athlete with potential and joins the team.

Characters

Sweet Diva

Sakura Hagiwara (萩原 さくら, Hagiwara Sakura)

Voiced by: Ayana Taketatsu (Japanese); Elizabeth Lewis^[3] (English)

The main character who is a member of the idol group Sweet Diva and currently 17 years old. She becomes the central vocalist at the start of the series. Initially cheerful and bright, she always puts her idol group before her own feelings but always tries her best at anything.

Elena Miyazawa (宮澤 エレナ, Miyazawa Erena)

Voiced by: Kana Asumi (Japanese); Monica Rial^[3] (English)

A member of the idol group Sweet Diva, she is Sakura's rival who is a tomboy and strong-minded. Currently 17 years old. She is later revealed to be Blue Panther, who was thought to be Juri. Though initially unskilled at pro-wrestling, her training in Miyabi under Juri's tutelage revealed that she actually has much untapped potential in the sport, as her rapid development allowed her to hold her own against Sakura during their first wrestling match against each other. She seeks to bring Sakura back to the idol life by defeating her in the ring.

Aika Hayase (早瀬 愛華, Hayase Aika)

Voiced by: Sora Amamiya (Japanese); Kristin Sutton^[3] (English)

A member of the idol group Sweet Diva, always seen together with Yuuho. Although bright and cheerful like Sakura, Aika is also a bit timid.

Yuuho Mochizuki (望月 悠歩, Mochizuki Yūho)

Voiced by: Miku Itō (Japanese); Didi Archilla^[3] (English)

A member of the idol group Sweet Diva, always seen together with Aika. She is the mood maker of the group.

Nanami Kanno (菅野 七海, Kanno Nanami)

Voiced by: Yuka Ōtsubo (Japanese); Michelle Lee^[3] (English)

Sweet Diva's leader. Like Elena and Sakura, she is 17 years old, but acts way older and is really calm.

Makoto Kirishima (桐島 真琴, Kirishima Makoto)

Voiced by: Eri Kitamura (Japanese); Vanessa DeSilvio^[3] (English)

Sweet Diva's manager.

Berserk Wrestlers

Rio Kazama (風間 璃緒, Kazama Rio)

Voiced by: Haruka Tomatsu (Japanese); Martha Harms^[3] (English)

A mid-class wrestler, who was the one who attacked Elena.

Misaki Toyoda (豊田 美咲, Toyoda Misaki)

Voiced by: Kyoko Narumi (Japanese); Leah Clark^[3] (English)

Berserk's Ace pro-wrestler, she too was a former idol like Sakura. She is usually seen together with Kanae.

Chinatsu Suzumoto (鈴元 千夏, Suzumoto Chinatsu)

Voiced by: Suzuko Mimori (Japanese); Anastasia Munoz^[3] (English)

Kurea Komiyama (小宮山 紅亜, Komiyama Kurea)

Voiced by: Sumire Uesaka (Japanese); Morgan Garrett^[3] (English)

Hornet (ホーネット, Hōnetto)

Voiced by: Sora Tokui (Japanese); Elizabeth Evans (English)

Seiichi Inoba (猪場 清一, Inoba Seiichi)

Voiced by: Fumihiko Tachiki (Japanese); David Thompson (English)

The President of Berserk, an ex-pro-wrestler who is 51 years old.

Moe Fukuoka (福岡 萌, Fukuoka Moe)

Voiced by: Hisako Kanemoto (Japanese); Cristina Vee^[3] (English)

A karate prodigy and Inoba's mentor's granddaughter. She became interested in pro-wrestling because of Sakura. Her style in the ring incorporates elements of karate together with pro-wrestling, and she uses powerful blows to stagger her opponent.

Other Characters

Kanae Fujishita (藤下 香苗, Fujishita Kanae)

Voiced by: Rina Satō (Japanese); Bryn Apprill (English)

An enthusiastic news reporter who loves pro-wrestling.

Jackal Tojo (ジャッカル東条, Jakkaru Tōjō)

Voiced by: Chiaki Takahashi (Japanese); Lydia Mackay^[3] (English)

Renowned world champion pro wrestler and Misaki's mentor. Like Misaki, she sees Sakura's potential, prompting Jackal to challenge her in a wrestling match.

Juri Sanada (真田 朱里, Sanada Juri)

Voiced by: Kana Hanazawa (Japanese); Megan Shipman^[3] (English)

The owner of Miyabi and another of Jackal's students. She is considered Misaki's rival. She's also the one who trained Elena.

Blue Panther

She is a masked pro wrestler "assassin" that works for Miyabi. She tends to be a show-off, is a bit of a brute and is despised by Sakura because of it. It was originally thought that she was Juri Sanada, however it turned out to be Elena. Juri was just assuming the role of Blue Panther whenever Elena wasn't available.

Media

Drama CD

In May 2011 a drama CD was released with the first volume of the manga, with Aki Toyosaki voicing Sakura.^[4]

Anime

An anime adaptation produced by Arms Corporation, directed by Rion Kujo and with character designs by Rin Shin began airing on October 6, 2013. It will be the first 30-minute anime series based in a Comic Earth Star's manga.^[5] It is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.The opening theme is "Beautiful Dreamer" (ビューティフル・ドリーマー) by Kyōko Narumi and the first ending theme is "Fan Fanfare!!!" by Ayana Taketatsu, Kana Asumi, Yuka Ootsubo, Miku Itou, and Sora Amamiya, starting from Episode 1-7 and 9-12 whilst the second ending theme for Episode 8 is "Sorairo Monologue" (空色モノローグ lit. "Sky-Blue Monologue") by Kyōko Narumi.

Episode list

References

External links

• Official Site (Japanese)
• Sekai de Ichiban Tsuyoku Naritai! (manga) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia