Friday, July 29, 2016

Kinnikuman Retrospective: 21st Chojin Olympics Arc Part 4


Continued from Part 3...






When last we left off, Warsman badly wounds Ramenman, Kinnikuman is in the finals, but the stakes are higher than they've ever been. now Barracuda reveals his identity as...


You know, I'm going to let Shyamalan handle this #IBetItWasTotallyWorthTheMonthLongWait...

Also, something that bothered me about this mask thing, is not that the mask is so expressive, that's a common trope in fiction, but the mask under the Barracuda mask isn't as expressive, What kind of sense does that make?

Joe Tokugawa: MANGA LOG...

Good thing I invented the peripheral character mute button. It was almost worth the $1,000 of research and development, plus all the Korean to to English translating of the Sam's Part Shop docs. *Sketch Over*

So Mr. Barracuda is Robin Mask as sort of the big bad of the arc... The world is shocked, Kinnikuman is afraid, and the final battle approaches. Robin Mask takes off the rest of his disguise, and reveals he found Warsman at the Soviet Union. Kinnikuman still acts as a coward and when the bell is rung, Warsman gets ready to kill him. Kinnikuman takes off his entrance attire, revealing a Singlet. He fights back with a flying body attack. Warsman uses a Shoulder Buster. Suguru counters and makes Warsman fall. That does Jack S**t. Kinnikuman gets Cocky and Warsman uses a Somersault Kick. Kinnikuman counters with a Pile Driver. Warsman rises back up, with...


Put A Smile On...

Warsman chases after Kinnikuman and counters his drop kick with a throw. Meat and Mayumi try to save him, but fail. Warsman uses his Brancher. in which Kinnikuman counters with a brain buster. That fails. Warsman puts Kinnikuman in a sleeper hold and takes off his mask, causing Kinnikuman to be unmasked and executed ending the series... Nah, that's not what happened. Kinnikuman is unmasked unsuccessfully several more times. Kinnikuman reveals the plan was from a Kintaro candy where the face appears no matter where you cut it. After a few more unmaskings, his final mask appears. Warsman uses his bear claw and reveals Kinnikuman's hair. The World tries to get a scoop on the issue. Warsman uses his bear claw only for Kinnikuman to use his Bear Claw Defense. Yet Warsman still succeeds. More of Kinnikuman's hair is revealed. Mayumi Tells the Story Of his father. Who Used the Muscle Curtain to defend Himself. Kinnikuman uses it himself. Warsman strikes. It doesn't affect Kinnikuman. At least until Wasman analyzes Kinnikuman for a weak point. He uses a soft Kick on Suguru. He then goes to his Shoulders and strikes. Kinnikuman is bleeding. Warsman continues to strike. The Final unmasking occurs, and the story could come to a close. A Mysterious Voice suggests using the Kajiba no Kuso Chikara (or Burning Inner Strength, teased all the way in the second arc). Kinnikuman slips on blood, and gets out of the hold. Kinnikuman Counters the Screwdriver with a Side Suplex., and then a Body slam. Kinnikuman almost throws Warsman into the Bear Claw, but saves him at the last minute. He saves him because, he wants a fair fight. Warsman breaks his Bear Claws, and gets pissed. Kinnikuman uses a Flying Knee Strike. What Follows is this, Warsman, Body Scissors strike, Kinnikuman: Bear Hug. Warsman: Oklahoma Stampede, Kinnikuman: Reverser. and Finally, Warsman: PALO SPECIAL!!! What Follows after that is a series of well Drawn panels...Warsman sends Kinnikuman to the Matt, and...


The tables have turned...

Before we move on, let's talk about the Burning Inner Strength. It's Kinnikuman's main Power up through the series, but depending on the day, It's more visible than other times. It's especially visible in Kinnikuman Nisei, but Screw it, Right now Kinnikuman Nisei didn't happen in my world today. Warsman, beats it, But Kinnikuman reverses it again. Warsman's body starts smoking, and his face starts Cracking.


Kinniku Buster, Go Fight... 

That was Kinnikuman's Trademark move, The Kinniku Buster. After 120 something chapters, he has a move to call his own (I mean other than the Fuu Rin Ka Zan, which has a combo of other moves, and that's it. Besides I doubt he's going to use it for anything other than Chip Damage beyond this point)... Warsman loses, Kinnikuman wins, and he's now Champion. Warsman starts speaking and takes his mask off to reveal... The face of shame, He tells Kinnikuman about his story, Which'll be expanded in a later story that's along ways away. He was bullied as a kid and became a brutal chojin to gain revenge.


To Recite my personal Tumblr Meme... Dat Face...

Kinnikuman puts his face back on, The mysterious voice is Ramenman, and the arc ends with a Recap of both Chojin Olympics arcs. Now onto my thoughts on the arc...



I'll admit, this arc does a lot right, from showing Kinnikuman's Moral side (I mean really, for how dumb he can be, he doesn't take the easy way out to win), to some of the art (I know, some of you don't like overusing shadows, but it shows an impressive amount of detail on the characters). The story's pretty much the same as the 20th Chojin Olympics arc, but adds a lot more to make it distinguished. More fights, goofy fights (see Cubeman vs Mindpuzzleman and Kinnikuman vs Benkiman), serious fights (see all the Warsman fights), and more violence. The characters are more goofy compared to the last few arcs, There have been some pretty abstract chojin in the past, but this is the turning point for the series. The fights were really good thanks to their mix of moods, and this is why I love Kinnikuman more than Dragon Ball, it's creativity. Warsman is interesting thanks to the fact for most of the arc he was all action, no talk. All he did was his Darth Vader breathing. He was also super badass. The only problem I have with him is he got gimped as the series goes on, often getting his assed kicked by the enemy, he may've gotten 2 or 3 victories throughout the rest of the series, if that. Now onto Robin Mask/Mr. Barracuda. This twist is interesting for a couple reasons, 1) there was no internet back then, so Imagine as a kid in japan in 1981 reading this in Weekly Shonen Jump and learning who he really was, and 2) Robin Mask might as well be considered Kinnikuman's arch enemy throughout the early parts of the series, besides Kinkotsuman. Kinnikuman may still be an idiot, but his outbursts and goofiness become fewer, shorter, and farther between. One more thing before we conclude, This arc marks the end of an era, because the villains will be different the next arc, Kinnikuman was pretty much solo up to this point save for some help from allies and fellow chojin, but the chojin will form an alliance by the next arc, and the next arc will be much more serious, as in demons, satanism, and more violent kills. Oooo boy, The story has only just started, if you thought this arc was weird, it'll only get more WTF from here...



Now onto ratings. This is a really good arc, with a little bit of everything, but the true high point is yet to come. seriously though, I F**king love this arc and this'll be a new high point for the series. But anyway, here's the ratings...

  • 21st Chojin Olympics Arc
  • 20th Chojin Olympics Arc
  • American Tour Arc
  • Kaiju Fighting Days Arc
  • 2nd Era of Kaiju Fighting/Bibinba/Planet Rakka Arc

Next time, The chojin get weirder, the stakes get higher, chojin unite, as we fight 7 devils in the Seven Akuma Chojin arc, get ready, because the series has only begun...




If I could talk to you for just a sec, this series is going to take a break for a while. I don't know when it'll come back, your first instinct is Friday September 29, 2017 (The next Kinnikuman Day AFAIK), but that's a long ways away, so stay tuned, because this could be a while, just rest assured it's coming. My plan is spring or summer 2017, but I'm not sure yet, at any rate thanks for the support through this past year and some odd months, see you sometime in the future, Until then, Have a Great Kinnikuman Day...

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