Let's say your name is Sugata Sanshiro. No, not THAT Sugata Sanshiro, quasi-fictional
judo-master star of Kurosawa's first feature film and later parodied in a series of ads for the Sega Saturn - you're the OTHER Sugata Sanshiro, star of PlaWres
Sanshiro! Yes, Plastic Model Wrestling
Sanshiro, the 1983 anime series based on the Shonen Champion manga by Jiro Gyu
and (future Yu Yu Hakusho character?) Minoru Kamiya.
We in the States would first get a glimpse of this show
courtesy one of those compilation VHS tapes of anime opening credits that were
passed around like Bibles in Soviet Russia, an hour or two of blaring rock
guitars, crashing super robots and inexplicable kanji that filled many a TV
screen during late-night gatherings in hotel rooms hidden away from the prying
eyes of KGB thugs and/or convention security. PlaWres Sanshiro stood out even
among the Daitarn 3s and the Acrobunches; visually, the spectacle of tiny
muscular robots battling each other while drifting through an airbrushed
landscape of computer diagrams and geometric shapes stood out, and the rockin'
opening included amusing if inexplicable English lyrics like "P.M.P.
Fight", "Super Heavyweight", and what sounded like
"Survivor Communication."
Brought to TV by Asatsu DK, Kaname
Production, and Toho, the anime series ran for 37 episodes from June of '83 until February 1984.
Kaname would work on OAV titles like Bavi Stock, Birth, Leda and The Humanoid
along with TV shows like Kimagure Orange Road and Sasuga No Sarutobi, while
Asatsu-DK is an advertising agency that has been intimately involved with the
Japanese animation industry since the 1950s, owning outright the production
studio NAS and the animation studio Eiken, and being involved with a few
really obscure anime shows you probably never heard of like One Piece, Doraemon, and
Mobile Suit Gundam. Finished and
in-between animation came from a bevy of suppliers including Studio DEEN, AIC,
Dragon Production, and Miyuki Pro.
PlaWres Sanshiro posits a future where hundreds of thousands
of ostensibly normal Japanese people fill a futuristic Budokan stadium, not to
see a futuristic Cheap Trick, but to watch foot-high robots pitted against each
other in gladiatorial combat. Controlled mostly by spirited hobbyists who
combine the nerd disciplines of RC vehicles, computer programming, and
model-kit building, the sport of PlaWrestling attracts huge crowds with its
combination of brutal mechanical action, ritualistic sumo-style tradition, and
theatrical pro wrestling melodrama.
This sort of proxy-tournament battle has been a staple of
Asian kids’ entertainment since they found out horned beetles like to fight
each other, and the theme has surfaced in anime as varied as Pokemon, Angelic
Layer, and the recent Gundam Build Fighters.
If you want to cast your thematic net larger and encompass things like
the original remote-control robot hero Tetsujiin-28, sure, why not. However,
Prowes Sanshiro has its own thing going on.
Burning with the challenge of PlaWrestling, our titular Sanshiro turns his back on his family's judo heritage
and instead enters the PlaWres world with his custom-built PlaWrestler Juohmaru
and a pit crew of goofs, geeks, and girls. Diminutive loudmouth Shota keeps
cool behind his shades working the angles for inside information, and
mini-skirted Kyoko, a scooter-riding, fashionable assistant judo instructor,
provides the necessary maybe-Sanshiro’s-girlfriend tension. Giant Tetsuya,
Juohmaru's mechanic, has one minute between rounds to repair any damage, while
lanky Shinji programs the luggable "MEC 6000" portable computer that
Sanshiro uses to guide Juohmaru. Bratty kid sister Machiko delivers comic relief. Behind
Juohmaru and Sanshiro is the scientist Dr. Warmer, who, along with Sanshiro’s
deceased father, developed new and exciting man-machine interface technology
that just might give Juohmaru the edge in a crowded field of tough JPWA
competitors.
As the show opens, Gengo Kurosaki's muscular PlaWrestler Mad
Hurricane is the undisputed champion. Kurosaki is the lead proponent of the
"Fighting-Type" PlaWrestlers, a school
of PlaWrestling that focuses on destructive power and winning at all costs.
Alternatively, competitors like Shingoku Narita and his Icarus Wing PlaWrestler
encourage the Hobby-Type PlaWrestling philosophy of skill and sportsmanship. Watching
the tournaments from behind the scenes is Sheila Misty, the mysterious beauty
who may be involved with the evil Jose Garcia, who manipulates the World PlaWres
Association and uses it as a testing ground for military technology. Will all
this great, crowd-sourced PlaWrestling technology be used for war and
destruction, or will Dr. Warmer’s brain-wave induction biochip help the little
crippled children walk again? Could the technological work of computer
hobbyists have real-world tactical value? I think history says "yes".
Coming a few months after the anime debut of Toei's wrestling
superhero Kinnikuman, the pro wrestling action is front and center in PlaWres
Sanshiro; a colorful cast of rival robot wrestlers parade through the ring
every week- Great Simba, Red Arrow, Western Buffalo, Great America, Big Bang,
Pretty Rosa, Iron Killer, Blue Hawaii, El Matador, and others challenge Juohmaru
and Sanshiro. Matches proceed with lots of imitation wireframe animations and
DOS commands furiously keyboarded by the speed-typing PlaWrestler controllers,
who send their robot proxies into the ring to battle with every fighting trick,
mechanical contrivance, and scientific gimmick allowed by the deliberately
vague regulations of the JPWA.
The show fairly pops with the bright, bouncy character
designs of Mutsumi Inomata, whose charming illustrations would give PlaWres
Sanshiro a cute 1980s feel right in the middle of the cute 1980s. An Ashi Pro veteran who gave GoShogun and
Acrobunch that extra kicky visual punch, she moved to Kaname Productions in '82
just in time to take what could have been a cold, mechanical, boy-centric
series and instead make PlaWres Sanshiro fun and appealing. Inomata would later work on Urusei Yatsura,
City Hunter, Brain Powerd, and Namco's "Tales Of..." series, as well as quintessential 1980s anime icon Leda The Fantastic Adventures Of Yohko.
PlaWres Sanshiro is one of those only-in-Japan, only-in-the-80s
hybrid series that crosses boundaries and defies description. Sports show?
Robot action? Teen comedy? Tournament-style fighting but with a technological
edge crossed with pro-wrestling gimmickry and given a rich candy coating of
Mutsumi Inomata? It may actually be all
these things at once, and TV screens around the world - well, okay, Greece, the
Arab world, Hong Kong, and Japan - were
the better for it. PlaWres Sanshiro’s original run of 14 volumes of manga
received a sequel in the 2009 manga PlaWrestler Van, serialized in Champion
Red, but the anime series has yet to be revived. Luckily for English-speaking fans, much of the series is available for viewing with subtitles on YouTube.
PlaWres Sanshiro's moderate showing in the toy arena didn’t
match Juohmaru’s ring achievements; newer Revoltech and Figma toys have made an
appearance in recent years, including a fascinating manga-style Juohmaru (he's
got hair). The original solitary line of Bandai vinyl figures from the 80s now
command prices well in excess of what most would consider reasonable, especially
Juohmaru’s opponent robots. But if you absolutely must stage your own JPWA
matches in the privacy of your bedroom, they are essential.
In today’s world where custom-built robot battles are
prime-time television and remotely piloted drones allow worldwide military
might to be directed by bored airmen in Nevada, the future of PlaWres Sanshiro
might only differ from our reality only slightly, in that things aren’t nearly
as colorful or as bouncy without Mutsumi Inomata drawing everything. Let’s get to work on that, shall we?
 |
| Juohmaru mask found in Ohio antique mall. Yes, Ohio |
--Dave Merrill
Thanks for reading Let's Anime! If you enjoyed it and want to show your appreciation for what we do here as part of the Mister Kitty Dot Org world, please consider joining our Patreon!
