Puraresu Sanshirō is a Japanese manga series written by Jirō Gyū and illustrated by Minoru Kamiya. It was serialized in the Akita Shoten magazine Weekly Shōnen Champion from 1982 to 1985. An anime television series adaptation was broadcast from 1983 to 1984. The name is a shortened derivative of "Plastic Model Wrestling Sanshiro" and the visuals of the characters, in particular the PlaWrestler robots, were different from the manga.
Overview
The story is about a young boy named Sanshiro Sugata and his
Scale model PlaWrestler pocket
robot with super LSI circuit named Juohmaru. Initially, the show was about Sanshiro's battles with Juohmaru against other PlaWrestlers in robot battle tournaments that were a hybrid blend of modern professional wrestling, hi-tech robot wars and Japanese
noh theatre.
As the series went on, its focus shifted to Sanshiro exploring the possible uses of PlaWrestling technology in medical implants, and his clash against those who wished to use it for military purposes instead.
Characters
Sanshiro's group
- Sugata Sanshirō
Sanshiro is the series' protagonist and a PlaWres modeler. His PlaWrestler, Juohmaru (柔王丸
Jūōmaru), is custom-made. Initially, Sanshiro is an ambitious rookie, and his overconfidence and brashness leads to several mistakes. As the series, progresses, Sanshiro learns to think more rationally and care for others.
- Fubuki Kyōko
Kyoko is Sanshiro's friend and later love interest. She is an assistant
judo instructor at the Sugata family
dojo. An energetic and outspoken girl, she does not hesitate to scold Sanshiro whenever he makes a mistake. Her PlaWrestler is (桜姫,
Sakurahime).
- Yamaguchi Shōta
Shota is Sanshiro's best friend, whose job is collecting information of any kind, particularly on rival modelers. Shota is hyperactive, flirtatious, a loudmouth and quick to judge on first impressions. However, he takes his duties seriously.
- Hasegawa Tetsuya
Tetsuya is Juohmaru's mechanic, responsible for fine tuning him, upgrading him and repairing him. He is shown to be very capable, a quick thinker and an innovator, although at times he has taken offence at Sanshiro overriding him for Juohmaru's maintenance.
- Murao Shinji
Shinji is Juohmaru's programmer. His code, along with Sanshiro's manual control, guides Juohmaru in the battle ring. Like Tetsuya, Shinji is portrayed to be good at his job and a cool thinker compared to Sanshiro and Shota.
Sanshiro's family
- Sugata Kennosuke
Sanshiro's grandfather and judo master of the local dojo. Kennosuke is initially critical of Sanshiro's PlaWrestling exploits, preferring him to practice judo and eventually succeed him as dojo master instead. Eventually, Sanshiro's success and determination convince Kennosuke to let him pursue his own dreams.
- Sugata Kaoru
Sanshiro's mother. Kaoru seems to be somewhat aloof, which makes her a foil for Kennosuke when discussing about Sanshiro. Despite her impression of naivety, she occasionally exhibits moments of profound insight, attributing them to her "maternal instinct".
- Sugata Machiko
Sanshiro's little sister. Machiko is a lively child who supports Sanshiro in his endeavours. Despite her small age, she is prone to making surprisingly intelligent remarks to many of her elders.
- Sugata Ken'ichirō
Sanshiro's late father, whose research created PlaWrestling. His attempts to use it for the benefit of mankind met with resistance from arms dealers who wished to use it as a means of warfare. Kenichiro ended up dead in a suspicious accident. After learning this, Sanshiro resolved to use PlaWrestling to complete his father's research.
Antagonists
- José Garcia
The main antagonist, a ruthless arms dealer who manipulates the PlaWrestling scene worldwide by funding and bribing its officials. He tries to exploit PlaWrestling technology to develop robotic super-soldiers. It is implied he is responsible for the accident that took the life of Sanshiro's father.
- Ballesteros
Chairman of the World PlaWresting Association (WPWA) and henchman to José Garcia. A self-important man who manipulates the Association, its Japanese branch (JPWA) and the Fighting-type Modeler League to further Garcia's ends.
- シーラ・ミスティ
An enigmatic woman who spies on Sanshiro and manipulates events to force him to give up PlaWrestling. She works for José Garcia, who has convinced her that he will heal her brother Mash's legs. After she realises Garcia's deception, Sheila becomes an ally of Sanshiro.
- Kurosaki Gendō
Boisterous and self-important, Kurosaki is Japan's national PlaWrestling champion for three consecutive years and the region's foremost Fighting-Type modeler, following the philosophy of winning at any cost. He becomes a fierce rival of Sanshiro after he loses to him in the first episode. Later on, Kurosaki becomes more sympathetic after seeing the troubles Sanshiro has to overcome and ends up his ally.
Other characters
- Narita Shinogu
The region's foremost Hobby-type modeler, viewing PlaWrestling as a contest of skill and placing the well-being of one's PlaWrestler above winning. Narita is down-to-earth, intelligent, collected and has the respect of Sanshiro and his team, but his attitude sometimes makes him take things too seriously and appear cold and distant. Narita's PlaWrestler is called Ikaros Wing.
- Dr. Warmer
A colleague of Sanshiro's father, Dr. Warmer helped develop PlaWrestling technology. After telling Sanshiro of his father's desire to use PlaWrestling to help the disabled, Sanshiro gathers data from Juohmaru's battles and sends them to him. Dr. Warmer analyses this data and eventually comes up with a novel technology that relies on brain wave induction to restore a person's mobility.
DVD release
Six Plawres Sanshiro DVDs are available spanning 37 episodes at 25 minutes each.
Plawres Sanshiro Vol.1 – Episode 1,2
Plawres Sanshiro Vol.2 – Episode 3 - 9
Plawres Sanshiro Vol.3 – Episode 10 - 16
Plawres Sanshiro Vol.4 – Episode 17 - 23
Plawres Sanshiro Vol.5 – Episode 24 - 30
Plawres Sanshiro Vol.6 – Episode 31 - 37
Episodes
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| 柔王丸・これがプラレスだ!! |
| デスマッチ・黒崎VS3四郎!! |
| ザ・魔神 パワーアタック!! |
| 受けてみろ 火の玉チャレンジ |
| あぶない!3四郎危機一髪!! |
| ついに出た!女子プラレスラー!! |
| 暗殺者鉄仮面!?死の子守唄!! |
| ライバルを倒せ!!成田VS3四郎!! |
| 復讐のマッドハリケーン!!立て柔王丸!! |
| 激突!!スケボーキッド ハワイからのチャレンジャー!! |
| 必殺のマタドール!怒れ柔王丸!! |
| 殺しのスターダスト!狙われた柔王丸!! |
| プラレスウォーズ!チャンプをめざせ柔王丸!! |
| 宿命のライバル!激闘柔王丸!! |
| 強敵出現!カンフーVS柔王丸!! |
| 決闘ジオラマシティー!柔王丸2対1!! |
| 華麗なるチャレンジャー!柔王丸獣の舞!! |
| ハイウェイバトル!決死の柔王丸!! |
| 新たなる夜明け!甦れ柔王丸!! |
| ハート&マシーン!!柔王丸!遥かなる道! |
| スペースシャトルの罠!宇宙に翔べ柔王丸!! |
| 黒崎執念の挑戦!生き残れるか柔王丸!! |
| プラレス大戦争!アジアに輝け柔王丸!! |
| 処刑の塔!柔王丸怒りをこめて戦え!! |
| アメリカから来たチャンプ!柔王丸明日への旅立ち!! |
| 柔王丸!真昼のウエスタンファイト!! |
| 柔王丸!明日に向かって走れ!! |
| 悪魔の夜!柔王丸,闇を裂け!! |
| 死のステージ!目覚めよ!柔王丸!! |
| 柔王丸!明日への誓い!! |
| 柔王丸!燃えるプラレス魂!! |
| 頭上の敵機!跳べ柔王丸!! |
| これが脳波誘導だ!走れ柔王丸!! |
| 柔王丸!チャンプへの道!! |
| 柔王丸!世界が変わる日だ!! |
| 柔王丸!プラレスよ永遠に!! |
| 柔王丸!希望の戦士!! |
External links
