Kinnikuman 309

Just when Suguru's team was having a hard time in the second match with Motorman, Terry has been rescued...by Team Zebra's Bikeman!? Who exactly is this mysterious Choujin...and what is with his sudden rebellion against his team?

Chapter 309: Scramble for the Kinniku Throne (36): The Two Bikemans
(TN: I was tempted to calling the chapter “The Two Bikemen” due to the plural of “man”, but since it is two separate “Bikeman”, I used the plural since it’s two people with the name of “Bikeman”)

168.
Suguru: How…could this be: Bikeman of Team Zebra has…
Wars: S…saved his enemy Terryman.
“Bike”: …………
Announcer: Why is Bikeman rescuing his enemy Terryman? Is this a sign of a discord of allies for Team Zebra? Could this be a break-up?
Caption: AT THAT MOMENT IN THE ARMOR STOREROOM WITHIN HIMEJI CASTLE
Janitor: We—ll, when I’m finished cleaning this storeroom, how about I go to watch the Throne Succession Survival Match as well?

169.
Janitor: But before then, I’ll be doing my work.
Janitor: No…matter how many times I’m here, I get a bad feeling~~~Like somehow a ghost of a defeated soldier will appear.
(TN: “Defeated Soldier” is in Japanese “ochimusha” or “a defeated soldier who falls while fleeing the enemy)
Janitor: Hyaa—there it is---!!
Bike: You’re confused.

170.
Bike: I am not some ghost…
Janitor: Ge—…you’re Bikeman of Team Zebra!!
Janitor: Isn’t this strange: you should be a member of Team Zebra and taking part in the Throne Succession Survival Match now. You’re even being shown on TV.
Bike: I’m the real Bikeman. The one participating in the Survival Match is an utter fake.
Zebra: Now that you mention it, I’ve thought it was strange that you’ve somehow just been defying me since earlier.

171.
Zebra: You’re not the real Bikeman!!
“Bike”: Huh!?
Motor: So then, Zebra-sama, he’s an utter fake whose been wearing the shell of Bikeman!?
Zebra: Of course. Bikeman, you will prove your team unity to Team Zebra.
Zebra: All members should always be carrying a Zebra Medal at all times.
Parthenon: Well, if you’re the real Bikeman, will you show us your Zebra Medal?

172.
Zebra: Ooh, the Zebra Medal!!
Voice: That is my medal!!
Announcer: GEE—ANOTHER BIKEMAN HAS APPEARED!!
Bike: Well haven’t you done this, Mr. Fake. You seemed to have switched places with me three hours ago…on our Team Zebra.
(TN: Bikeman actually referred to “him” as “nisemono-san”, but somehow I didn’t want to use “fake-san” since it felt phony, so I just used “Mr. Fake” for this reference)

173.
Bike: As we were entering Himeji Castle, I was the very last one entering the arena
Bike: When suddenly
Bike: A man threw a kick at me…
Bike: I was knocked out over a cordial period.
(TN: I was really a bit confused with the expression “atsu to iu ma”, so I went with it as best as I could)
Bike: And then, when I came to, I was tied up with chains in the storage room. (flashback) Where…am I!?

174.
Bike: However, that kick that was effective on me earlier was a technique of Chinese kenpo.
Suguru: What, Chinese Kenpo…
“Bike”: …………
Motor: Alright, I’ll rip off your disguise shell!!
Motor: Sorya!!

175.
Announcer: Motorman has released a Drill a Hole Spark, aiming for the helmet of the fake Bikeman---!!

176.
(Yep…Ramenman’s back…now back to the non-color pages)

177.
Motor: Ki—yo…you’re…
Suguru: Ramenman!!
Announcer: Ramenman, who was defeated by the Hell Missionaries in the Space Choujin Tag Tournament and whom we were cut off news from since then, has appeared in front of the people in this form after a long time---!!
Ramen: My purpose in taking the disguise of Bikeman was to get inside Team Zebra, scout them out, discover their weaknesses and make them known to Kinnikuman! Fufu…however, since it’s come to this, shouldn’t I come back to you in addition?

178.
Suguru: Ra…Ramenman, I believed that you would come.
Ramen: Haven’t the Justice Choujin promised to come running no matter what they’re doing when they’re in a pinch?
Terry: However, Ramenman, shouldn’t you not be alive if you don’t have that Mongolman made created from the Reimei Tree originally for your old wound you took from Warsman?
Ramen: I haven’t completely recovered yet from my old wound.
Ramen: However, my recovery has improved with this improvement to the Mongolman mask.
Ramen: In place of a mask, I’ve perfected head gear that covers just the part with the wound!
Robin: Oh, with that, you won’t have the inconvenience of having your vision obstructed and suffocation that comes from a mask.

179.
Suguru: But though I am grateful I’m being assisted by Ramenman, originally the Second-Guard of Team Kinnikuman is Terryman. How will Team Zebra approve of our player change?
Bike: What were you doing sneaking around, Ramenman? How dare you not failing to embarrass me. I’ll pay back this debt in the ring!
Parthenon: No: I cannot keep silent if Ramenman, whose true power is the #1 loudest that is called for, if your opponent, Bikeman. Please hand to me that match.
Motor: Hold on a moment, you two: the rule of the Survival Match is a win-through match, where the order of the players taking part in the match should be decided from the beginning…we’re in the Second-Guard Match now, so the right to this match should be my own.
Bike: Gu…Gumu—

180.
Motor: If you want to fight Ramenman, wait until his match with me is over…well, I will be killing Ramenman before either of you fight him.
Suguru: At any rate, we were worrying needlessly.
Announcer: At any rate, Ramenman has become the Second-Guard in place of Terryman on Team Kinnikuman and appears to be fighting Motorman!!
Announcer: The entrance of the actual Ramenman into the ring since the Choujin Olympics: The Big Fight that occurred 4 years ago has made it boil up within the castle!!
Announcer: Well, the gong has rung for the first fight of Ramenman’s comeback---!!

181.
Audience: Ramenman!! Ramenman!! Ramenman!!
Ramen: These smashing cheers…this choking scent of the canvas…they’re the same as that day four years ago……however, just being Ramenman hasn’t come back to me yet from four years ago…
Announcer: Watch out: Ramenman is flying from Motorman’s Drill-A-Hole Spark from the front!!
Suguru: Ramenma—n!!

182.
Ramen: N…no: I haven’t returned to being Ramenman yet with that.
Motor: Ki—kikiki: what are you complaining about---!!
Announcer: Motorman is attacking Ramenman again with his Drill-a-Hole Spark---!!
Announcer: However, Ramenman doesn’t seem like he’s avoiding it---!!
Ramen: Not…yet. It’s not enough yet.

183.
Suguru: What exactly are you doing, Ramenman, by defenselessly continuing to take your opponent’s attacks on purpose---!!
Robin: Attack, Ramenman!!
Zebra: Without wearing his Mongolman mask, Ramenman is just merely a vegetable Choujin.
Announcer: Ramenman is now bathing directly to a Drill-a-Hole Spark to his face from the front---!!
Suguru: Ra…Ramenman, forgive me: I’m throwing in the towel!!
Suguru: Ro…Robin…
Robin: Th…that’s…

184.
Ramen: Here…it is, this blood…Uoo…this is the feeling that I’ve returned to the ring after a long time…
Motor: Ramenman, I’ve got you---!!
Announcer: Motorman’s throwing a finishing Drill-a-Hole Spark towards Ramenman!!
Announcer: Motorman has smashed the Bikeman costume being worn by Ramenman---!!

185.
Announcer: However, Ramenman promptly has escaped from there by jumping out---!!
Ramen: Flying Dragon-Tail Kick---!!
(TN: I sort of didn’t know whether to make Ramenman’s attacks in Japanese or translate them, but considering they are in Japanese and not in Ramenman’s natural language of Chinese, I translated them appropriately)

186.
Announcer: Ramenman’s kick has stopped the rotation of Motorman’s drill.
Ramen: Flying Leg Lariat!!

187.
Suguru: Ooh…
Ramen: CAMEL CLUTCH!!
Suguru: He’s back—the strong Ramenman who defeated Brockenman!!
(End of Vol. 27)

TN: You probably figured by now that consistency is sort of one of the negatives in connection to Kinnikuman, particularly when something occurs one moment, then something else seems to happen the moment after. However this chapter sort of takes the consistency problems to a completely different...and much stranger level: the differences between the B&W and color pages. Somehow I don't know how or why it happened as such, but it seemed like the color pages all seemed to screw everything up compared to the B&W pages, even over things we already know about or within the same chapter! There are two obvious examples as such:
-First of all is a scenario that really shouldn't be the problem that it is: the switching of Ramenman and Bikeman. The scenario in itself was obvious but did have a couple snafus that almost seem to make a problem that shouldn't be. The main one is this: why the heck was Bikeman exposed entering Himeji Castle? Didn't Zebra sort of rehide him and Parthenon for their big entrance? (I say rehide because the two of them were both exposed back in the end of the first round) I guess you could sort of explain it away by saying "Zebra decided later to make a big show of the team's entrance and made Parthenon and Bikeman rehide so they can unveil themselves appropriately", but it just felt awkward. There is also the matter of the Zebra Medal...personally I say Ramenman could have played along for a while by sneaking under Manriki's corpse and taking his medal but I doubt they wanted it to last for long so they threw out some random gimmick to expose him.
-The second is probably even stupider: what the heck is with Motorman's eyes!? I mean, in the last chapter and in the B&W pages in this chapter, Motorman had those "Geico eyes" as he should. But when we see him in the color pages, his eyes suddenly seem to have moved down and seem like a slot at the bottom of his face, more like a mask than just a drill with eyes! That...was strange.

At any rate, the only other really notable commentary about this chapter...is that Ramenman is back in the story. Now let me say this before I say what I'm about to: I like Ramenman, he's one of the best Choujin characters in the series even before his hype and popularity. But...I think his hype is starting to push it a little bit into the storyline. For one thing: why the heck would Parthenon suddenly decide to barge ahead of two legitimate opponents for him (the Second-Guard he interrupted and the Choujin he impersonated) to take him on? But of course there is a greater concern regarding Ramenman's affect on this chapter: did he suddenly blow up Motorman's brain? I mean fine, we get that once Ramenman was finally "ready to fight" (yeah, he had to have his blood), Motorman was no more and would be Camel Clutched to oblivion. But the problem I have with Motorman is...well, he just seemed to lose all function of his mind the moment Ramenman stepped into the ring: all he did was go over and over with Drill-A-Hole Spark to rip some flesh and therefore motivate Ramenman to rip him apart! Now I guess Yude probably wanted to get rid of what could be the stupidest Choujin design in history...but at the same time, couldn't Motorman just do something more than "I'll lunge him with a drill and hope to rip him to shreds?" Heck, he was doing rather well with Terry by using a combination of attacks before being interrupted, so why not do it again? Or even better: why not do what Ninja promised he would do (but didn't quite since Satan Cross used a completely different set of attacks after he died and Ashuraman took over aside from Triangle Dreamer) and just try to weaken Ramenman a bit knowing that you will lose, possibly even die...but that any weakness can help the next member in the ring? Sure it won't make Motorman appear any cooler, but at least it would give him more respect than being...well, the fodder to a Camel Clutch.

Oh BTW: leave it to Robin (the masked warrior) to talk about suffocating and obstructing masks on why Mongolman is no more...that's like the British tea kettle calling the Chinese tea kettle (Ramen) black.

Another BTW before I forget: HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
(that's for Dr. Bombe being unnecessary yet again: considering Ramenman was able to get the patch version of that stupid Mongolman mask, it just proved he was a ridiculous plot device if Ramenman could have had the healing powers of the Reimei Trees that healed him without wearing something made by a baboon-faced loser)