Kinnikuman 385

In the midst of the hardest fight of his life, Suguru has failed to defeat Phoenix in a deadly aerial showdown. Now, with the battle reaching a critical stage, there may be only one who knows the truth of the Scramble for the Throne...

Chapter 385: Scramble for the Kinniku Throne (112): The Dirtied Hero!

88.
Announcer: Phoenix has struck back with a gruesome Pendulum Back Breaker, countering Kinnikuman’s Armpit-Lock and brought an end to their battle---!!
Phoenix: Do you see—father, mother! At this moment, I’ve gotten my hands on a rose-colored life, completely turning around from our poor, hungry life---!!
Shizuko: Ooh~~my beloved son Phoenixman~~~

89.
Shizuko: Stop this blood-stenched battle immediately and come back to your mother~~~
Terry: M…madam! Are you, perhaps, Kinnikuman Super Phoenix’s mother…!?
Shizuko: I…actually am Phoenix’s mother.
Terry: Wh…why are you, Phoenix’s mother, doing here…?
Shizuko: That child…Phoenixman…was born the same date…the same place…and the same time as Suguru-sama, the Prince of the Kinniku Clan and had continued to hostily watch Suguru-sama, who had an utterly different environment then my poor self, for a long time…

90.
Shizuko: I, who thought to give him compassion…on that day meant to comfort him…
Shizuko: …Goho goho…in the fire at Planet Kinniku 8th Hospital 24 years ago…I perhaps may had mistaken my own child and saved the Prince of Planet Kinniku…
Phoenix: So…so then, I’m really the Prince of Planet Kinniku and that idiot Suguru is your son…!
Shizuko: Ri…right. But if you hadn’t been, then there’s a reason a genius like you would be born from between stupid me and your father…
Phoenix: Right! I’ve thought from long ago that it was strange that a genius like me would have these hardships!!

91.
Shizuko: I…intended it as just a joke, but that wasn’t understood by that boy……
Shizuko: …From then, that boy came to not really speak to me and patiently loitered in the corner of the room in the state that he was thinking something hard. Sometimes he came to smirk and seemingly express an eerie laugh—
Shizuko: And then, on that day, Phoenixman, who was staring out into the night sky…suddenly…

92.
Phoenix: An oracle of God!
Phoenix: Mother, I’ve now received an oracle of God: I will rip off the disguise of Suguru, the Fake Prince of Planet Kinniku, and become the new Great King of Planet Kinniku…now I will head into battle for that!
Phoenix: I’m not coming back to this worn-out shack anymore; farewell, mother!
Shizuko: Phoenixman!!
Shizuko: If only I hadn’t said that insignificant thing~~~

93.
Terry: But…what was the oracle of God that moved Phoenix’s heart?
Shizuko: An Evil Choujin God!
Terry: An Evil Choujin God!?
Shizuko: If there are good Gods within the Choujin Gods, there are also Evil Gods………
Shizuko: This evil Choujin God took advantage of Phoenixman’s jealous heart that opposed Suguru-sama……
Intelligence: Phoenixman was stirred up and tempted with “You’re the legitimate Prince descended of Planet Kinniku; defeat the Fake Prince Suguru”~~~~

94.
Ramen: That’s right…that solves the mystery…the identity of the shadows that were seen as hidden by the back of Phoenix were those Evil Gods!
Terry: Indeed, it was just those 5 Evil Gods that hadn’t acknowledged Kinnikuman as the new Great King during the New Great King Enthronement Ceremony…
Wolf: With opponents as gods, they would be difficult. Anyhow that’s why veteran Justice Choujin like Brocken Jr., Buffaloman, Ashuraman…Kinniku Ataru, Geronimo, Robin Mask and Neptuneman were sent to hell in a row one after another…
Terry: Perhaps those guys were thinking they felt the threat of the growth of the power that surely compared to the Gods now of the force of we in the Justice Choujin Corp, which was lead by Kinnikuman who has defeated Devil Choujin and Perfect Choujin, and are going to destroy us now……
Ramen: So then, they had a plan of following the 5 babies that were born at the same time as Kinnikuman in the 8th Choujin Hospital, prepared them into the Fated Princes and are now holding the Scramble for the Throne Survival Match to destroy Kinnikuman as well as the Justice Choujin…!
(TN: Another Yude screwup at this late stage: Ramenman stated there were “four babies”…so then I guess it was Soldierman or Strongman he forgot)

95.
Announcer: Kinnikuman, who has taken Phoenix’s Pendulum Back Breaker, can’t even move a bit---!!
Malvia: This is from the TV!
Announcer: Phoenix is pulling the top and back of the top and second ropes, gathering each of them to the center and entwining them around Kinnikuman’s head and legs---!!
Terry: Phoenix’s mom…you’re the only one who can calm this blood-stench battle…can you please now go with us to Osaka Castle and convey to Phoenix the whole truth!?
Shizuko: Of course!
Terry: Al—right, let’s hurry to Osaka Castle! So we can smash the desires of the Five Evil Choujin Gods!!

96.
Phoenix: Kukuku…how is it, Kinnikuman? The pain of being pulled in different directions like your body’s being torn apart…
Meat: Aah! That technique is the Choujin Cow-Cleaving Sentence: Raging Ox, the super-cruel technique created by Phoenix by gaining a hint of a cow-cleaving sentence, one of the punishments to criminals in the Edo period!!

97.
Mayumi: And that technique is one of the actual finishing holds Phoenix had to come to stop the life of Ataru, Suguru’s big brother, in the semi-finals of the Scramble for the Thone!!
Meat: Phoenix plans on killing Prince with the same hell-sending menu that took down Ataru-sama---!!
Bibimba: Wh…what a cruel thing…
Phoenix: Kukuku…in truth, according to the Muscle Prophecy…there was an illness in the heart of the Fake Prince since birth…from continuing to the continuance of the violent battle, the illness will deteriorate and in the end their heart will wear out and they’ll die…
Phoenix: If you’re the Fake Prince, Kinnikuman…!

98.
Phoenix: Then this attack to the left-chest where your heart is will be hellish torture!
Announcer: Foreseeing Kinnikuman as the Fake Prince, Phoenix has fallen with a Knee Drop aiming for the left-chest---!!
Meat: If Prince is the Fake Prince, then I’m certain Phoenix’s Knee Drop will hasten Prince’s time of death!!
Phoenix: Kinnikuman, you’ve achieved out a misfortunate end, just like Kinniku Ataru---!!

99.
Phoenix: Fuhahaha…it’s an establish tactic in battle to attack in concentration an opponent’s weak point daringly! The brutal techniques of Kinnikuman Soldier have been transferred to me---!!
Announcer: Phoenix is showing to Kinnikuman the brutal technique among the Fated Princes who was destroyed by being lodged and revived within his own body---!!

100.
Suguru: Uh…uuh…I too have had hardships just like you from being mistaken with a pig and sent down to Earth, and yet…wh…why didn’t I win that back-and-forth technique battle…
Phoenix: You haven’t died yet…alright; I’ll tell you as a present to the other world…this story initially must go back to 8 years ago from now.
Phoenix: It was 11 years since Kinniku Suguru was mistaken with a pig by the Great King and Queen and thrown into space by mistake--…but during that time, even though they had searched very much through the universe, they had not discovered Suguru…the Kinniku Royal Family did not have a Prince. As you expect, they unwillingly decided that even if they searched for Suguru any further, it would be futile—
Phoenix: It was there that the Kinniku Royal Family decided to take an adopted child in place of Suguru and opened a wrestling tournament where a capable man who had a combination of dignity, intelligence and strength of a prince of Planet Kinniku from within those who were participants would become the Prince of Planet Kinniku…

101.
Phoenix: Of course, I participated in this Kinniku Clan New Prince Determination Match…
Phoenix: I hadn’t done almost any wrestling or anything, but even with those large opponents, I could reverse them by utilizing the principle of levers…I harvested in the matches the mechanics of sports and high-level mathematical equations and crushed veteran Choujin one after another with scientific wrestling—
Phoenix: …And then I finally advanced to the champions ring of the New King Determination Match…If I had won just this one match, I could adjust my orbit from the rail of my life that I was walking on mistakenly to the rail I should have originally walked on at least!!
Phoenix: But this moment I had even thought of didn’t happen. An event that was symbolic to my life occurred!!
Shizuko: Phoenixma—n!!
Shizuko: Phoenixman, come home immediately! Your father lost his footing on the foothold of the building construction site he was working on…he died just moments ago---!!

102.
Phoenix: Eeh, father has~~!!
Phoenix: I came to be without my father and I was left alone with mother. When this happened, if I didn’t see to care for my weak, sick mother………tearfully, I gave up on the position of the new prince of the Kinniku Clan.
Phoenix: …After that, I thought they would give that one Choujin the position of the new Prince with my refusal, but…Suguru, who had been missing, was discovered on Earth after 11 years and that idiot Suguru gained the position of Prince as before, without any speaking of the adopted child……I realized the extent I hated the difference of those with a moon and those without it…
(TN: I kept the “moon” part mostly in connection to the “moon”/”moonless” story Phoenix has been making reference to over and over at this point)
Phoenix: Understand this…you may have had the hardships of being mistaken as a pig and being abandoned on Earth, but you were destined to eventually be installed as ever before as Prince of Planet Kinniku----!!

103.
Phoenix: …But I’m destined to not be prince after all, even though I was one step away to the position of Prince of Planet Kinniku---!!
Phoenix: However now it’s different: my manner of overcoming from all difficult crisis that was cultivated during my hardships will pulverize your moon!!
Announcer: Phoenix is in an imposing stance on the top level of the ropes, which should be the finisher to Kinnikuman---!!

104.
Shizuko: Beloved son Phoenixman…stop being impolite to Suguru-sama, the Prince of Planet Kinniku, any further---!!
Phoenix: Mo…mother!
Intelligence: This…is bad…an unpleasant intruder has entered just with us one step from killing Kinnikuman…
Flight: Leave her to us, God of Intelligence. The dealing of his mother will be done by the Four Evil Gods of Flight, Strength, Techniques and Brutality!!

105.
Terry: Will you do that, Evil Choujin Gods---!!
Suguru: Terryman…Ramenman, Wolfman…Jessie Malvia…!

106.
(SCRAMBLE FOR THE KINNIKU THRONE ARC)
SPECIAL VTR XCIX (XXXXXXXXXIX)
KINNIKUMAN VS. KINNIKUMAN SUPER PHOENIX

TN: I do have a few things to say about this chapter, but I have to put them aside for the moment. Instead, I think it's time for me to finally start doing a bit of a wrap-up on all things Kinnikuman with this the third to last chapter before the series finally reaches it's end. (well prior to all the one shots...and Nisei) So for this entry, I think I'm going to list off what I consider the 12 most memorable fights (in my own personal opinion) in the entire run of Kinnikuman...well maybe not the entire run cause it's sort of hard to pick out the best fights of the early comedy-phase of the series but at least, but the part where it all matters from the first Choujin Olympics on. I'll try to make it at least one fight per arc, just to make sure I get them all covered...and maybe list off a few other memorable fights at the end just to make sure I don't forget them. So without further ado:

1. Kinnikuman/Curry Cook: I know there probably are some way better fights for the first Choujin Olympics to choose, but somehow I always love this fight due to it's insanity...and for pretty much being as close as you get to the comedy arc in an actual serious situation as the Choujin Olympics. Everything from Suguru breaking Curry Cook's plate on his head to the culminating transformation spree (thanks to drinking his hated milk) shows sort of what could have been if it was more a comedy/action series as opposed to merely action with hints of comedy...that and I guess I still had Bo-bobo on the mind when I did this chapter.

2. Kinnikuman/Robin Mask (the rematch): I know I'm not choosing the first Robin Mask fight (yeah, Robin never was one of my favorites), but somehow the rematch had more intensity and emotion to it considering the reversed situations for both fighters. Suguru was a fighter on the rise after having conquered the Choujin Olympics and gained his training from Prince Kamehame, while Robin was on a massive slump and depression to the point of abandoning his wife and working for Skull Bozu! If you go from this arc to the Seven Devils, you probably could accept Robin as a hero better...but of course that would negate the first Choujin Olympics...and the second.

3. Ramenman/Warsman: Probably a major turning point fight that sort of was so brutal that it wasn't even reversed even with a lot of the insanity that happened afterward. Being a Ramenman and Warsman fan, you can see how this fight sort of built on both of their characters.

4. Kinnikuman/Warsman: Yeah...it's pretty much acknowledged as the height of the fights in this series so it has to be there. It's Suguru facing down a brutal monsterous robot Choujin and giving him the fight to give up his brutality...no wonder everyone likes it.

5. Kinnikuman/Black Hole: Strangely once we get into this phase of the series from the Seven Devils on, the gimmicky fights always seem to become the most interesting to me. Take this one for example: this is Suguru's first real fight with a 4-D Choujin and he defeats him in probably one of the most bizarre ways possible...yet it works perfectly.

6. Kinnikuman/Sneagator: AKA: the fight Kinnikuman dies...sort of. This was the first real fight I actually TLed when I started with the Gold Mask arc and I knew of the infamy of Sneagator from seeing MAXman in Nisei, but this fight was just epic both seeing the transforming reptile in action and how Suguru handled him bit by bit until that sick, surprising ending.

7. Geronimo/Sunshine: Sunshine was just one of those Choujin I liked thanks to Nisei...and this fight was definitely one that proved how much of a bad-ass he is (even though...yeah, the Tag arc...) This is probably as big of a David vs. Goliath as you get in Kinnikuman: a monster sand-creature vs. a human...and probably Geronimo's only real memorable moment before he trades away his humanity...and becomes a loser.

8. Kinnikuman/Akuma Shogun: If there is one boss who stands out as the most evil, brutal and trickiest of them all, Akuma Shogun is it. He's a villain whose so powerful that even when Suguru has a means to defeat him (the just developed Kinniku Driver)...it isn't as easy as he expects to pull it off with him possessing everything from a sick Hell Guillotine to an ever-shifting hardness factor...to just his biggest secret of all! The way he finally does go down is strange...but in a way the only way to stop a monster as powerful, as brutal and as epic as he was.

9. 20 Million Powers/Intruding Perfect Choujin: As many probably know by now, the Tag arc left me with a sour taste in my mouth...so sour that I'm still using mouthwash. (that we'll get into next time) However, this is probably the biggest highlight of the arc: two powerful warriors and notable former rivals of Suguru taking on the intruding Kendaman and Screw Kid who hope to show the power of the Perfect Choujin without revealing the intentions of their true boss. Watching things like the power struggle in the ring, the de-evolution of the Perfect Choujin to their true Devilish nature (sort of foreshadowing future events) and that last Longhorn Train...yeah, it all went downhill after something as great as that.

10. Kinnikuman/Hawkman: After the horrors of the Tag arc, the beginning phase of the Throne actually felt like a breath of fresh air, even with some of the faults showing up early on. The first two fights of the arc are genuinely some of the best Suguru had in a while...but I'm putting the Hawkman fight over Mister VTR mostly because the latter has "Burning Inner Strength Surfing"...which was just "surfing Batman" all over again. The Hawkman fight seemed to show once and for all that Suguru really does have the skills and the means to win, he just always seems to be ignored for his battle tactics and just known for being a reversal-master.

11. Meat/Mixer Taitei: This sort of is similar to Geronimo/Sunshine as to why it's here but it sort of bares to remind us of this: little guys vs. big menaces are always epic. And while some can probably complain "well he's just a glass body so of course it was going to shatter", the fact that Suguru's companion stepped in and did so much in a brilliant manner like he's been wrestling forever just proves the addage once again: it's not the size of the dog, it's the bite.

12. Kinnikuman Soldier/Brocken Jr./Buffaloman vs. Kinnikuman Super Phoenix/Mammothman/Prisman: Yes there were many problems I came across in this fight, from background information to the fact that emotions were manipulated in a way that screwed everyone to how head-bangingly stupid "True Friendship Power" is. But...all in all, with the 3-on-3 situation and all the epic sacrifices and skills unleashed, you can ignore all that and just remember that this really was one of the main, major highlights of the Throne...no it's not perfect but it's so epic that you tend to forget it's obvious flaws.

Other fights that could have made this list:
-Ramenman/Brockenman
-Kinnikuman/Ramenman
-Terryman/Robin Mask
-Kinnikuman/King Cobra
-Kinnikuman/Benkiman
-Warsman/Buffaloman
-Kinnikuman & Mongolman vs. Buffaloman/Springman
-Robin Mask/Junkman
-Brocken Jr./The Ninja
-Terryman/Ashuraman
-Kinnikuman/Ashuraman
-Buffaloman/Akuma Shogun
-Muscle Brothers/4-D Killer Combo
-Kinnikuman/Mister VTR
-Terryman/King the 100 Ton
-The Ninja/Satan Cross
-Rameman/Motorman & Bikeman
-Geronimo/Omegaman
-Kinnikuman/Robin Mask/Neptuneman vs. Kinnikuman Super Phoenix/Mammothman/Omegaman
-------

Well, I guess with that said, I think I should at least look a bit at the chapter itself before I forget it entirely...but I'll just list off the problems without rant since this entry gave me a good mood which I really don't want to lose:

-Shizuko is a well-intended mom but...she really should have shown more to say "she was joking" so Phoenixman wouldn't have become all...evil and stuff.
-Phoenixman in his Super Phoenix mask (as opposed to his original mask from the first Throne chapter) wearing glasses...is ridiculous.
-Sometimes I wonder if Suguru even left Planet Kinniku considering Phoenixman spent all that time stalking him as kids.
-The New Prince Determination Match...somehow I have this weird feeling: if the last chapter tried to retcon away when Suguru fell to Earth, this chapter seems to be a retcon regarding the tournament that happened prior to Suguru being found. Oriiginally the tournament wasn't to determine "the new Prince" but one that just seemed like a sports tourney for Planet Kinniku...that King Ton (the pig Suguru was replaced with) won. Not to mention that when Suguru was found, it wasn't to happy applause for his homeland but...desperation as him being the last hope to get the pig (who by this point has defeated Mayumi and now is THE king of Planet Kinniku) off the throne...which makes me finally believe that if a pig can rule the planet, then anyone can. (even Super Phoenix)

That's all I really have to say...I probably should be ranting more but I'm just in too good a mood from this script...which means next time will mean I'll probably be ranting a lot as I inch one script closer to the end...and go over the WORST Kinnikuman has to offer! Be afraid...be very afraid...