Kinnikuman 23

He tried before to defeat Kinnikuman and Meat, but now Kinkotsuman has a sure-fire plan to handle Terryman as well! Just keep your eye on the fifty-foot woman running amuck in Tokyo...

Chapter 23: Giant Natsuko

122.
Top Right Box: The Kaijuu this time, Bazoogara, is an idea that comes from Akiyoshi Suzuki of Hokkaido. Thanks. (Yudetamago)
Top Left Box: Choujin who came from America: Terryman
Top-Middle Right Box: Weekly Hero Female Reporter: Natsuko
Bottom-Middle Right Box: Kinnikuman’s Brains: Meat-kun
Middle-Left Box: The Kaijuu This Time: Bazoogara
Bazoogara: This Bazooka Cannon will take on the world
Bottom-Right Box: Old Enemy: Kinkotsuman
Kinkotsu: We’ll defeat Kinnikuman this time.
Bottom-Left Box: Clumsy Kaijuu: Iwao
Iwao: And we’ll finish off Terryman too!
Bottom Middle Box: Thank you for all the ideas for kaijuu & world Choujin. From Volume 3 of Kinnikuman, the world Choujin will finally wage war against Kinnikuman. Please look forward to this!

123.
Kinkotsu: Kinnikuman’s power.
Kinkotsu: Terryman’s technique
Kinkotsu: And Meat’s brains…
Kinkotsu: S**t~~how could these three piglets given me three straight defeats~~~
Iwao: I have five straight…
SFX: RATTLE RATTLE
Kinkotsu: Wa…what, an earthquake!?
Iwao: You idiot, the ship is in the middle of the air…
Iwao: Ah…
Suguru: Why won’t this fall?
Terry: What would happen if you attack it a bit more to the left?
SFX: Push push

124.
Kinkotsu: Hey~~~!!
SFX: GOGOGOGOGO
Suguru, Meat & Terryman: WA—I
Kinkotsu: S**t~~those three piglets~~if only Terryman wasn’t here. That could help us win too…
Iwao: Well then, we’ll attack Terryman’s weakness.
Kinkotsu: What are you saying? That guy has no weaknesses; he’s a perfect Choujin.
SFX: RATTLE RATTLE
Iwao: I did research he has merely one…
Iwao: And it’s this!
SFX: PA
Terry: Na-chan, Kinnikuman is…
Natsuko: That’s fine enough. Cause this week’s Weekly Hero is watching for a round-table discussion with The Terryman and TV’s popular Pandaman.

125.
Terry: Well I don’t want to be discussing with stuffed dolls or anything.
Natsuko: Well, we’re here.
Sign: MBS Film Studio
Kids: Ah! Morinaga’s Enzelman is entering his dressing room.
(TN: “Enzel” is one way to say “Angel” in Japanese, thus it could be “Angelman”, but I’ll keep all names as is.)
SFX: SWOOSH
Kids: SHOULDN’T WE GET HIS AUTOGRAPH!
Boy: Enzelma—n!
SFX: GACHA
Enzel: Eh?
SFX: BOOM
Kids: Ah! Here’s Pandaman’s dressing room.
Natsuko: Wa, that’s an ama—zing miniature set…
Terry: Oh.
Front Sign: Morinaga Potato Long

126.
Natsuko: Um—I’m a reporter for the Weekly Hero.
Kazuo: Gathering info? I’ll do it later, later.
Kazuo: You’re not doing your Pandaman Kick with resolve!!
Panda: Eeh…
Kazuo: It’s like this!
SFX: WHOOSH
SFX: SLIP…
Kazuo: Ah…
Wig: Aderans
Terry: Oh---smooth and shi—ny!
Kazuo: HEY~~~why aren’t you rehearsing~~!!
Terry: Oh----Help help.
Iwao: Fu fu fu…I’ll zap your Natsuko with this Monster Gun, making her entire body huge.
Manager: What are you doing? Your break time has ended long ago…
Iwao: Eh?

127.
Manager: Hurry up. We don’t want to be behind schedule on filming, do we…
Iwao: He…hey, I’m some sort of doll…
Iwao: He—y, that’s depressing!
SFX: BLOW
Manager: WA—
Natsuko & Terry: !
Iwao: NOW!
SFX: PAWAWAWAWAWA
Terry: Na Natsuko!!
SFX: GYUN GYUN GYUN
Iwao: The Monster Gun has the power to turn her huge----Guhahahaha…

128.
Natsuko: GUWAAAAN
Iwao: Natsuko, submit to my order. Now, destroy Tokyo.
SFX: PI—PI—
SFX: BO—OM BO—OM
Terry: Na…Natsuko, what has happened to you? Wait
Suguru: Old man, your Yoronotaki Gyudon is cheap and delish. It’s cause you’re rather cheap.
(TN: Yoronotaki is both a natural waterfall landmark as well as the name of a Japanese pub chain)
Owner: Shut up—you haven’t paid me yet!
Sign: Gyudon
Meat: Something outside is noisy…
SFX: WA—WA—
Suguru: I’m sure that Baba and Inoki are fighting.
(TN: Baba = Giant Baba, Inoki = Antonio Inoki)

129.
People: WA—WA—
Meat: Aah!? It’s Natsuko. And she’s with Terryman.
SFX: boom boom
Suguru: Well how did she somehow get so big?
Suguru: Me…Meat, this isn’t an ordinary situation…
Meat: Right, prince!
Suguru: O—K, let’s go!
Suguru: Ah…
Meat: Giggle…
Suguru: Ah~~I don’t get it, I don’t get it~~
Meat: We…well, it’s how your face was up…kukukuku
Salesman: Hey, that’s great and all, but my money?
Meat: Eh?

130.
Suguru: Let’s go, Meat!
Meat: Right, prince!
Salesman: Wa~~you trying to get it for free~~
Terry: Natsuko, stop that.
Kinkotsu: Muhyohyo…Terryman wants to save Tokyo, but can’t let Natsuko get hurt. It’s painful for him.
Iwao: Teacher, it’s Kinnikuman!!
Kinkotsu: Right! Send Bazoogara, created by Suzuki-kun from Hokkaido.
Meat: Prince! A kaijuu!
Suguru: Not with the thrust of my farts.
SFX: BO—OM
Bottles: Morinaga Milk
Suguru: Uwa…milk!!
SFX: CRASH CRASH

131.
Meat: Prince!
SFX: WHAM
Voice: Wahahaha, you beast.
Terry: Natsuko, please. Please stop destroying the buildings!
SFX: CRASH
Terry: I…
Terry: LOVE YOU, NATSUKO!!

132.
Kinkotsu: Wh…what’s going on? She shouldn’t be quieted this quickly!
Iwao: Ho…hold on a bit.
Iwao: Can you hear me, Natsuko! Terryman isn’t moving, capture him.
SFX: PIKU…
Meat: Ah…watch out, run, Terryman!
SFX: GRAB
Terry: If I’m killed by the Natsuko I love, I’ll be satisfied.
SFX: BO—OM

133.
Meat: Wa…
Meat: ………
Meat: Aah!
Meat: Prince!
Suguru: ……
Terry: You saved me, Kinnikuman!
SFX: Whoosh / BO—OM
Suguru: We did it, Terryman.
Terry: Fu—it’s…it’s over.
SFX: Flap
Kinkotsu: S**t~~why did Bazoogara’s bullet hit my ship?

134.
Natsuko: O wow…Huh, what am I doing here…
Natsuko: Ah…
Natsuko: Hey hey, you’ll catch a cold if you steal another’s wife…
Kinkotsu: It happened again…mutual hardships.
Iwaou: You’re welcome for that too.

TN: I know it's a strange question but let me ask it: why did Natsuko's face dissapear when she became the giant version of herself? Somehow it probably showed her more forboding and more or less a better way to make her into a monster but it did seem to make her very much a tool of Kinkotsuman as opposed to maybe running amuck on her own for a while before Kinkotsuman came around. The chapter was a nice idea but it just felt rather short and underdeveloped, particularly after how short and great the massive eater chapter was earlier. Considering how Kinnikuman was probably considered a gag manga at this point, usually those series never seem to have the same amount of pages as series that have continuing plot...of course Kinnikuman does get more pages later when it does get to that point but for now we have to wait for any multi-parters to go beyond the one-shot idea of these early chapters.

And speaking of multi-parters: the countdown begins! At the same time as Yudetamago had been collecting bizarre Kaijuu ideas during the early part of the series in 1979, they were also collecting ideas for various Choujin from around the world to be rivals against the likes of Kinnikuman and Terryman. And with these ideas, they create the arc that would ultimately begin the transformation of this kaijuu-hunting with a dash of wrestling series into the insane wrestling phenomenon everyone knows and loves! The 20th Choujin Olympics of 1979/1980 are coming…

One more quick note: yeah, another Pandaman cameo. I really wanted to mention this in doing the first Pandaman chapter, but I realize now that Eiichiro Oda was too young to submit him back then...that and Pandaman was specifically created apparantly by Yudetamago before they started taking Kaijuu/Choujin ideas. It is just bizarre but amazing coincidence that Oda would have a Pandaman of his own...