Kinnikuman 37

After somehow surviving his encounter with Curry Cook, Suguru heads for the semi-final match against Ramenman at the Budokan! But will he be prepared for the surprises that lay in store in his next Olympics match!?

Chapter 37: The Budokan Challenge

126.
Reporter: Here at the Nippon Budokan, as you can see, we finally will be having the Choujin Olympics Semi-Final matches.
Reporter: Well, the participating contestants seem to be arriving.
SFX: ERR GACHA
Reporter: Ooh! It’s Robin Mask and Terryman!!
Reporter: Usually these two are friendly companions, but they’ll be enemies once inside the ring!
Robin: Ha ha ha
Terry: Ha ha ha
Reporter: What then do they see in this match?

127.
Girls: KYAAA, ROBIN~~!! TERRY~~!!
Reporter: Wa……incredible…
Girls: CATCH ROBIN~~TERRY HASN’T RUN AWAY YET.
SFX: DODODODO
Robin: Well we are in a hurry!
Girls: A~~H, THEY GOT AWAY AGAIN~~
Announcer: Really, already…
SFX: CRASH

128.
Meat: Aa~~~h, now you’ve done it.
Suguru: It’s cause dad was driving from the side…
Mayumi: But that’s because you said you had a good woman…
Suguru: Ah! TV cameras!
Cameraman: Ge…evil premonition…
Mayumi: FUHAHAHA
Cameraman: HEY HEY
Meat: Prince, that’s indecent. Please don’t imitate him.
Meat: PRINCE~~~!!
Suguru & Mayumi: DOWAHAHAHAHA
SFX: SA
Everyone: WA—KYAAA WA~~~IT’S RAMENMAN~~~

129.
Boy: U…um, au……tograph…
Mari: Watch out! Pl…please come back.
Reporter: Well~~then, when Ramenman is away from the ring, he seems to be a gentleman. (to himself) So it seems. Calm down, get an interview with him.
Reporter: Hey hey, Ramenman-san, how did you get that perfect physique? Will you get the championship on your own? How old are you? Are you a bachelor?
Ramen: KA---
Ramen: You’re depressing……
SFX: BAM

130.
Announcer: The Choujin Olympics Semi-final match has an extremely full house!!
SFX: WA—WA—WA—WA—WA—WA—
Announcer: Even so, there is…a sheet on the ring, what is it for?
Kazuo: It’s getting strangely cold…
Kimiko: I’m cold~~
SFX: ACHOOO
Kazuo: It’s cold, Kimiko-san.
Kimiko: It is, Kazuo…

131.
Narrator: Waiting Room—
Suguru: He he…I’ve got a brand new pair of ring shoes for today’s match…
Guard: The Chair needs you to enter the ring bare-footed.
SFX: WHAM
Suguru: What is that chair thinking…
Announcer: And so now we’re getting into the ceremony for the first match of the semi-finals. And~~now, they seem to be taking off the sheet.
SFX: FLAP
SFX: FLAP
Announcer: Ooh…th…this is…! Now we understand the origin of the bizarre coldness inside the arena.

132-133.
Announcer: So…somehow, the mat has ice created on top of it. Kinnikuman vs. Ramenman is an ice-top death-match!!
Announcer: Ooh, and a special guest, the Japanese representative at the Lake Placid Winter Olympics: Mie Watanabe.
(TN: A slight mistake on Yudetamago’s part (though probably intentional since this was pretty much the same time period as this chapter): the main female Japanese representative at the ’80 Lake Placid women’s figure skating tournament was Emi Watanabe. BTW: she ultimately placed 6th during those Winter Olympics)
Men: WA~~MIE’S SMILE~~!! THE RED ROSE THAT BLOOMS ON THE ICE!!
Natsuko: HEY~~WHERE ARE YOU STARING!
SFX: PINCH
Man: Miss, you’re a beauty. Don’t you want to exchange addresses?
Mie: What is this guy?
Announcer: The ice performer Mie Watanabe--!!
SFX: WA—CLAP CLAP
Mie: And now, in the red corner, here comes the contestant Kinnikuman!!

134.
SFX: DOWAHAHAHA
Suguru: Hie~~everyone’s laughing~~
Meat: It’s because they can’t stand you!
SFX: PULL PULL / WAHAHAH
Suguru: OWA
Suguru: HIE~~~
SFX: CRASH

135.
Mie: And in the blue corner, here comes the conte---stant, Ramenman!!
SFX: BA---N
Natsuko: He’s not cold at all…
Terry: He’s calm due to his mental concentration.
Suguru: WH…WHAT IS THIS RINK…
Suguru: Is this why you said we have to do it barefoot~~~
Chair: Fu fu fu…no matter how lucky you are, it’s hopeless this time.

136.
Mayumi: Suguru, what is there to be afraid of in being like ice?
Suguru: But, it seems so cold~~~
Mayumi: What’s the problem!!
SFX: SLAM
SFX: FREEZE
Suguru: Hie~~~he froze!!
Suguru: Wa~~~I’m going back home~~~!!
Meat: PRINCE~~!!
People: HURRY UP YOU DUMMY!!
Mie: PLEASE HURRY UP!
Suguru: O—K!
Meat: How…how could he have that personality, that guy…

137.
Announcer: And now, the first match of the Choujin Olympics semifinal match will begin.
SFX: FLAP
Announcer: In the blue corner, weighing 175 pounds, Ra—menma—n!!
Announcer: In the red corner, weighing 265 punds, Kinnikuma~~~n!!
SFX: WA—
Mie: Well, I’ll leave the rest to you, referee Nachiguron-san.
Nachiguron: Ye—p. (to himself) It’s been a long time since I’ve appeared.
Nachiguron: HEY! GONG!
SFX: GONG / WA—WA—WA—
Announcer: AND THAT’S THE GONG FOR THE ICE-TOP DEATHMATCH~~!!

TN: Mie...Emi...yeah, it probably is obvious Yudetamago was homaging their future Olympic hopes with that character...and I still say they did a cute job with her. Maybe enough to make Natsuko jealous but she's probably jealous at everything. One thing I do notice at this point that I really should have mentioned earlier...is that Yudetamago drew a lot of cute girls in this series. I know what happens later and it more ends up with wrestlers going from the powerful to the downright bizarre but...I like it when they do give the ladies a bit more attention due to how cute they can be. Oh, and somehow not only did this chapter provide plenty of buildup in humor and tension...it somehow makes me feel a bit more sympathetic towards Ramenman. It's not that he's a bad Choujin...he just goes a bit overboard in the ring like what happened with Brockenman. You can sort of see how he feels early in this chapter, upset that he's treated like a monster, sick of the press dogging him, yet becoming cool and collected once he gets in the ring. It's no wonder Ramenman is so memorable even this early in the story's run! (but of course the question now: will he beat Kinnikuman!? That's best left for next time)