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Summary
- Dragon Ball's popularity was a contributing factor to Kinnikuman's original ending and strained the relationship between their creators.
- Kinnikuman has found new success with its sequel stories and a new anime adaptation.
- While Dragon Ball is far more popular than Kinnikuman, Kinnikuman's success and legacy cannot be understated.
Among the various action manga to be published in Weekly Shonen Jump over the years, two of the most iconic manga from its library are Akira Toriyama’s Kinnikuman. Both were among the most popular manga running in the 1980s, and thanks to said popularity, they’ve become some of the most influential manga of the past several decades, as well, especially Dragon Ball.
Dragon Ball and Kinnikuman’s popularity sparked a rivalry between the stories and their respective creators, ending with a clear winner as Dragon Ball has become one of the most popular and successful anime franchises in the world while Kinnikuman is largely unknown outside of Japan.
As it turns out, though, Dragon Ball eclipsed Kinnikuman in popularity so much that it played a part in Kinnikuman’s ending; it’s a story that’s equal parts engaging and tragic, but as any fan of Kinnikuman knows, there was certainly a happy ending for the series later down the line.
Kinnikuman’s Writer Felt Intimidated By Akira Toriyama Well Before Dragon Ball
The Series That Kickstarted An Unfortunate Rivalry
Well before Dragon Ball’s official debut in Weekly Shonen Jump, the writer half of Yudetamago, Takashi Shimada, already felt intimidated by Toriyama thanks to his debut work, Dr. Slump. Both manga were focused on comedy, but Takashi Shimada felt intimidated by ’s comic book-style artwork and more sophisticated humor, and Dr. Slump getting an anime after only a year when it took Kinnikuman four years only made that worse. This caused a lot of bickering between them, and that didn’t stop for all the time they were both serialized in Weekly Shonen Jump.
How Dragon Ball Beat Kinnikuman At Its Own Game
Dragon Ball Was The True King Of Martial Arts Manga
Dragon Ball didn’t debut until 1984, five years into Kinnikuman’s run after it was already a major franchise, but with its martial arts action and the same great art and comedy that made Dr. Slump a hit, it wasn’t long before Dragon Ball started matching Kinnikuman in popularity. That reached its peak in 1985 with the introduction of the World Martial Arts Tournament, as not only did Dragon Ball become even more popular, but Dragon Ball was now making a name for itself with martial arts tournaments, one of the central gimmicks of Kinnikuman’s story.
It was one thing for Dragon Ball to be more popular than Kinnikuman, but with Toriyama's manga doing its own take on martial arts tournaments, there was now a sense that there was nothing Kinnikuman was the best at, a thought that didn’t sit well with Takashi Shimada. That train of thought emerged while Shimada was recovering from a back injury, and when it all came together, Takashi Shimada decided to end Kinnikuman because of how much better Dragon Ball was. The series eventually concluded in 1987, two years after Dragon Ball introduced the World Martial Arts Tournament.
The most tragic part about Takashi Shimada and Akira Toriyama’s rivalry was that their relationship wasn’t always so strained. Following Akira Toriyama’s tragic ing in early 2024, Takashi Shimada talked about how he and Akira Toriyama used to be good friends, but he let his jealousy over Toriyama’s success ruin their friendship, and the two never reconciled their differences in the years to follow. Dragon Ball’s popularity ended not only a popular manga but a good friendship, as well.
Kinnikuman’s Creator Found New Hope In Its First Sequel, Ultimate Muscle
Serialized In Weekly Playboy 1998-2011
Following Kinnikuman’s ending, Yudetamago published three more stories in Weekly Shonen Jump: Here Comes Phantom Kid!, Scrap Sandayu, and Kick Boxer Mamoru, none of which were popular and were each canceled within a year. By 1991, Yudetamago was under so much pressure from fans to both follow Kinnikuman’s success and compete with Dragon Ball that they stopped working with Weekly Shonen Jump, entirely, with their next few stories each going to competing publishers. Unfortunately, they didn’t have much success with that, either, as their stories outside of Shonen Jump only lasted around two years before being canceled.
In 1998, Yudetamago returned to Kinnikuman with the first official sequel, Kinnikuman Nisei, better known worldwide as Ultimate Muscle. Building off the legacy of its predecessor, Ultimate Muscle was a big hit in its own right and ran for 13 years. Takashi Shimada was so moved by Ultimate Muscle’s initial success that he cried, as it made him realize his fans never abandoned him. Ultimate Muscle was never as big a success as Kinnikuman, but the fact that it was successful at all still meant a lot to Shimada, overall.
Ultimate Muscle was also the first time the Kinnikuman franchise found true success outside Japan. While the anime wasn’t that popular in Japan and ended unceremoniously on a filler arc, Ultimate Muscle’s anime was a major hit in the Western world thanks to 4Kids Entertainment giving it a hilarious gag dub, and it was so popular that they commissioned a second season to give it a proper ending. None of that was on the level of Dragon Ball’s success, but it was the first time Kinnikuman had even remotely similar popularity, and that made all the difference.
How Kinnikuman Finally Came Back & Became Bigger Than Ever
Kinnikuman Is Finally In The Spotlight
Ultimate Muscle ended in 2011, and immediately after, it was announced that another sequel to Kinnikuman would start that same year, this one being a direct continuation of the original Kinnikuman manga. With the characters people grew up with back in focus and a story more consistent with the original while still expanding on the wider lore, Kinnikuman’s new sequel series made the franchise the most relevant it's been since the original series, and with it recently receiving a new anime in Kinnikuman: Perfect Origin Arc, that’s bound to only increase even further, especially on an international level.
The history of the original Kinnikuman series is sad to think about, especially with how it affected Takashi Shimada and his relationship with Akira Toriyama on such a personal level, but if the wider history of the franchise says anything, it says that Kinnikuman has always had a place among the biggest action-oriented anime and manga, even if it could never sur Dragon Ball in that regard. There’s no way to know what would have happened if Shimada hadn’t let Dragon Ball’s popularity get to him, but at the very least, Kinnikuman’s current popularity and lasting legacy are still worth marveling at.
Sources: @MangaMoguraRE (X) @WSJ_manga (X)
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Kinnikuman: Perfect Origin Arc
- Release Date
- July 7, 2024
Cast
Mamoru Miyano-
Akira Kamiya
WHERE TO WATCH
StreamingKinnikuman: Perfect Origin Arc (2024) continues the iconic wrestling saga, exploring the backstory of Kinnikuman. This new installment delves into the origins and adventures of the protagonist and his rivals, combining humor, action, and character development. Featuring new and returning characters, it aims to captivate both long-time fans and newcomers to the series.
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- Created by
- Akira Toriyama
- First Film
- Dragon Ball: Curse of the Blood Rubies
- Latest Film
- Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero
- First TV Show
- Dragon Ball
- Latest TV Show
- Super Dragon Ball Heroes
- First Episode Air Date
- April 26, 1989
From the creative mind of Akira Toriyama, Dragon Ball is a mega multimedia franchise that spans back to the 1980s. Dragon Ball expanded quickly, starting as a serialized manga for Weekly Shonen Jump in Japan. It made its way overseas via manga and an anime adaptation that is enjoyed worldwide. Dragon Ball was the initial starting animated series that followed the adventures of the young Son Goku as he sought after the Dragon Balls. These mystical orbs would grant the wish of any who gathered them together. Then, the series would branch off into the immensely popular Dragon Ball Z, which followed Goku as an adult and featured high-intensity battles and Goku's never-ending search to be the strongest. The series has also enjoyed several popular video game adaptations and continues to release several new animated series and theatrical films up to the recent popular Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero.
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