Plawres Sanshiro


Plawres Sanshiro is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Jirō Gyū. It was serialized in the Akita Shoten magazine Weekly Shōnen Champion from August 6, 1982 to May 3, 1985. An anime adaptation aired in 1983 in Japan, Hong Kong, Greece and Arab countries. The name is a shortened derivative of "Plastic Model Wrestling Sanshiro." The animation is based on the manga of the same name, though the visuals of the characters, in particular the PlaWrestler robots, were different.

Overview

The story is about a young boy named Sanshiro Sugata and his miniature PlaWrestler pocket robot with super LSI circuit named Juohmaru. Initially, the show was about Sanshiro's battles with Juohmaru against other PlaWrestlers in robot battle tournaments that were a hybrid blend of modern professional wrestling, hi-tech Robot Wars and Japanese noh theatre. As the series went on, its focus shifted to Sanshiro exploring the possible uses of PlaWrestling technology in medical implants, and his clash against those who wished to use it for military purposes instead.

Characters

Sanshiro's group

; Sanshiro Sugata
Sanshiro is the series' protagonist and a PlaWres modeler. His PlaWrestler, Juohmaru, is custom-made. Initially, Sanshiro is an ambitious rookie, and his overconfidence and brashness leads to several mistakes that he sometimes does not get out of. As the series, progresses, Sanshiro learns to think more rationally and consider the benefit of others rather than only his own.
; Kyoko Fubuki
Kyoko's is Sanshiro's friend and possible love interest. She is assistant judo instructor at the Sugata family dojo. She is energetic and outspoken and does not hesitate to scold Sanshiro whenever he makes a mistake. Kyoko works at her family's eatery business and can drive a motorcycle.
; Shota Yamaguchi
Shota is Sanshiro's best friend, whose job is collecting information of any kind, particularly on rival modelers. Shota is hyperactive and is shown frequently running in a peculiar style of his own invention. He is also flirtatious, a loudmouth and quick to judge on first impressions. However, he takes his duties seriously.
; Tetsuya Hasegawa
Tetsuya is Juohmaru's mechanic, responsible for fine tuning him, upgrading him and repairing him, especially during the minute-long break between a battle's rounds. He is shown to be very capable, a quick thinker and an innovator, although at times he has taken offence at Sanshiro overriding him for Juohmaru's maintenance.
; Shinji Murao
Shinji is Juohmaru's programmer. His code, along with Sanshiro's manual control, guides Juohmaru in the battle ring. Like Tetsuya, Shinji is portrayed to be good at his job and a cool thinker compared to Sanshiro and Shota.

Sanshiro's family

; Kennosuke Sugata
Sanshiro's grandfather and judo master of the local dojo. For the most part, Kennosuke is critical of Sanshiro's PlaWrestling exploits, preferring him to practice judo and eventually succeed him as dojo master instead. However, he is also shown secretly watching many of Sanshiro's fights and worrying about the outcome. Eventually, Sanshiro's success and determination convince Kennosuke to let him pursue his own dreams.
; Kaoru Sugata
Sanshiro's mother. Kaoru seems to be somewhat aloof, which makes her a foil for Kennosuke when discussing about Sanshiro. Despite her impression of naivety, she occasionally exhibits moments of profound insight in a situation, attributing them to her "maternal instinct".
; Machiko Sugata
Sanshiro's little sister. Machiko is a lively child who supports Sanshiro in his endeavours. Despite her small age, she is prone to making surprisingly insightful remarks to many of her elders.
; Kenichiro Sugata
Sanshiro's father. Kenichiro died before the series begins and appears only in his photograph and Sanshiro's imagination. Kenichiro's research created PlaWrestling. His further attempts to use it for the benefit of mankind met with resistance from arms dealers who wished to use it as a means of warfare. Kenichiro ended up dead in a suspicious accident. After learning this, Sanshiro resolved to use PlaWrestling to continue his father's research, which was a pivotal moment in the series.

Antagonists

; Jose Garcia
The mastermind behind all the plans directed against Sanshiro. Jose Garcia is a ruthless arms dealer who manipulates the PlaWrestling scene worldwide by funding and essentially bribing its officials. In this way, he hopes to exploit PlaWrestling technology to develop robotic super-soldiers. It is possible that he orchestrated the accident in which Sanshiro's father died. Somewhat atypically, Garcia is not defeated by the end of the series. He actually manages to develop and market robot soldiers of questionable competence, and Sanshiro believes in allowing the world to judge for itself whether the peaceful or aggressive use of PlaWrestling technology is more useful.
; Ballesteros
Chairman of the World PlaWresting Association and henchman to Jose Garcia. Ballesteros is a self-important man who manipulates the Association, its Japanese branch and the Fighting-type Modeler League to further Garcia's ends. After Garcia develops his robot soldiers, he loses interest in PlaWrestling and cuts funding, leading an enraged Ballesteros to face off against Sanshiro in the series finale. Like Garcia, Ballesteros suffers no consequences for his villainous actions besides feeling defeated and humiliated.
; Sheila Misty
An enigmatic, beautiful woman riding a motorbike, Shiela spies on Sanshiro from the first episode and constantly manipulates events and people to force him to give up PlaWrestling. Eventually it is revealed that she works for Jose Garcia, who has convinced her that he will heal her brother's Mash's legs, who were disabled when Garcia's car crashed into Sheila's motorbike. After she realises Garcia's deception, Sheila becomes an ally of Sanshiro. She also has an unnamed female PlaWrestler.
; Gendou Kurosaki
Boisterous and self-important, Kurosaki is Japan's national PlaWrestling champion for three consecutive years. However, he loses from Sanshiro in the first episode, partly due to damage his PlaWrestler, Mad Hurricane, sustained during the championship match. This event makes Kurosaki a fierce rival of Sanshiro, and they clash for most of the series. Later on, Kurosaki becomes more sympathetic after seeing the troubles Sanshiro has to overcome and ends up his ally. Kurosaki is the region's foremost Fighting-Type modeler, following the philosophy of winning at any cost.

Other characters

; Shinogu Narita
In contrast with Kurosaki, Narita is the region's foremost Hobby-type modeler. Hobby-types generally view PlaWrestling as a contest of skill and place the well-being of their PlaWrestlers above winning. Narita is down-to-earth, intelligent, collected and has the respect of Sanshiro and his team, but his attitude sometimes makes him take things too seriously and appear cold and distant. Narita's PlaWrestler is called Ikaros Wing.
; Dr. Warmer
A colleague of Sanshiro's father, Dr. Warmer helped develop PlaWrestling technology. After telling Sanshiro of his father's desire to use PlaWrestling to help the disabled, Sanshiro gathers data from Juohmaru's battles and send them to him. Dr. Warmer analyses this data and eventually comes up with a novel technology that relies on brain wave induction to restore a person's mobility.

Rival robots

DVD release

Six Plawres Sanshiro DVDs are available spanning 37 episodes at 25 minutes each.
Plawres Sanshiro Vol.1 – Episode 1,2
Plawres Sanshiro Vol.2 – Episode 3 - 9
Plawres Sanshiro Vol.3 – Episode 10 - 16
Plawres Sanshiro Vol.4 – Episode 17 - 23
Plawres Sanshiro Vol.5 – Episode 24 - 30
Plawres Sanshiro Vol.6 – Episode 31 - 37

Episodes

#Air DateEpisodes title Episodes title
1June 5, 1983Juohmaru, This is Plawrestling!!柔王丸・これがプラレスだ!!
2June 12, 1983Death Match! Kurosaki VS. Sanshiroデスマッチ・黒崎VS3四郎!!
3June 19, 1983The Majin, Power Attackザ・魔神 パワーアタック!!
4June 26, 1983Take That! Fireball Attack!受けてみろ 火の玉チャレンジ
5July 3, 1983Danger! Sanshiro Is In Big Troubleあぶない!3四郎危機一髪!!
6July 10, 1983Finally! Female Plawrestler!ついに出た!女子プラレスラー!!
7July 17, 1983Tekkamen, the Assassin Lullaby of the death暗殺者鉄仮面!?死の子守唄!!
8July 24, 1983Beat the rival!! Narita VS. Sanshiro!!ライバルを倒せ!!成田VS3四郎!!
9July 31, 1983Mad Hurricane's revenge!! Stand up, Juohmaru!!復讐のマッドハリケーン!!立て柔王丸!!
10August 7, 1983Crash!! Skateboard kid Challenger from Hawaii!!激突!!スケボーキッド ハワイからのチャレンジャー!!
11August 14, 1983Knock Down Matador! Get Angry, Juohmaru!!必殺のマタドール!怒れ柔王丸!!
12August 21, 1983Killing Stardust! Targeted Juohmaru!!殺しのスターダスト!狙われた柔王丸!!
13August 28, 1983Plawres Wars! Juohmaru Aims Championship!!プラレスウォーズ!チャンプをめざせ柔王丸!!
14September 4, 1983Fateful Rivals! Hard Crash, Juohmaru!!宿命のライバル!激闘柔王丸!!
15September 11, 1983Strong Opponent! Kung-Fu Vs. Juohmaru!!強敵出現!カンフーVS柔王丸!!
16September 18, 1983Dueling In Georama City! Juohmaru, 2 Vs. 1!!決闘ジオラマシティー!柔王丸2対1!!
17September 25, 1983Beautiful Challenger! Juohmaru, Dance of the Beast!!華麗なるチャレンジャー!柔王丸獣の舞!!
18October 2, 1983Highway Battle! Desperate Juohmaru!!ハイウェイバトル!決死の柔王丸!!
19October 9, 1983A New Sunrise! Come back alive, Juohmaru!! 新たなる夜明け!甦れ柔王丸!!
20October 16, 1983Heart & Machine!! Juohmaru! The Long Way!ハート&マシーン!!柔王丸!遥かなる道!
21October 23, 1983Trap of the Space Shuttle! Fly to the Cosmos, Juohmaru!!スペースシャトルの罠!宇宙に翔べ柔王丸!!
22October 30, 1983Kurosaki, desperate challenge! Survive, Juohmaru!!黒崎執念の挑戦!生き残れるか柔王丸!!
23November 6, 1983Plawrestling war! Be the star of Asia, Juohmaru!!プラレス大戦争!アジアに輝け柔王丸!!
24November 13, 1983A tower of execution! Juohmaru, fight with anger!!処刑の塔!柔王丸怒りをこめて戦え!!
25November 27, 1983The champion from America! Juohmaru, departure for tomorrow!!アメリカから来たチャンプ!柔王丸明日への旅立ち!!
26December 4, 1983Juohmaru! A midday western fight!!柔王丸!真昼のウエスタンファイト!!
27December 11, 1983Juohmaru! Run for tomorrow!!柔王丸!明日に向かって走れ!!
28December 18, 1983The night of evil! Tear the darkness, Juohmaru!!悪魔の夜!柔王丸,闇を裂け!!
29December 25, 1983A stage of death! Awaken, Juohmaru!!死のステージ!目覚めよ!柔王丸!!
30January 8, 1984Juohmaru! Oath for tomorrow!!柔王丸!明日への誓い!!
31January 15, 1984Juohmaru! Glowing Plawrestling spirit!!柔王丸!燃えるプラレス魂!!
32January 22, 1984Enemy plane over! Jump over Juohmaru!!頭上の敵機!跳べ柔王丸!!
33January 29, 1984This is brain wave induction! Run softly Juohmaru!!これが脳波誘導だ!走れ柔王丸!!
34February 5, 1984Juohmaru! Road to champion!!柔王丸!チャンプへの道!!
35February 12, 1984Juohmaru! It is the day when the world changes!!柔王丸!世界が変わる日だ!!
36February 19, 1984Juohmaru! Plawrestling Eternally!!柔王丸!プラレスよ永遠に!!
37February 26, 1984Juohmaru! Soldier is wanted! Last time!!柔王丸!希望の戦士!!

Merchandise

The 1983 Plawres Sanshiro soft vinyl robots are considered extremely rare. Instead of selling giant robots scaled down to toy size, what was sold and marketed to the public was pocket robots at about 30 cm tall claiming to be identical in size to the TV show version. Despite having the rival robots available for sale, the consumer trend at the time was to purchase the protagonist robots, thus most sales were limited to just 1 robot.
In the end, there may have been reissues and re-releases of the toy line, including models that require assembly. But because there were so few Plawres Sanshiro soft vinyl robots in circulation to begin with, the 80s original model is considered an exceptional collectible gem.

Reaction

Plawres Sanshiro came at a time when the Asian late 70s - 80s anime scene was practically dominated by giant robots every year. The show was uniquely different since it mixed genre and featured a lead robot character that did not tower over buildings, grow in size or carried any firearms. Because of its unique substance, contents, and a relatively short episode count of 37, it had a very limited lifespan in the market. However, director Yuyama would reuse some of the series' elements a decade and a half later in the worldwide success Pokemon.