YMMV / Kinnikuman

• Accidental Aesop: Although it's unknown if intentional, a reoccuring theme in Kinnikuman is "Never Judge a Book By It's Cover", as a lot of the Choujin, Kinnikuman himself included, look silly, cutesy, or otherwise non-threatening, or even come across as that, but are actually surprisingly competent and deadly fighters in spite of their ridiculous appearance and/or nature, and that's not even going over how many characters have Hidden Depths or are otherwise more than they seem at the first glance, such as Buffaloman appearing to be just a simple brute of a villain who relies on his own strength when he's actually capable of fighting with surprising amounts of technique or intelligence, such as him figuring out how to reverse the Kinniku Buster, and the end of the Seven Devil Arc reveals him to actually have a good and honorable side that leads to him joining the Justice Choujin because of Kinnikuman appealing to said good side, and even Kinnikuman acts like a cowardly, chilidish pushover until the lives of his friends or the innocent are at stake, causing him to reveal his true nature as a hard-working hero.
• Accidental Nightmare Fuel: The anime tries to censor Ramenman tearing Brockenman in half with a camel clutch by making it so that the instead breaks his spine, causing him to be folded in half, and then turned into wheat dough and then turned into a bowl of ramen, which is inadvertently infinitely more horrifying than the original, especially since if Suguru being able to return to his original state when Ramenman does the same thing with him, only to pour garlic powder, his Power-Up Food onto him, Brockenman was fully alive and conscious for the entirey of the process.
• Adaptation Displacement: Westerners more likely to be familiar with the M.U.S.C.L.E. toyline and NES game or the dub of Ultimate Muscle than the original manga and anime.
• Adorkable: Kinnikuman himself, due to his dopey, silly, and kind-hearted nature, especially from the 20th Choujin Olympics arc onwards, where his positive traits are given more emphasis while he remains a ditzy Lovable Coward.
• Americans Hate Tingle: The series is absolutely massive in Japan, but is considered a cult classic at best in the West. Perhaps it has to do with Brocken Jr.? If anything it was a simple matter of timing. By the time of the anime boom in America Kinnikuman had ended nearly a decade earlier, plus its successor as THE shonen series, Dragon Ball Z had already caught on. Somewhat ironically, the sequel series Kinnikuman Nisei did better in the West than in Japan.
• Angst? What Angst?: Bibinba doesn't seem to mind the fact that falling in love with Kinnikuman means that she's falling in love with someone from the clan that killed her mother.
  • Kinnikuman never really blamed his father for being left on Earth. That didn't stop them from constantly butting heads over everything, though.
  • Lampshaded in-universe: while Kinnikuman Mariposa blames his upbringing for having become a thief specialized into stealing from other Chojin in retaliation for his poor life, Kinnikuman's friends are quick to notice how Kinnikuman had to grow alone in a shack in Japan, reviled by everyone else and thought a useless bumbler even among his fellow chojin, and that didn't stop him from becoming a hero on his own. Bibinba and Suguru are just good people with an heart of mercy and forgiveness on their own.
    • Double lampshaded: Tatsunori, Suguru's grandfather, is known to have codified centuries of Kinniku Clan teachings in the theory that a true leader must have a heart of Mercy, able to forgive his enemies and let them grow and evolve at his side. Suguru's and Bibinba's utter lack of angst just made them the perfect queen and king for the peaceful era shown between Kinnikuman and Kinnikuman Nisei.
• Base-Breaking Character: Terryman, albeit not as a character, but as a fighter. Most of the ire towards him is that he's a wrestler who primarily uses submission moves, which when juxtaposed with other wrestlers that pull off some insanely awesome wrestling moves, he looks rather tame in comparison.
• Crazy Is Cool:
  • Certain Choujin stand out as being this, due to the series heavily relying on Rule of Cool, such as Sneagator, an alligator-man wearing sneakers who can shapeshift into various reptiles, and transforms into a T-Rex claw for his strongest move.
  • The Omegaman from the Survivor Match For The Kinniku Throne Arc is also an example of this, due to him being a bounty hunter, a psychopomp, a wrestler, and a shapeshifter all in one. His Cool Mask, which looks like a mix between a skull and a hockey mask makes him border on Creepy Awesome due to it making him look both menacing and cool, especially in the anime, where he is given solid red eyes.
• Crosses the Line Twice: One of the gags in the 20th Choujin Olympics arc has Kinnikuman accidentally sneeze his facial features off, causing every other Choujin to understandably freak out and make exaggerated expressions of shock and fear. Brockenman however, has a tiny Adolf Hitler emerging from his mouth giving the Nazi Salute, which is so absurdly tasteless that it loops around to be hilarious.
• Ensemble Dark Horse: Many, many examples.
  • Ramenman. Initially introduced in order to give Kinnikuman a brutal heel wrestler to get him psyched up for his match against Robin Mask, he was so popular that he was elevated to secondary character status. After that, his popularity skyrocketed to the point where he even got his own Spin-Off, Tatakae! Ramenman.
  • Warsman was popular to the point where he got his own prequel manga, which expanded on his original backstory and further cemented him as a ruthless but emotionally damaged Choujin.
  • Buffaloman. At the beginning of the seven devils arc (where he was introduced), they were initially setting up Black Hole to be the arc big bad, but Buffaloman proved to be so popular that he got upgraded to the Big Bad while Black Hole was reduced to a mere lackey.
  • Neptuneman was an intimidating villain who not only gets his own movie, but also gets a Heel–Face Turn
  • Leopardon from Team Big Body, who is far more popular than the rest of the team including Big Body himself despite being one of the victims of The Worf Effect when sent up against Mammothman, likely due to his design as well as dying in his match almost instantly. He's an Ascended Extra in the revival manga, where he puts up a good fight against Rampageman.
  • Among those whose primary exposure to the franchise is by collecting the M.U.S.C.L.E. figures, Satan Cross. This comes mainly from the fact that he was one of the few figures that was available in packs but was not pictured on the official checklist poster, making many people believe that he was incredibly rare (in reality, he was no more hard-to-find than most other figures).
    • The M.U.S.C.L.E. line also had Sneagator's claw form, which quickly became the most popular figure in the series, for reasons less related to any significance or character traits and more because it's a giant warty hand with a face on it.
  • Puripuriman, a Choujin who has a literal butt for a head who was going to be one of the Seven Devil Choujin before inexplicably disappearing, is featured in a surprising amount of side material and even makes an appearance as an antagonist in a Kinnikuman Nisei filler arc, which shows off his fighting style, and he also appears in the spin-off Kinnikuman Nisei: All Out Choujin Attack as the Starter Villain.
• Fan Nickname:
  • Super Phoenix is known as Super Douchebag.
  • The Five Fated Princes in general are often referred to as just by their epithets, such as calling Kinnikuman Super Phoenix, "Super Phoenix" or just "Phoenix", and Kinnikuman Big Body "Big Body".
• Growing the Beard: The story was originally a light hearted Monster of the Week super hero parody, until the Olympics arc, in which it switches gears into the Pro Wrestling Is Real epic that it is known for today.
  • The 21st Chojin Olympics Arc is arguably when the series became what it is today, as it introduced the concept of Choujin having their own fantastic wrestling moves and holds, the most important of them being the Kinniku Buster, which is on par with the Kamehameha and the Gomu Gomu No Pistol as one of the most memorable and popular signature moves used by a protagonist in manga and anime history.
  • Takes another one in the Seven Devil Choujin arc, where it fully evolves into a Shōnen wrestling series, not to mention the introduction of the Devil Choujin, who would go on to become one of the primary antagonistic factions, as well as the formation of the Idol Choujin, whose line up of Kinnikuman, Terryman, Robin Mask, among other heroes such as Brocken Jr. and Warsman, remain forever a part of the series as a concept.
• Germans Love David Hasselhoff: While the series is a Cult Classic in the USA (outside of Nisei, which Americans are more familiar with thanks to it actually getting dubbed), Kinnikuman has a notable Latin-American & Hispanic fanbase thanks to the original anime receiving a Spanish dub that covers the entire series.
• Harsher in Hindsight: All the jokes about the 1980 Moscow Olympics are somewhat less funny considering that Japan (along with a lot of other nations) decided to boycott the games.
• Hilarious in Hindsight: In the Monster Extermination chapters, the chief of police would mistake the attacking monsters as wrestlers. Little did he know...
  • Not to mention that a pair of monsters challenge Kinnikuman and Terryman to a wrestling match in a chapter. When they win, Kinnikuman says, "Forget super heroes, I wanna be a pro wrestler!"
  • The anime censored the coil of feces on Benkiman's head by turning it into a faucet. Later, in 2013, a oneshot focusing on Benkiman and his past would be released, which introduced Benkiman's grandfather, who had a faucet on his head, much like the anime version of Benkiman.
  • This series featured Mr. Khamen, a wrestler with an Ancient Egypt theme (including a Finishing Move that mummified opponents), but was also a vampire. Later, The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy would feature a character named Irwin, who-get this-turns out to be a legit mummy-vampire.
  • The series also gave us a masked wrestler named Pentagon. Not like we would ever see that again...
    • Speaking of Pentagon, his tag team with Black Hole becomes hilarious with in the context of Pokémon Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum, whose main two legendaries were Dialga and Palkia, who had domain over Time and Space respectively, as well as Girantina having control over another dimension which is somewhat similar to Black Hole's pocket dimension.
  • Akira Kamiya using both a silly, high pitched, voice, and a serious, deep voice for Kinnikuman is this due to Marc Thompson doing the exact same thing as Kinnikuman's son Mantaro in Ultimate Muscle.
  • Suguru attempting to squash Meat with a Road Roller from above in the very first episode is even more hilarious considering that Dio Brando from Jojos Bizarre Adventure is memetically known for attempting the exact same thing on Jotaro in Stardust Crusaders.
• It Was His Sled:
  • Mongolman turns out to be Ramenman in disguise. To be fair, it's not like they tried to make it seem like Mongolman, as Ramenman willingly reveals his true identity in the Seven Devil Choujin Arc, and the anime has a scene where Kinkotsuman finds out that the content's of a briefcase Mongolman's carrying aorund is in fact, Ramneman's gi.
  • Akuma Shogun is actually Goldman, whose decapitated head is the Gold Mask of the Kinnikuman Clan. It doesn't help that he reappears in the reboot once more, and his old friends the Perfect Origin all prefer to call him by his true name.
  • Prince Kamehame, the original Kinnikuman Great, dies from Sunshine's Cursed Roller and he chooses Terryman to be the second Kinnikuman Great.
• Jerkass Woobie: The series is filled with them, some examples overlapping with Iron Woobie and other examples overlapping with Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds
  • Kinnikuman. He may be rude, lecherous and cowardly, but it's hard to be nice to people when you're a laughingstock among superheroes and get no respect from anyone, even when you do actually help to save the day.
  • Warsman. He was a brutal, killing machine when he was first introduced, but he reveals that in the past, he was tormented and rejected everywhere he went as a child because of his hideous appearance, and only took to the ring so he'd be allowed to fight back. Even worse, his mechanical body malfunctions after 30 minutes of fighting, meaning that he literally cannot push himself beyond his limits. This makes it all the sweeter whenever he manages to turn a fight around, and earned him quite a few fans.
  • Buffaloman. In his introduction arc, he was a Blood Knight who only cared about power. Flashbacks in the arc showed that before his Deal with the Devil, he believed in fair fights and friendship in the ring, which displays of it from Kinnikuman and company made him deeply ashamed at his obsession for power and help him to Heel–Face Turn. It gets worse in the Throne arc, when it's revealed that he's actually the Last of His Kind of a Proud Warrior Race that destroyed itself because they did nothing but fight among each other and ends up stopping the Five Evil Choujin Gods from killing Kinnikuman Soldier using foul play because he doesn't want the same thing to happen to Kinnikuman's family.
  • Kinnikuman Mariposa. He was a thief and was the one who stole the Anolao Flame from the Robin family, but he literally had no other choice as his family was dirt poor and he would have probably died of starvation if he didn't steal to provide for himself.
  • Kinnikuman Zebra. He worked hard as a farmer to earn money to buy his way into the Choujin Society. His only friend during this period of his life was his pet zebra, Zebra Kid. After a really sad situation caused Zebra to kill his friend, his Start of Darkness began, as he immediately discards any concept that was foreign to the concept of money, ultimately paying his teammates to fight for him in the throne battle. His match against Kinnikuman ended as one of the biggest TearJerkers of the series.
  • Kinnikuman Super Phoenix grew up poor and alone, hoping that he could prove himself to be the heir and be taken away from his misery. His jealousy only increased when Kinnikuman was revealed as the prince of planet Kinniku, as Super Phoenix saw Suguru as an idiot who got money and recognition without working for them, while Super Phoenix was intelligent and had to struggle to survive. He gets better after Kinnikuman defeats him, leading to a heartwarming moment when Suguru considers him as a friend and family member and comes to his aid against the five evil Choujin by preventing them from killing him.
• Memetic Mutation:
  • The signature moves of the Choujin themselves are this, given how it's common for other series to make a Shout-Out to Kinnikuman as a series through references to the moves.
• Moral Event Horizon:
  • Planetman crosses it with perverse glee in his match against Kinnikuman.
    • He first skirts the line when he imprints a pattern of the Earth on Kinnikuman, and then stabs the continents on Kinnikuman's body. With the added effect of hurting Kinnikuman, this also hurts the Choujins that come from the continent stabbed, breaking their life-preserving bubbles.
    • He further crosses it by using his secret technique, Planet Face to imprint the faces of Kinnikuman's friends and loved ones (including non-wrestlers like Bibinba and Kinnikuman's mother) on his planets so Kinnikuman can't attack him without hurting them, which manages to seriously piss off Kinnikuman.
  • Super Phoenix starts off being dangerously close to the horizon, but he pretty much crossed it when he says that Ataru deserved to die for running away from his parents.
• Narm:
  • "This is divine punishment for wounding my breast." Not even context can make it better. Sure, it's only narmy due to Values Dissonance, but...
  • Omegaman Dexia's Jason Voorhees-esque mask gave him a blank expression that was quite unnerving to look at... until the Revival. Enter his older brother, Omegaman Aristera, who sports a Rage Helm that makes him look quite threatening, with the side effect of making Dexia look rather dopey and clueless by comparison.
• Never Live It Down:
  • Kinnikuman Big Body. A common joke among the fans about the Throne Arc is that Kinnikuman Big Body's sacred throne move is stepping into the ring, since that's all he did against Kinnikuman Super Phoenix before being hit at full force with the Muscle Revenger. That's something even Gear Master called him out on.
    • Heartwarming in Hindsight: In the 2012 manga, he finally showed off what he can do with his Choujin god-given strength and actually won against a very powerful Choujin with his Finishing Move the Maple Leaf Clutch. Big Body lost because he was forced into evil, but he won because he fought on his own will.
  • In-universe, Harabote never misses a chance to remind Mayumi that he mistook his own son, Suguru, for a pig and threw him out onto Earth.
• Older Than They Think: There are many who attribute the invention of the Kinniku/Muscle Buster to either Samoa Joe, the Smackdown Vs. Raw series, or King from Tekken, not realizing that the series predates all of them by decades.
  • While the move is an original creation of the manga that later got used in actual pro wrestling, there were similar looking moves that proceeded it, with the difference being in use and execution of the move. El Matematico was a Mexican luchador with a similar move called the La Matematica, though it was used as a submission hold (kind of like how Gory Guerrero’s Gory Special evolved into the Gory Bomb and other variants). Another similar earlier move was used by Japanese wrestler Samson Fuyuki after returning from a tour in Mexico where he learned the move above, calling it the Samson Striker, he first lifts the opponent into the position, then falls backwards into a suplex-like move.
• Signature Scene: The Kinniku Buster. If you read a lot of shonen manga, chances are that you've seen at least one Shout-Out to it.
  • Terryman stopping the bullet train he tossed in the 21st Choujin Olympics to save a puppy that was on the tracks.
  • Kinnikuman and Terryman defeating the Hell Missionaries with the Muscle Docking.
  • Sunshine rescuing Ashuraman from his Cursed Roller, and Ashuraman's Tears of Joy shortly afterwards.
  • Kinnikuman Suguru defeating Kinnikuman Super Phoenix with a 75,000,000 Power Muscle Spark.
• Sweet Dreams Fuel: The song "See You Again Hero". A lighthearted, dreamy song with gentle and soothing vocals about Defeat Means Friendship and the most hopeful and optimistic version of the We Will Meet Again trope possible.
• Ugly Cute: Kinnikuman when he has his mask on, due to how expressive he is, as well as how open he is with his emotions. It also helps that his positive traits, such as his kindness, forgiveness, and loyalty towards his friends and family as well as the Justice Choujin as a whole become greater emphasized as the series goes on.
• Values Dissonance - The video for Megumi No Hito, which at first appears offensive, until you learn who the video is a homage to ^note  Rats & Star, the ones who are singing the song. Keep in mind that Rats & Star did blackface in order pay tribute to the African-American do-wop bands from yesteryear that they had so much respect for..
• Viewer Gender Confusion: Sure, it's common for female seiyuu to voice young male characters, but Meat's voice in the anime doesn't even give a slight indication that he's a boy.
• What Do You Mean, It's for Kids?: See Moral Guardians.
• The Woobie: Nachurigon. He was classified as a "loser monster", which lead to him being picked on by other monsters and even the humans that he's supposed to be attacking.
• Woolseyism: "Kinniku" translates to "muscle" in English, but there's already a character whose last name is "Muscle" - Chairman Harabote Muscle, who isn't related to the family. In the English translation of the manga, his name is changed to Vance McMadd, which both avoids potential confusion and is a parody of WWE CEO Vince McMahon, which fits with the series' tradition of using parodies of well-known wrestling personalities.