Kinnikuman Perfect Origin Arc Episode 3 kicked this anime into high gear. We finally have our titular hero involved in the tournament and we have six different rings in the hometowns of the Idol Chojin ready for the upcoming matches. Let’s go ahead and hit this full-spoiler review for Kinnikuman Perfect Origin Arc Episode 4!
We begin with Terryman and Geronimo being blocked to the Duel Pits by the five mysterious hooded Chojin. The five hooded figures enter the Duel Pits.
We cut to Red Square in Russia. One of the hooded figures appears in the ring with Turboman. The figure takes off his cloak and it is Stecasse-King! Stecasse-King immediately hits his Devil’s Symphony attack on Turboman. The music from Stecasse-King’s headphone feet scrambles Turboman’s brain.
Oh damn! It looks like the Devil Chojin have officially entered the tournament! Stecasse-King is a member of the Seven Devil Chojin faction which consists of Stecasse-King, Buddaloman, Springman, Atlantis, The Mountain, Black Hole, and Mr. Kahmen. In the Seven Devil Chojin story arc, the Devil Chojin take Meat hostage. The Justice Chojin had to battle the Devil Chojin in a tournament to free Meat.
It is so cool to see Stecasse-King! This is your typical silly and over-the-top character design that the Kinnikuman franchise is known for.Stecasse-King is a unique character with some interesting powers. New viewers may dismiss Stecasse-King as a weak Chojin, but that would be foolish to do so! I expect a great match between Stecasse-King and Turboman.
We shift to The Great Wall of China. One of the hooded figures appears in the ring with Dalmatiman. The figure takes off his cloak and it is Black Hole! Dalmatiman recognizes Black Hole as a member of the Devil Chojin. Black Hole then kicks Dalmatiman in the face.
Hell yeah! Another member of the Seven Devil Chojin is on the scene! Black Hole is a fantastic character with a cool power set. I have always liked Black Hole’s design and love seeing him in action. Dalmatiman is going to have a tough challenge on his hands with Black Hole as his opponent.
We cut to Berlin. One of the hooded figures appears in the ring with Crushman. The figure is revealed to be the Devil Chojin Mr. Kahmen! Mr. Kahmen chomps on Crushman’s neck with his fang teeth as blood spurts out of Crushman’s carotid artery.
Yeah! Now we have Mr. Kahmen! This Devil Chojin is a strange one with how he constantly transforms his shape during his matches.
We zip to London and see one of the hooded figures appear in the ring with Marlinman. The figure is revealed to be the Devil Chojin Altantis! Atlantis blasts Marlinman with his Water Magnum attack.
Bring it! We knew that this mysterious hooded figure was going to be Atlantis given the aquatic nature of this wrestling ring. I love that we are going to get an aquatic Devil Chojin versus an aquatic Perfect Chojin. I love both of these characters. This is going to be such a kick-ass fight.
We shift back to the Toyko Dome where Terryman asks where the other Idol Chojin are. The Chairman is updated that the Idol Chojin are still in their medical stasis pods and their recovery is taking longer than anticipated. However, one Idol Chojin has emerged from his medical stasis pod.
We cut to Kinnikuman arriving at Ryogoku Kokugikan to face off with Peek-a-Boo. Kinnikuman has his trademark silly entrance with him flexing and mugging to the crowd. Meat is happy to be Kinnikuman’s second during a match once again.
Oh man, it is great to see Kinnikuman being his boisterous and silly self with all of his flexing and showboating before his match. The quick moment between Meat and Kinnikuman was spot on. These two belong together and I like that Meat fully appreciates the specialness of the moment in being reunited with Kinnikuman. I know we got Meat as Kid Muscle’s second during the Ultimate Muscle cartoon. But, nothing beats the pairing of Kinnikuman and Meat. It is simply the best.
Peek-a-Boo is sitting in the ring crying. Kinnikuman asks if Peek-a-Boo is okay. To get Peek-a-Boo to stop crying, Kinnikuman plays peek-a-boo and makes a silly face. Peek-a-Boo stops crying and starts laughing. Peek-a-Boo then tells Kinnikuman to look at him. Peek-a-Boo’s two large hands cover his torso then open and reveal a massive demon’s face as Peek-a-Boo says “Boo!” Kinnikuman is terrified of Peek-a-Boo’s demon face. Kinnikuman curls up in a ball while Peek-a-Boo jumps on top of him.
This was a great start to the match! Peek-a-Boo is another trademark zany character that the Kinnikuman franchise is known for. The swerve of Peek-a-Boo, who had a scary demon face covered by large hands across his torso, was cool. This gives a nice design contrast for Peek-a-Boo who has an unthreatening baby look when the giant hands cover his torso. However, when the giant hands open to reveal his demon face, Peek-a-Boo shifts into a sinister-looking Chojin. Peek-a-Boo is going to be a fun opponent for Kinnikuman to battle.
We shift to the Grand Canyon and see the hooded figure arrive and reveal himself as The Mountain! The Mountain then pulls off the Mountain Drop on Strong the Budo.
All the Seven Devil Chojin are joining the party! The Mountain is a fantastic character and it is great to see him again. The Terryman vs. The Mountain match during the Seven Devil Chojin story arc was an excellent fight. The Mountain should provide Strong the Budo some stiff competition.
We zip back to the Tokyo Dome and see Buffaloman entering the arena! Buffaloman is the first Idol Chojin to have exited his medical pod. Terryman and Geronimo are happy to see their fellow Justice Chojin. Terryman thinks that Buffaloman went to his old friends the Devil Chojin for help. Geronimo says that the Perfect Chojin broke the treaty but that the Devil Chojin is still honoring the three-way treaty.
Terryman goes to shake Buffaloman’s hand but Buffaloman slaps Terryman’s hand away. Buffaloman reveals that he is a Devil Chojin again. We then see Springman enter the arena! Springman says that Buffaloman’s heart has been taken over by the devil.
Holy crap! What a huge swerve as Buffaloman has turned heel! What a huge loss for the Justice Chojin as Buffaloman is one of the most powerful Idol Chojin that the Justice Chojin have. This was such an amazing moment that punched the viewer right in the chest. This is a classic pro wrestling tope in having a big name character turn heel right before a big tournament or story arc. I am so here for this heel turn. I love Buffaloman’s character and he is great as a Justice Chojin. But, I have always thought that Buffaloman was even better as a Devil Chojin.
We also get the final member of the Seven Devil Chojin faction with Springman. Springman has always been my least favorite member of the Seven Devil Chojin faction. Still, it is nice to see him again. Springman is known for the match where he fought and killed the Justice Chojin Wolfman.
It also makes sense for Springman to be with Buffaloman in this scene. After all, Springman and Buffaloman were a tag team called Los Diablos in the match against Kinnikuman and Mongolman during the Seven Devil Chojin story arc. I like that we got a quick flashback scene of Buffaloman and Springman in action together as we see them deliver their feared Spring Bazooka attack against Mongolman in Meat Rescue tournament.
Back to the story. Terryman is shocked and asks if the Devil Chojin are trying to take advantage of the battle between the Justice Chojin and the Perfect Chojin to try and take control of the Chojin World. We then see Nakano and Kimiko sitting ringside and eating food. Buffaloman scares them and they run away. Buffaloman and Springman take their seats.
Buffaloman says that the Devil Chojin did not enter the tournament to help the Justice Chojin. Buffaloman says that this is not the Devil Chojin breaking the three-way treaty either. They are simply following their leader’s wishes. Teryman asks who is their leader.
NAKANO IS ON THE SCENE! This was awesome. We finally see Nakano and his wife Kimiko. Even a small amount of Nakano is a total joy. We even got to see Nakano’s trademark wig fly off his shiny bald head.
Terryman’s genuinely stunned reaction at Buffaloman’s heel turn was well done. The viewer is intrigued as to why the Devil Chojin have injected themselves into this tournament. Buffaloman makes a point of saying that the Devil Chojin are not violating the three-way treaty. So the viewer is left wondering why Akuma Shogun has ordered his Devil Chojin to intercede in this tournament.
We shift to Kinnikuman still being jumped on by Peek-a-Boo. Kinnikuman is upset that Buffaloman betrayed the Justice Chojin. Buffaloman responds that the Idol Chojin are just too damn nice. That the Justice Chojin cannot fight a real war without a better strategy. Buffaloman says that the Perfect Large Numbers have a superior strategy than the Justice Chojin. Buffaloman points out that the Perfect Chojin already knew that he had rejoined the Devil Chojin. Terryman then looks at the giant TV screen and notices that there is no wrestling ring in Buffaloman’s hometown.
Yup. This is the old Buffaloman that we know and love! Devil Chojin Buffaloman is such a badass. I like that the flaws in the Justice Chojin are being exposed. It is clear to the viewer that the Justice Chojin grew soft and complacent after the Battle for the Throne story arc that concluded the original Kinnikuman manga. The Justice Chojin are behind both the Perfect Chojin and Devil Chojin when it comes to their information and strategy.
We cut back to the Stecasse-King and Turboman match in Red Square. The volume from Stecasse-King’s Devil’s Symphony is causing the buildings around the Red Square to crumble and fall apart. We get a quick bio about Stecasse-King who is a Machine Chojin who is a member of the Devil Chojin. We see that he has a Miracle Backpack loaded with cassette tapes that contain the data of various Chojin. When Stecasse-King plays one of the cassette tapes he gets the powers of the corresponding Chojin on that cassette tape.
I loved the quick bio on Stecasse-King. This was succinctly done and brings new viewers up to speed on Stecasse-King’s special abilities and attacks. This opening attack also gets over Stecasse-King’s Devil’s Symphony as a powerful attack capable of reducing buildings to rubble. Again, we are getting a time-tested pro wrestling approach where the new wrestler needs to be presented strongly when they first appear. This gets the fighter over as a deadly threat and a powerful opponent. The viewer knows to take Stecasse-King seriously as a tough opponent for Turboman.
Stecasse-King then loads another cassette tape. Turboman thinks that Stecasse-King has loaded an old tape of a weak Kinnikuman from three years ago.
We flashback to when Stecasse-King makes the mistake of putting in the old tape of a weak Kinnikuman from three years ago during his match with Kinnikuman. Kinnikuman then pulls off the Kinniku Buster to defeat Stecasse-King.
Turboman attacks Stecasse-King but Stecasse-King easily catches Turboman. Stecasse-King transforms white with black zebra stripes and states that Turboman is wrong. Stecasse-King says the cassette tape was of Kinnikuman Zebra! Stecasse-King pulls Kinnikuman Zebra’s the Muscle Inferno and smashes Turboman into the wall of a nearby building.
Stecasse-King says that he is not walking around with old data. He updated his data with the New Chojin Encylopedia.
The flashback scene was awesome. This helps give viewers unfamiliar with Stecasse-King an important backstory on his character. This flashback scene also helps to show the viewer how much the Devil Chojin has evolved since we last saw them. The flashback scene is well contrasted with the present fight as Stecasse-King reveals his updated data from the New Chojin Encyclopedia. I love that we are seeing these Devil Chojin as constantly evolving and striving to get better and more deadly.
I also went nuts when Stecasse-King transformed into Kinnikuman Zebra! This was such a badass moment. Kinnikuman Zebra is a fantastic character and I loved him during the Battle for the Throne story arc. Seeing Stecasse-King pull off Kinnikuman Zebra’s feared Mscule Inferno was so cool.
Back at the Tokyo Dome, Terryman marvels at how the Devil Chojin have evolved. Suddenly, the crowd starts hearing for the Devil Chojin to defeat the Perfect Large Numbers. Geronimo yells to the crowd that the Devil Chojin are not here to help the Justice Chojin. That the Devil Chojin are fighting for an unknown ulterior motive.
Nakano speaks for the crowd and says that Geronimo may be right, but for now, the crowd trusts the Devil Chojin. Bufaloman marvels at the Devil Chojin being cheered by humans. Buffaloman says that it feels pretty nice.
This was a huge scene. Up to this point, we have never seen the crowd cheer for the Devil Chojin in such a fashion. This helps to position the Devil Chojin as tweeners in this tournament. They are neither babyfaces like the Justice Chojin nor heels like the Perfect Chojin. How the crowd continues to react to the Devil Chojin is going to be interesting.
We zip back to Red Square, Stecasse-King puts in a new cassette tape and transforms into Neptuneman! Stecasse-King impales Turboman with his Neptune Man chest spikes and then pulls off Neptuneman’s Double Leg Suplex and then Neptuneman’s Quarrel Bomber.
Oh man, this fight just keeps getting better and better! It was wonderful to see Stecasse-King transforming into so many incredible Chojins that we have not seen in a while. Neptuneman is my favorite Perfect Chojin. It was hilarious and awesome how Stecasse-King even grew that trademark Hulk Hogan-style mustache when he transformed into Neptuneman!
We cut back to the crowd at the Tokyo Dome cheering for Stecasse-King. Buffaloman comments that it is foolish to discount Stecasse-King and degrade him as an old antique. Springman says that people think that Devil Chojin are cruel and inhumane, but they work hard every day pouring blood and sweat to the point that their power is undeniable.
I also like the fact that Springman makes the point of how the Devil Chojin train hard and put their blood, sweat, and tears into their effort to improve and grow as Chojin. This continues to position the Devil Chojin as tweeners. The viewer is given permission to root for the Devil Chojin due to them having a passion for their craft and a strong work ethic. These are attributes that people naturally admire in others. I dig this more nuanced approach to the Devil Chojin.
We hop back to Red Square and Stecasse-King swaps in a new cassette tape. Stecasse-King transforms into Mammothman! Stecasee-King begins whipping Turboman with his trunk. Stecasse-King pulls off Mammothman’s Big Tusks attack and his tusks grow and impale Turboman on both sides.
As much as I loved seeing Stecasse-King channel Neptuenman, I went nuts when Stecasse-King transformed into Mammothman! Hell yeah! Mammothman is one of my all-time favorite Chojin. We know Mammothman as a Perfect Chojin who served as Kinnikuman Super Phoenix‘s right-hand man during the Battle for the Throne story arc. Mammothman is an absolute tank who destroys everything and everyone in his path. It was cool seeing Stecasse-King deliver several of Mammothman’s famed moves.
Kinnikuman Perfect Origin Arc Episode 4 then wraps up with Stecasse-King putting in a new cassette tape. Stecasse-King transforms into Warsman! Wow. What a great ending to this episode.
Final Thoughts
Kinnikuman Perfect Origin Arc Episode 4 was fantastic. This anime is a ball of fire as it has hit full speed and we now have numerous matches taking place simultaneously. We officially have the Devil Chojin added to the mix with the introduction of the Seven Devil Chojin faction. It is such a blast to see all of these Devil Chojin once again. I love that the Seven Devil Chojin members have dominant entrances which put them over with the viewer as imposing opponents for the Perfect Large Numbers faction.
We also add a new mystery to the story concerning the Devil Chojin’s motivation to enter the tournament. We also have the added drama of Buffaloman turning heel and rejoining the Devil Chojin. All these new wrinkles in the story get the viewer excited for the next episode. There is just as much drama as there is action in Kinnikuman Perfect Origin Arc Episode 4!