We have some big news about the new Kinnikuman: Perfect Origin Arc anime headed our way from Production I.G.
Character Announcements
First, the various characters slated to appear in the anime were released along with the voice actors for each character.
Release Dates
The official Kinnikuman website states that the new anime will air on CBC/TBS affiliated 28 stations nationwide starting July 7th, 2024. However, what is more important to those of us living outside of Japan is the fact that Netflix has acquired the licensing and streaming rights for the new Kinnikuman anime. Now, the bad news is that Netflix has not revealed its international release plans for the new anime. At this point, the new Kinnikuman anime is set to debut on Netflix in Japan on July 8th, 2024.
I am hoping that Netflix pulls the trigger on releasing Kinnikuman: Perfect Origin Arc in the United States. It should be rather cheap and easy to simply slap some subtitles on the anime and release it in America. I am not picky! I do not demand an English dub version of this anime. As a die-hard Kinnikuman fan, I will gladly take a subtitled version of this anime.
This is such an easy thing for Netflix to do that I see no reason why this will not happen. I know that Kinnikuman is not mainstream in the United States. However, the Kinnikuman franchise has a long history in the U.S. We already published a detailed history of the Kinnikuman franchise.
Kinnikuman History in the U.S.
The extremely short version is that we got the Kinnikuman toys divorced from the anime when Mattel imported Kinkeshi figures of the Kinnikumna manga in 1985. Mattel rebranded the toys as M.U.S.C.L.E. and referred to Kinnikuman as “Muscle Man” which is the English translation of the Japanese word “Kinnikuman.” In 1986, the United States got a Kinnikuman Nintendo video game rebranded under the M.U.S.C.L.E. brand name.
In 2002, 4Kids brought over the Kinnikuman Nisei anime and rebranded it as Ultimate Muscle: The Kinnikuman Legacy. The cartoon was such a hit in the United States that we even got additional episodes made just for the United States! Ultimate Muscle ran from 2002-2004. We also got Ultimate Muscle video games for the Sony PlayStation 2 and Nintendo Game Cube. The United States also received a toy line by Bandai that consisted of some awesome 6-inch tall articulated action figures, new Kinkeshi toys, and an Ultimate Muscle card game.
As a result, you will have plenty of both Gen X’ers and Millenials with warm nostalgic memories for the Kinnikuman franchise. These connections between the Kinnikuman franchise and the United States are more than enough to encourage Netflix to release the Kinnikuman: Perfect Origin Arc anime here in America.
I also think that this new Kinnikuman anime would be popular. Kinnikuman combines two genres that are incredibly popular in the United States: superheroes and professional wrestling. C’mon, Netflix! Make this happen!
Perfect Origin Arc Story
Anyway, here is how Pony Canyon describes the story of Kinnikuman: Perfect Origin Arc anime:
Prince Kinnikuman, who came to Earth from Kinnikusei, a planet at the end of the universe, was always
ridiculed by humans as a useless Chojin. However, by chance, he was given the right to participate in the
Chojin World Cup, a tournament to determine the world’s best Chojin, and by a miracle, he won the
championship. The following year, he even won it again!
Since then, he has become a central figure among Seigi Chojin who protects the peace of the universe. He has managed to defeat the raging forces of the enemy, including Akuma Chojin who plans to rule the world, and Perfect Chojin who aims to wipe out the weak Chojin on Earth, with the power of friendship with his friends, including Terryman and Robin Mask.
In recognition of his achievements, Kinnikuman wins the “Survival Match for the Kinnikusei Throne,” the final test of his career, and is crowned the 58th Great King of Kinnikusei! He returned to his home planet from Earth, got married, and said goodbye to eight years of fighting. About a year and a half later, the entire universe was supposed to be at peace…
The trailers released so far have shown off great artwork and animation courtesy of Production I.G. Check out the latest trailer below. I love that we are getting so gorgeous updated artwork for these classic Kinnikuman characters. This anime blows away the original Kinnikuman anime.
This new anime series adapts the Perfect Origin Arc of Yudetamago’s Kinnikuman revival manga which began serialization in 2011. The Kinnikuman series ranks 31st, just behind Yu Yu Hakusho, on the list of best-selling manga series of all time, with over 77 million copies. I have been reading the scanlations of the new Kinnikuman manga since 2011. It has been fantastic. I would love to be able to purchase the licensed version of this manga if Shueisha would ever release it here in the States.
What was particularly nice to hear about the new Kinnikuman anime is that it will begin with a recap special to make things easier for newcomers to the series. This is brilliant. After all, those of us in the United States only got the story for Kinnikuman Nisei and not the story of the original Kinnikuman anime from the 1980s. For viewers who want to know more about the original Kinnikuman story, you can easily find scanlations of the original Kinnikuman manga. Again, I would buy the licensed manga if Shueisha released it here.
The use of a recap special of the original series with new animation. This will allow old fans to refresh their memory about the story. It will also allow new fans to easily jump aboard the new Kinnikuman anime without feeling confused. I love this approach so that it makes this anime accessible to as wide a range of viewers as possible.
Most American viewers will only know the story from the Ultimate Muscle anime. Therefore, employing a recap special to start the series should encourage Netflix to release the new Kinnikumna anime in the United States. I hope this helps the Kinnikuman franchise gain new fans outside of Japan.
I am so pumped up for this anime! I will pray to the manga gods every night that Netflix rolls this anime out to us in the States!