Plawres Sanshiro
Plawres Sanshiro is a Japanese manga series written by Jirō Gyū and illustrated by Minoru Kamiya. It was serialized in the Akita Shoten magazine Weekly Shōnen Champion from 1982 to 1985. An anime television series adaptation was broadcast from 1983 to 1984. The name is a shortened derivative of "Plastic Model Wrestling Sanshiro" and the visuals of the characters, in particular the PlaWrestler robots, were different from the manga.
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 SugataSanshiro 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. As the series, progresses, Sanshiro learns to think more rationally and care for others.
; Kyoko Fubuki
Kyoko is Sanshiro's friend and later love interest. She is an assistant judo instructor at the Sugata family dojo. An energetic and outspoken girl, she does not hesitate to scold Sanshiro whenever he makes a mistake. Her PlaWrestler is.
; Shota Yamaguchi
Shota is Sanshiro's best friend, whose job is collecting information of any kind, particularly on rival modelers. Shota is hyperactive, 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. 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 SugataSanshiro's grandfather and judo master of the local dojo. Kennosuke is initially critical of Sanshiro's PlaWrestling exploits, preferring him to practice judo and eventually succeed him as dojo master instead. 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, 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 intelligent remarks to many of her elders.
; Kenichiro Sugata
Sanshiro's late father, whose research created PlaWrestling. His 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 complete his father's research.
Antagonists
; José GarciaThe main antagonist, a ruthless arms dealer who manipulates the PlaWrestling scene worldwide by funding and bribing its officials. He tries to exploit PlaWrestling technology to develop robotic super-soldiers. It is implied he is responsible for the accident that took the life of Sanshiro's father.
; Ballesteros
Chairman of the World PlaWresting Association and henchman to José Garcia. A self-important man who manipulates the Association, its Japanese branch and the Fighting-type Modeler League to further Garcia's ends.
; Sheila Misty
An enigmatic woman who spies on Sanshiro and manipulates events to force him to give up PlaWrestling. She works for José Garcia, who has convinced her that he will heal her brother Mash's legs. After she realises Garcia's deception, Sheila becomes an ally of Sanshiro.
; Gendou Kurosaki
Boisterous and self-important, Kurosaki is Japan's national PlaWrestling champion for three consecutive years and the region's foremost Fighting-Type modeler, following the philosophy of winning at any cost. He becomes a fierce rival of Sanshiro after he loses to him in the first episode. Later on, Kurosaki becomes more sympathetic after seeing the troubles Sanshiro has to overcome and ends up his ally.
Other characters
; Cynog NaritaThe region's foremost Hobby-type modeler, viewing PlaWrestling as a contest of skill and placing the well-being of one's PlaWrestler 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 sends 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.
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