is a Japanese media franchise that began with a 1991 manga by

Kei Sadayasu Kei may refer to: People * Kei (given name) * Kei, Cantonese for Ji(姫) * Kei, Cantonese for Qi(奇, 祁, 亓) * Shō Kei (1700–1752), king of the Ryūkyū Kingdom * Kei (singer) (born 1995), stage name of South Korean singer Kim Ji-yeon * P ...

published in

Kodansha is a Japanese privately-held publishing company headquartered in Bunkyō, Tokyo. Kodansha is the largest Japanese publishing company, and it produces the manga magazines ''Nakayoshi'', ''Afternoon'', ''Evening'', ''Weekly Shōnen Magazine'' an ...

's ''

Weekly Morning is a weekly Japanese seinen manga magazine published by Kodansha. It debuted in 1982 as . The digital edition of the magazine is titled . In 2006 a spin-off magazine called was launched (formerly bimonthly), featuring stories like ''Saint ''� ...

''. An anime television series was broadcast in 1992. The series was later adapted to a

video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...

developed and published by

Sega is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational video game and entertainment company headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo. Its international branches, Sega of America and Sega Europe, are headquartered in Irvine, California and London, r ...

for the

Game Gear The is an 8-bit fourth generation handheld game console released by Sega on October 6, 1990, in Japan, in April 1991 throughout North America and Europe, and during 1992 in Australia. The Game Gear primarily competed with Nintendo's Game Boy, ...

and

Mega Drive The Sega Genesis, known as the outside North America, is a 16-bit fourth generation home video game console developed and sold by Sega. It was Sega's third console and the successor to the Master System. Sega released it in 1988 in Japan a ...

. A port was also released on the

Game Boy The is an 8-bit fourth generation handheld game console developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan on April 21, 1989, in North America later the same year, and in Europe in late 1990. It was designed by the same ...

, released by ASK.

Premise

On the first day of the September Professional Sumo Tournament, the new ''yokozuna'' Harimanada enters the ring wearing an eerie mask, surprising the audience. He then declares that he will break

Futabayama was a Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Oita Prefecture. Entering sumo in 1927, he was the sport's 35th ''yokozuna'' from 1937 until his retirement in 1945. He won twelve ''yūshō'' or top division championships and had a winning streak ...

's streak of 69 consecutive wins, and that he would retire on the spot if he loses even once. This invokes the wrath of the

Japan Sumo Association The is the body that operates and controls professional sumo wrestling (called ''Ōzumō'', 大相撲) in Japan under the jurisdiction of the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT). ''Rikishi'' (active ...

and makes an enemy of all ''

makuuchi , or , is the top division of the six divisions of professional sumo. Its size is fixed at 42 wrestlers (''rikishi''), ordered into five ranks according to their ability as defined by their performance in previous tournaments. This is the on ...

'' wrestlers.

Characters

;Isao Harimanada (播磨灘勲 (はりまなだいさお)) / Isao Yamagata (山形勲 (やまがたいさお) :Voiced by

Akio Ōtsuka is a Japanese actor, voice actor and narrator from the Tokyo Metropolitan area. He is attached to Mausu Promotion. The astringent and calm quality of his deep voice has landed him many roles in films, dubbing, animation, and video games. He is ...

:The protagonist. Stands at 6'0" and weighs 335 pounds. ;Raikō (雷光 (らいこう) :Voiced by Kenichi Ogata :Harimanada's master. ;Atagoyama (愛宕山 (あたごやま) :Voiced by

Yuzuru Fujimoto was a Japanese voice actor. Filmography Television animation ;1960s *'' Gigantor'' (1963) – Narrator *''Ōgon Bat'' (1967) – Narrator *'' Yōkai Ningen Bem'' (1968) – Narrator ;1970s *'' Science Ninja Team Gatchaman'' (1972) – A detec ...

:The Chairman of the Sumo Association. He is modeled after Wakanohana, the then-incumbent head of the real-life Sumo Association. ;Yasokichi Fugaku (富嶽八十吉 (ふがくやそきち) / Iote Iyaokea :Voiced by Masahiro Anzai :A mountainous 550-pound

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

an ''ozeki''. He is modeled after

Konishiki Saleva'a Fuauli Atisano'e (born December 31, 1963), professionally known as is an American former sumo wrestler.Franz LidzMeat Bomb, 05.18.92 - ''Sports Illustrated'' He was the first non-Japanese-born wrestler to reach '' ōzeki'', the second- ...

Media

E&G Film produced an anime television series based on the manga, titled . It was directed by Norio Osada. The series premiered in Japan on

TV Tokyo JOTX-DTV (channel 7), branded as and known colloquially as , is a television station headquartered in the Sumitomo Fudosan Roppongi Grand Tower in Roppongi, Minato, Tokyo, Japan, owned and operated by the subsidiary of listed certified b ...

on April 23, 1992, and ran for 23 episodes until its conclusion on October 1, 1992. ''Aah! Harimanada'' is notable as an animated series based on the rare theme of sumo wrestling; following the end of the series' broadcast, no other such series would be produced until the premiere of '' Rowdy Wrestler!! Matsutaro'' in 2014. ''Aah! Harimanada'' was adapted into three video games of the same name in 1993. A

title was developed by

and released on July 2. A

title by Ask Kodansha was released on July 23. Sega also developed a title for the

that was released on September 3. The Mega Drive game was criticized for its "poor responsiveness" and "boring gameplay". British gaming magazine

Sega Pro ''Sega Pro'' was the first publication from Paragon Publishing and catered for the Sega consoles: the Master System, Game Gear and the Mega Drive. Early editorial staff included Dominic Handy (editor), Les Ellis (games editor), Dave Perry (de ...

rated the Mega Drive version 59 out of 100.

References

External links

*
Anime info page at AllCinema.net
* {{Series in Morning 1991 manga 1992 anime television series debuts 1992 Japanese television series endings 1993 video games Anime series based on manga Game Boy games Japan-exclusive video games Kodansha manga Manga adapted into television series Game Gear games Sega Genesis games Seinen manga Sports video games Sumo mass media TV Tokyo original programming Video games based on anime and manga Sumo anime and manga