, also known as ''The Demon of Kickboxing'', is a manga written by

Ikki Kajiwara , known by the pen names and , was a Japanese author, manga writer, and film producer. He is known for the work about sports and martial arts, with images of heroic young men with the occasional fine details as he moves from one topic to anoth ...

and illustrated by Kentaro Nakajou. It was based on the life of the kickboxer

Tadashi Sawamura was a Japanese kickboxer whose real name was . He was one of the first popular participants in the sport, and enjoyed great fame throughout his career. He is sometimes credited with sustaining the early boom in the popularity of kickboxing. ...

History

Written by Ikki Kajiwara and illustrated by Kentaro Nakajou, the manga was published in 1969 in the magazine ''Shōnen King''. It received an anime television series in 1970 that ran until 1971 by

Toei Animation () is a Japanese animation studio primarily controlled by its namesake Toei Company. It has produced numerous series, including ''Sally the Witch,'' '' GeGeGe no Kitarō,'' '' Mazinger Z'', '' Galaxy Express 999'', '' Cutie Honey'', '' Dr. Slu ...

. Ikki Kajiwara is known for his other sports manga, one of them,

Ashita no Joe is a Japanese boxing manga series written by Asao Takamori (a pen name of Japanese author and manga writer Ikki Kajiwara, and one that's a variation on his real name) and illustrated by Tetsuya Chiba. The story follows a young man named ...

, is illustrated by Tetsuya Chiba and was published between 1968 and 1973 in

Weekly Shōnen Magazine is a weekly ''shōnen'' manga anthology published on Wednesdays in Japan by Kodansha, first published on March 17, 1959. The magazine is mainly read by an older audience, with a significant portion of its readership falling under the male hig ...

. The staff at Toei found it easier to animate ''Oni'' after gaining experience with physical contact sports anime ''

Tiger Mask is a Japanese manga series written by Ikki Kajiwara and illustrated by Naoki Tsuji. The series was first published in Kodansha's ''Bokura Magazine'' from 1968 to 1970 and was later published in ''Weekly Shōnen Magazine'' from 1970 to ...

'' (also written by Kajiwara).

Plot

The series chronicled the true story of kickboxer

. In this series, Tadashi Sawamura, was an arrogant karate fighter who was defeated by a kickboxer, leaving Sawamura in a mild coma. Once in the hospital and recovering from the coma, his opponent's kickboxing trainer Noguchi, came to his hospital room and convinced Sawamura to become a kickboxer. To which after some rigorous training, he learned a devastating finishing move: "The Jumping Vacuum Knee" (Shinku tobi hiza geri).

Cast

* Koji Asakura as

Kiyoshi Kobayashi Kiyoshi, (きよし or キヨシ), is a Japanese given name, also spelled Kyoshi. Possible meanings *'' Kyōshi'', a form of Japanese poetry *Kyōshi, a Japanese honorific Possible writings *清, "cleanse" *淳, "pure" *潔, "undefiled" *清志, ...

Osamu Noguchi (24 January 1934 - 9 May 2016) is often credited for creating the sport and the term kickboxing. Biography Osamu Noguchi family moved to Shanghai in 1938 at the invitation of Yoshio Kodama, Noguchi spent his childhood being entertained by Jap ...

Michiko Nomura is a Japanese actress and voice actress. Career Nomura was previously affiliated with Tokyo Actor's Consumer's Cooperative Society, then Aoni Production and now she is affiliated with Ken Production, an agency founded by the late Kenji Utsumi ...

as Etsuko *

Minori Matsushima was a Japanese actress, voice actress and narrator that worked for Aoni Production. She was most known for the roles of Candice White Adley (''Candy Candy''), Hiyoko Isu (''The Song of Tentomushi''), Alexandria Meat (''Kinnikuman''), Sayaka Y ...

as Youko * Yuuji Nishimoto as Hideki

References

External links

* 1970 anime television series debuts 1971 Japanese television series endings Anime series based on manga TBS Television (Japan) original programming Karate in anime and manga Kickboxing television series {{anime-tv-series-stub