is a Japanese media franchise that began with a 1991 manga by Kei Sadayasu published in
Kodansha
is a Japanese privately held publishing company headquartered in Bunkyō, Tokyo. Kodansha publishes manga magazines which include ''Nakayoshi'', ''Morning (magazine), Morning'', ''Afternoon (magazine), Afternoon'', ''Evening (magazine), Eveni ...
's ''
Weekly Morning
is a weekly Japanese seinen manga magazine published by Kodansha. It debuted in 1982 as and was rebranded as Morning in 1991 while still maintaining its weekly publication tradition. The digital edition of the magazine is titled . It is the sis ...
''. An anime television series was broadcast in 1992. The series was later adapted to a
video game
A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...
developed and published by
Sega
is a Japanese video game company and subsidiary of Sega Sammy Holdings headquartered in Tokyo. It produces several List of best-selling video game franchises, multi-million-selling game franchises for arcade game, arcades and video game cons ...
for the
Game Gear
The is an 8-bit Fourth generation of video game consoles, fourth-generation handheld game console released by Sega on October 6, 1990 in Japan, in April 1991 throughout North America and Europe, and in 1992 in Australia. The Game Gear primarily ...
and
Mega Drive
The Sega Genesis, known as the outside North America, is a 16-bit Fourth generation of video game consoles, fourth generation home video game console developed and sold by Sega. It was Sega's third console and the successor to the Master Sys ...
. A port was also released on the
Game Boy
The is a handheld game console developed by Nintendo, launched in the Japanese home market on April 21, 1989, followed by North America later that year and other territories from 1990 onwards. Following the success of the Game & Watch single-ga ...
, 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 (sumo), yokozuna'' from 1937 until his retirement in 1945. He won twelve ''yūshō'' or top division championships and had ...
'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 , officially the ; sometimes abbreviated JSA or NSK, and more usually called Sumo Kyōkai, is the governing body that operates and controls Professional sports, professional sumo wrestling, called , in Japan under the jurisdiction of the Min ...
and makes an enemy of all ''
makuuchi
, or , is the top division of Professional sumo divisions, 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 ...
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 i ...
: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
: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 ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...
an ''ozeki''. He is modeled after
Konishiki
Saleva'a Fuauli Atisano'e (born December 31, 1963), better known by his stage name, , is an American-born Japanese former professional sumo wrestler. Franz LidzMeat Bomb, 05.18.92 - ''Sports Illustrated'' He was the first non-Japanese-born wrest ...
.
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 is a Japanese television station that serves as the flagship of the TX Network.Rowdy Wrestler!! Matsutaro'' in 2014.
''Aah! Harimanada'' was adapted into three video games of the same name in 1993. A
Game Gear
The is an 8-bit Fourth generation of video game consoles, fourth-generation handheld game console released by Sega on October 6, 1990 in Japan, in April 1991 throughout North America and Europe, and in 1992 in Australia. The Game Gear primarily ...
title was developed by
Sega
is a Japanese video game company and subsidiary of Sega Sammy Holdings headquartered in Tokyo. It produces several List of best-selling video game franchises, multi-million-selling game franchises for arcade game, arcades and video game cons ...
and released on July 2. A
Game Boy
The is a handheld game console developed by Nintendo, launched in the Japanese home market on April 21, 1989, followed by North America later that year and other territories from 1990 onwards. Following the success of the Game & Watch single-ga ...
title by Ask Kodansha was released on July 23. Sega also developed a title for the
Mega Drive
The Sega Genesis, known as the outside North America, is a 16-bit Fourth generation of video game consoles, fourth generation home video game console developed and sold by Sega. It was Sega's third console and the successor to the Master Sys ...
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 ...