"Muscle Man"[4]) is a Japanese manga series created by the duo Yoshinori Nakai and Takashi Shimada, known as Yudetamago.

Many of Kinnikuman's allies begin as villains (Ramenman, Buffalo Man, Ashuraman and Warsman) or arrogant heroes (Terryman, Robin Mask and Wolfman).

After 28 years of peace, the Seigi Choujins' (Muscle League) old enemies regroup and form the Demon Manufacturing Plant (dMp, known in the English version as Destruction, Mayhem and Pain).

Recognizing their weakness, the Seigi Chojin reopen the Hercules Factory (a school for superheroes) and begin training a new generation of heroes to take on the dMp.

They also battle Sunshine and his pupils, who destroy the dMp after developing a renewed respect for the fighting spirit of the Seigi Choujins.

The manga continues with the New Generation Replacement Tournament, Mantaro's challenge to master his inherited potential (Kajiba no Kuso Chikara, "burning inner strength" or "the fire"), the return of the Chojin Olympics, a fight with the Demon Seed (a villainous group), a backstory for Robin Mask and a tag-team tournament set in the past.

Although the manga begins as a fairly lighthearted, humorous (albeit violent) story, later arcs (the No Respect and Demon Seed storylines in particular) have a darker tone and frequently deal with psychological trauma.

Yoshinori Nakai and Takashi Shimada (collectively known as "Yudetamago"), friends since fourth grade,[1] decided to create a manga series in high school.

[5] Despite the title, the series only began regular publication on November 28, 2011, in Shū Play News, Shueisha's web version of Weekly Playboy.

no Maki" (The 'Goodbye, Kinnikuman' Story) appeared in Weekly Shōnen Jump, depicting these supermen's arrival during the main character's retirement ceremony.

[49][50] To continue Ultimate Muscle: The Kinnikuman Legacy's storyline, Kyūkyoku no Chōjin Tag Hen[Jp 12] was published in serial form from 2004 to 2011[51] and released in 28 tankōbon from November 18, 2005, to December 19, 2011.

[52][53] A feminized version of the series, Kinnikuman Lady[Jp 13], was created by Masashi Ogawa and began as a webcomic on the Ultra Jump Egg site in June 2008.

[62][63] On January 9, 2002, Kinnikuman: Second Generation premiered; the 51-episode series aired until December 25 of that year,[64] and was released on 12 DVDs from September 21, 2002, to August 8, 2003.

[67][68] In 2003 a 13-episode sequel primarily focused on non-Japanese audiences was announced;[69] it aired on FoxBox in North America,[70] and from April 7 to June 30, 2004, in Japan.

[79] It was later confirmed to be a television series, titled Kinnikuman Perfect Origin Arc (キン肉マン 完璧超人始祖編, Kinnikuman Kanpeki Chōjin Shiso-hen), based on the 2011 revival manga's arc of the same name, produced by Production I.G and directed by Akira Sato, with Makoto Fukami in charge of series composition, Hirotaka Marufuji designing the characters and Yasuharu Takanashi composing the music.

The first (eponymous) film was released at the Anime Fair on July 14, 2001[87][88] and the second, Kinnikuman II Sei: Muscle Ninjin Sōdatsu!

[97][98] As it attracted the Northern American market's interest, it was brought out by Mattel under the name M.U.S.C.L.E., and a total of 236 figures were traded domestically in the 1980s.

[100] Aside from this most known series of products, a myriad of other Kinnikuman-based merchandise were released both in Japan and in the America, which vary from action figures[101][102] to plush dolls,[103] from key holders[104][105] to pen drives,[106][107] from picture books[108][109] to trading card games.

[note 5] Between 2008 and 2010, five volumes of Kinnikuman II Sei: Kyūkyoku no Chōjin Tag Hen also ranked on Oricon's top 30 list.

[4] Despite being considered "too old to be marketable on American television" by 4Kids in the 2000s,[148] the 2008 Kinnikuman complete box set had 25,000 reservation requests by August in Japan.

[1] Liann Cooper of the Anime News Network said that the "artwork alone is enough to clothesline itself and the whole concept of superhero wrestlers is like a manga-fied Mucha Lucha", but Ultimate Muscle "is actually pretty funny".

[160] Assassination Classroom's Yūsei Matsui cited it as one of his favorite manga,[161] while Yoshihiro Togashi was influenced by Kinnikuman on shifting the focus of his Yu Yu Hakusho from occult detective fiction to the martial arts genre based on a similar shift Kinnikuman did from comedy to action.

2008 martial arts event at the Saitama Super Arena, Bob Sapp fought Kid Muscle (played by Akihiko Tanaka) in an MMA match.

[164] Toei Animation announced a Kinnikumania 2009 wrestling event, scheduled at the JCB Hall in Tokyo Dome City on May 29, 2009, for the manga's 30th anniversary.

[165] Kinnikuman's enduring popularity is also shown by it being used to co-promote Green Lantern in 2011 for the Japanese release of the film,[166] and other characters of it appearing other merchandise, such as a series-themed onigiri,[167] and a pollen mask advertisement.