Tiger Mask
4 /10 1 Votes
Director Ken Ochiai | Duration | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Release date November 9, 2013 (2013-11-09) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Tiger Mask (Japanese: タイガーマスク, Hepburn: Taigā Masuku) 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 1971 and was later published in Weekly Shōnen Magazine from 1970 to 1971. It was later adapted into an anime series by Toei Animation which first aired on Yomiuri TV on October 2, 1969 and ended its run on September 30, 1971, airing 105 episodes. In real life, the name has been used by a succession of Japanese professional wrestling characters as a gimmick. The Tiger Mask persona is instantly recognizable by its trademark mask, designed to look like a tiger's head, as well as the combination of high flying attacks and martial arts in the ring.
Contents
- Plot
- Tiger Mask and His Comrades
- Chibikko House
- Tigers Den
- Other characters
- Publication history
- Films
- Video games
- Cultural influences
- References
Plot
In the manga and anime, Tiger Mask (whose real name was Naoto Date) was a feared heel wrestler in America who was extremely vicious in the ring. However, he became a face after returning to Japan when a young boy said that he wanted to be a villain like Tiger Mask when he grew up. The boy resided in an orphanage, the same one that Tiger Mask grew up in during his childhood. Feeling that he did not want the boy to idolize a villain, Tiger was inspired to be a heroic wrestler.
The main antagonist in the manga and anime was the Tiger's Den, a mysterious organization that trained young people to be villainous wrestlers on the condition that they gave half of their earnings to the organization. Tiger Mask was once a member of the Tiger's Den under the name "Yellow Devil", but no longer wanted anything to do with them, instead donating his money to the orphanage. This infuriated the leader of the organization and he sent numerous assassins, including other professional wrestlers, to punish him.
Though victorious, Naoto eventually dies while saving a child. He pushes him out of the way of a speeding car, only to be hit by the car himself. Dying, he pulls his tiger mask from his pocket and throws it into a nearby river, preserving the secret of his identity.
In Tiger Mask II (タイガーマスク二世), a new opponent called "Outer Space Mask" bullies his way into the ring without representing any wrestling federation. Tatsuo Aku, once an orphan child from the "house of the children", was a fan of Naoto. He would put on his old hero's mask to become the new Tiger Mask.
Tiger Mask and His Comrades
Chibikko House
Tiger's Den
Mister X is the main antagonist of the series.
The Boss is the leader of the Tiger's Den. He makes his first appearance disguised as the unbelievably strong fighter Miracle 3, the only fighter with total supremacy in the three fundamental abilities (strength, speed and illegal moves). Miracle 3 wins every fight in a clear and correct way, studying Tiger Mask style against some fighters chosen by him. The night of September 3, 1971, when he finally fights with Tiger Mask, he reassumes his old name: Tiger the Great.
Tiger the Great is too strong even for Naoto. The match rapidly becomes a brutal beatdown, culminating when Tiger the Great rips the mask off Naoto's face with a broken wood board. This act snaps the already fragile mind of Naoto, driving him to an escalation of violence that stops only with the death of Tiger the Great, smashed under the illumination stage.
The third master of the Tiger's Den. He was considered the strongest fighter ever. He was forced to retire because nobody was capable to fight him on an even basis. Adding to his considerable technique, King Tiger is the absolute master of illegal moves. The night of March 25, 1971, his fight with Tiger Mask rapidly escalates to a real bloodbath. In the end, King Tiger dies impaling himself on the jagged remains of a table.
Other characters
Ring announcer and narrator.
Publication history
The manga was originally created for the Bokura and Weekly Shōnen Magazine in 1968 by Ikki Kajiwara and Naoki Tsuji. The manga would be reprinted by Kodansha comics, and made available in Hong Kong. Further versions include Sankei Comics and the Kodansha KC Special. The anime would be televised nationally in Japan, while two movies would be constructed from reusing footage of the series. Most of the environment and characters were fictional, but real-life pro wrestlers like Antonio Inoki, Giant Baba, Michiaki Yoshimura, Kintaro Ohki and Seiji Sakaguchi were included in the manga and anime as well.
On March 3, 2016, New Japan Pro Wrestling announced the revival of the Tiger Mask anime series. The series, entitled Tiger Mask W, is set to premiere on TV Asahi in October 2016. It is also currently streaming on Crunchyroll, marking it as the first Tiger Mask anime available to American viewers. This new series is the exclusive sequel of the anime version and completely ignores Tiger Mask II, which is the sequel of the manga because confirms the death of Naoto Date. In fact, this death isn't confirmed.
Films
The movies were titled as such in English when exported outside Japan. They are not actual translations.
Video games
While the Tiger Mask character has shown up in quite a number of wrestling video games such as Fire Pro Wrestling D, Toukon Retsuden 3, Sunday vs Magazine: Shūketsu! Chōjō Daikessen, and Virtual Pro Wrestling 64, the video games are not directly based on the story of the manga or anime.
The Tekken video game series has a character named King who is an homage of Tiger Mask, except King wears a jaguar mask instead.
Street Fighter II, in its early concept design stages, had a very similar homage to Tiger Mask in its character roster.