The Burning Wild Man (燃える! お兄さん)[2] is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Tadashi Satō. It was serialized in Shueisha's manga magazine Weekly Shōnen Jump from 1987 to 1991, with its chapters collected in 19 volumes. It was later adapted into an anime series by Studio Pierrot. The 24-episode series aired on Nippon Television from March 1988 to September 1988.[2]
Kenichi Kokuho[2] (国宝ケンイチ) became lost in the mountains as a small child. A foster father raised Kenichi; when Kenichi was 15 the foster father told Kenichi about his background and the teenager returned to the civilized world at age 15.
Plot
Characters
Kokuhō Family
- Kenichi Kokuhō (国宝 憲一)
- a.k.a. Onii-san (お兄さん). The main character and a practitioner of Cha Genmai Style Karate.
- Yukie Kokuhō (国宝 雪絵)
- Kenichi's little sister who often acts as his straight man.
- Kenkichi Kokuhō (国宝 憲吉)
- a.k.a. Tou-chan. The head of the Kokuhō family and a potted plant artisan.
- Kenji Kokuhō (国宝 憲二)
- Kenichi's little brother.
- Kaede (かえで)
- The young girl who lived as Kenichi's sister in the mountains.
- Cha Genmai (玄米 茶)
- The old man who found and raised Kenichi and taught him karate.
- Flipper (フリッパー)
- Kenichi's wolf companion from the mountains. He becomes the Kokuhō family pet. His face looks more like a cat face.
Classmates
- Gai Hidō (火堂 害)
- A school delinquent and third generation yakuza of the Hidou Boryokudan Group. He is always depicted with his mouth open in an evil smile. He likes Yukie.
- Sayuri Ayanokouji (綾小路 さゆり)
- Yukie's best friend.
- Rocky Hada (ロッキー羽田)
- A half-Japanese and half-Filipino boy who is highly influenced by American culture and is always wearing flashy outfits.
- Tarō Anausu (穴薄 太郎)
- Jirō Kaisetsu (貝節 次郎)
- Akira Shiranui (不知火 明)
- A pompous student who presents himself as chivalrous and tries to impress girls.
- Sandy Uper (サンディ・ウーパー)
- An American transfer student who is very fascinated by Japanese culture.
Teachers
- Ayako Osanai (小山内 文子)
- Ekkusu Suparutan (酢張丹 悦楠)
Animals
- Duck Nicholson (ダック・ニコルソン)
- a.k.a. Duck-kun (ダックくん).
Others
- Narrator
Video game
In 1989, Toho released an action video game adaptation of the anime for the Famicom, developed by the Advance Communication Company. The game starred Kenichi as the main character, while featuring Hidou, Rocky, and Shiranui as playable characters in some levels. The goal of the game is to rescue Yukie from a dragon simply named Dra Gon.
The game was re-branded with a circus theme and released in North America under the name Circus Caper, also published by Toho. The RPG element with the final boss was removed, the stages and bosses are in different order, and many graphical and musical changes were made to better resemble a circus theme.
External links
References
- Shonen Jump Exhibition Report: The Beginning of a Legend MANGA.TOKYO, retrieved July 29, 2018^
- "The Burning Wild Man ." Studio Pierrot. Retrieved on February 10, 2009.^