Dive into an exclusive interview with Tetsuya Kinoshita of PONY CANYON as he shares the behind-the-scenes journey of bringing Kinnikuman back to life with the Perfect Origin Arc. From honoring a legacy cherished by fans for decades to tackling the challenges of introducing the series to a new global audience, discover how the team has reimagined this iconic tale while staying true to its roots. The highly anticipated anime is set to stream globally on January 13th at 0:30 AM (JST), and will be available worldwide on Netflix.
Could you please just introduce yourselves?
Tetsuya Kinoshita: My name is Tetsuya Kinoshita from PONY CANYON. I am in charge of business-centered production while serving as a lead manager of the Animation Production Committee. I work closely with Mr. Kuroki from Production I.G, the animation producer, on the content of the animation.
Did you get any feedback from fans after the first season?
Tetsuya Kinoshita: In Japan, Kinnikuman is a nationally famous title and probably all the men in their 40s know the title. People in this generation get excited when talking about Kinnikuman at gatherings, and many of them remember the stories and gags about Chojin very well. I think it is a very rare work in the way.
I was surprised to receive many comments from people in the anime industry, such as: well done, I didn’t expect it to be animated again, and I’m so jealous, etc.
I think the first thing that surprised the fans was the fact that they could see an anime of Kinnikuman again in this day and age. I guess there was a lot of anticipation of the fans wondering how the current animation technology would be able to reproduce it.
We aimed to faithfully reproduce the original manga in the anime, and by seeing the reactions on SNS, I believe that our intention was able to be well-conveyed to the fans and moved them.
Kinnikuman has a long history, both in terms of the original manga and the anime. What were you aware of when you decided to animate it in 2024?
Tetsuya Kinoshita: This time, since it is not a remake but a sequel from the previously animated part, the challenge was how to incorporate the previous story and settings.
We made “episode 0” as a recap of the past stories, with a brand-new drawing style, featuring the main characters of the new series “Perfect Origin Arc.” There were actually many times more pages of storyboard than those for one average episode, and I thought it was almost unfeasible to put all the recap story in just 30 minutes.
To entertain the fans even more, we asked the lead voice actor Mamoru Miyano to cover a theme song called “Kinnikuman Go Fight!”, which is from a past series, and we used it for episode 0.
Perfect Origin Arc. includes many cases where stories are based on the past series regarding Chojin’s stories, so we inserted scenes featuring each Chojin to convey as much of their settings and backgrounds as possible.
In Japan, the original comics are available and the anime can be viewed on various platforms, it may not be easy to reach out for these things in other countries, so we are thinking hard about how we can supplement them for the fans abroad.
Please tell us about any episodes that left a lasting impression on you during the production of the anime.
Tetsuya Kinoshita: I would say episodes 0 and 9 (are the most impressive).
In Season 1, the Idol Chojin who are popular in this anime do not appear until episode 11. Therefore, I think it was a great idea to incorporate a part of the original story that had not been animated yet, in episode 0, where they look back on the past and have a conversation in one ring.
Many of the cast members knew the history of the original story, and there was a lot of excitement at the recording studio for episode 0, where someone had to voice a character that only appeared in episode 0, and there was a battle over who would get to voice the character.
In episode 9, Akira Kamiya, who played Kinnikuman in the past series, appeared as Kamehame, who is Kinnikuman’s master.
There was a recreation of a past episode in which he passed down his skills from Kamehame to Kinnikuman, and the scene in which the two voices synchronized to say one line was very well done, making it seem like an important scene that carries on the history of the old and new Kinnikuman.
Kinnikuman entertained a lot of people at Anime Expo this year. Can we expect more events like this for overseas fans in the future?
Tetsuya Kinoshita: “Kinnikuman Perfect Origin Arc” is a series that will continue for a long time. There are still many members of the staff and cast that we have not been able to introduce at overseas events, so we will continue to seek opportunities to see the overseas fans in person.
Sumire Uesaka, who plays Meat, will participate in “Taipei International Comics & Animation Festival” in February! Please come and join the event if you can! Ms. Uesaka is a weekly Kinnikuman radio personality in Japan and has become a very popular program.
What is a highlight of Kinnikuman for you?
Tetsuya Kinoshita: This is a story about an entertainment that transcends borders and races, non-human Seigi Chojin living on Earth fight in the ring against Akuma Chojin and Perfect Chojin in order to protect their countries and the Earth. The appearance and setting of each Chojin is unique, and their special moves are also unique and cool.Production I.G has animated such special moves and actions that are impossible for humans to reproduce, like Cirque du Soleil does. We hope you can actually experience such a world once.
Could you share some final thoughts for fans eagerly anticipating the premiere of the 2nd season?
Tetsuya Kinoshita: As a sequel to the past series, many of you may find it difficult to get into this work from the middle of the series, but from this January, the most popular Seigi Chojin in the series will continue their matches, so I would be happy if you could watch it, even for its flashy appearance and interesting action as a start!
We will keep thinking of ways to look back on the past series so that people can deepen their understanding of Kinnikuman. Also, I dream that one day “Kinkeshi Gacha Gacha” will become popular all over the world, spreading the works of Kinnikuman not only to adults, but also to children. Thank you for your support!
Official Trailer:
STAFF:
Original Work: Yudetamago(Being serialized in “Weekly Playboy” & “Shupure News”, Shueisha)
Director: Akira Sato
Assistant Director: Jun Soga
Series Composition: Makoto Fukami
Character Design: Hirotaka Marufuji
Animation Supervisor: Mamoru Yokota
Action Supervisor: Masami Obari
Prop Design: Yoshinori Iwanaga
Art Design: Osamu Ii
Art Director: Satoru Hirayanagi
Color Setting: Sayo Mogi
Director of Photography: Keiichi Saito
Editing: Yoshinori Murakami
Sound Director: Yuichi Imaizumi
Music: Yasuharu Takanashi
Animation Producer: Rui Kuroki
Animation Production: Production I.G
CAST:
Kinnikuman: Mamoru Miyano
Meat: Sumire Uesaka
Terryman: Daisuke Ono
Robin Mask: Katsuyuki Konishi
Warsman: Yuki Kaji
Ramenman: Tomokazu Seki
Brocken Jr.: Jun Kasama
Buffaloman: Hiroki Yasumoto
Black Hole: Toshiya Miyata
Springman: Hiroyuki Yoshino
Turbomen: Kenji Nojima
Crushman: Yusuke Tomioka
Nemesis: Takeshi Kusao
Grim Reaper: Junichi Suwabe
Marvelous: Yoshihisa Kawahara
Jack Chi: Shinobu Matsumoto
Polarman: Takashi Matsuyama
Akuma Shogun: Toshiyuki Morikawa
Neptuneman: Tomokazu Sugita
Mayumi Kinniku/Prince Kamehame: Akira Kamiya
Chairperson: Toshio Furukawa
Knock: Hideo Ishikawa
Announcer: Shinichiro Ota
Official Website: https://kin29man-anime.com/
Official X: https://twitter.com/kin29man_anime
Streaming Information:
“Kinnikuman Perfect Origin Arc Season 2” will be streaming globally on January 13th at 0:30 AM (JST)!
PONY CANYON ANIME (English):
https://x.com/ponycan_anime
https://www.instagram.com/ponycan_anime/
https://www.tiktok.com/@ponycan_anime
© Yudetamago/Shueisha, Kinnikuman Production Committee
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