Ramenman (ラーメンマン), or Victory Ramenman (美来斗利偉・拉麺男, Bikutorī Rāmenman) as he was later known, is a fictional character in Yudetamago's manga and anime series' Kinnikuman, Tatakae!! Ramenman, and Kinnikuman Nisei.
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Ramenman was a Chinese Choujin (superhuman) who specialized in Kung Fu and technical wrestling. He claims to know over 1,000 different techniques. He has an oval-shaped face with a Fu Manchu moustache and wears a queue hairstyle. On his forehead is the kanji 中 (Chū), which is the first character in 中国 (Chūgoku), the Japanese word for China. Unlike most Choujins he lacks a muscular body and instead possesses an athletic build, particularly in the earlier chapters when he had a bony and slender build and his cheekbones stuck out. In his early appearances he spoke in a kyōwago dialect.
During the time of his first appearance (20th Choujin Olympics Arc), he is known as the Most Zangyaku Choujin (残虐超人, Brutal Superman) and kills many of his opponents, but as the series progresses he fights as a Seigi Choujin (正義超人, Justice Superman). During his Zangyaku Choujin days, he was a gentleman after leaving the ring and even disliked using weapons.
At one point in the series, he is in a vegetative state due to a severe head injury. So he assumes the identity of Mongolman (モンゴルマン) for a while, wearing a special mask made of a healing tree bark, so that he can fight once again. He also got revenge on Warsman by smashing his face with a scissor kick. He was also one of the few characters in Kinnikuman to never die.
He became very popular with readers (more than Kinnikuman himself), ranking 3rd in both the Good and Evil categories of the first Character Poll and then ranking First in the 2nd Poll. Yudetamgo have stated that they originally intended for him to be merely a one time villain for the Choujin Olympics, but he became so popular after his Third Place Determination Match against Terryman that they decided to keep him around. In response to this popularity, Ramenman got his own spin-off series called Tatakae!! Ramenman. In Tatakae!! Ramenman, he walks the land of ancient China with his young friend Shao-Mai in search of every last bandit who killed his family when he was a boy.
Ramenman has had seven different seiyū, more than any other Kinnikuman character.
Ramenman's techniques from Kinnikuman.
Ramenman's techniques from Tatakae!! Ramenman, though some were used in Kinnikuman.
Ramenman debuted as the most brutal competitor in the 20th Choujin Olympics. His first round match was against Brockenman. At the beginning of the match, Brockenman used weapons and dirty tricks to gain an advantage over Ramenman. Suddenly, Ramenman came back and began brutally beating Brockenman without the aid of weapons. He then won the match by ripping Brockenman in half with his trademark Camel Clutch. This understanably frightened the still very cowardly Kinnikuman (who was present during the fight as he was set to fight Ramenman in the next round). In the next round, Kinnikuman and Ramenman fought in an Ice Top Death Match. Ramenman managed to get Suguru in the Camel Clutch, but then Suguru got so scared he crapped his pants, so Ramenman allowed him a break to go change. Shortly after Kinnikuman came back, Ramenaman performed a piledriver on him, causing his head-fin to get stuck in the ice. Ramenman took advantage of this and kicked Suguru into the ropes, but Suguru hit him with an elbow smash on the rebound, winning the match. This caused Ramenman to change his ways and gained Kinnikuman his respect. Before the final fight between Suguru and Robin Mask, Ramenman took part in a Runner-Up Match with Terryman, but was disqualified for fighting dirty. He then shouted a message to Kinnikuman. He told him not to lose to Robin, because he wanted to be proud of their fight earlier. He got very emotional and even cried. He would later serve as a commentator during the fight and also appeared briefly during the American Tour as the referee for the fight between Suguru & Terryman and Skull Bozu & Devil Magician.
He was later part of the Magnificent Seven chosen to save Planet Rakka. This is where he met Brocken Jr., son of Brockenman, who wanted revenge. Ramenman then competed in the 21st Olympics, where his first match was a Concrete Death Match against Brocken Jr. The fight started with Brocken Jr. having the advantage, with Ramenman seemingly not fighting back at all. As everyone wondered why he was doing this, Kinnikuman began to believe that the now reformed Ramenman planned on dying to make up for killing Brocken Jr.'s father. Brocken Jr. eventually put Ramenman in a Camel Clutch. It was then that Ramenman revealed that his reason for not fighting back was to give Brocken a fair chance at beating him. Since Brocken still had a lot to learn, Ramenman easily escaped the Camel Clutch and put Brocken in a Romero Special, knocking him out. As Ramenman left the ring, he told the young Choujin, "Forget about your father and you will become a great fighter." Ramenman then passed out due to massive blood loss and both he and Brocken had to be hospitalized. While in the hospital, Ramenman continuously trained for his second match against Warsman. His bravery and dedication caused Brocken to respect him and serve as his Second during the fight.
The match was to be a Steel Cage Casket Death Match, and was named "Battle of the Beasts" (as Ramenman and Warsman were reputed to be the most brutal choujin in the world). The winner was the first to throw his opponent out of the cage and into a coffin. It was during this fight that it was revealed that Warsman had a fighting computer, which contained all of the information needed to defeat his opponents (their weaknesses, a complete list of their moves, etc.). Though he gave it his all, Ramenman just couldn't gain an advantage over Warsman. Warsman threw him out of the cage and through a table. He then got on the top of the cage and jumped towards Ramenman with his trademark Screw Driver technique, but Ramenman blocked it with the ring bell. He thought he had trapped Warsman's Bear Claws, but Warsman burst through the bell and stabbed Ramemman in the temple, turning him into a vegetable. He then threw Ramenman's limp body into a coffin, winning the match. Kinnikuman (who was going to fight Warsman in the final round) got scared and tried to leave. But as he left, Brocken showed up with Ramenman in a wheelchair. He explained that Ramenman never counted on winning his match with Warsman, he was just trying to make Kinnikuman's fight easier. Even this wasn't enough to motivate Suguru and as he reached for his bag, Ramenman suddenly moved his hand and stopped Suguru from grabbing the bag. Suguru was so moved that someone as strong as Ramenman cared that much for him that he went back and prepared for his fight. During the fight, Ramenman (at ringside in his wheelchair) would occasionally mentally contact Kinnikuman and give him advice. After the fight, he simply disappeared for a while.
A brain-dead vegetable, Ramenman was brought to see Choujin Specialist Dr. Bombay. Bombay brought Ramenman to a location in some mountains. The trees in this mountain location produced a special healing mist from their bark. While in this area, Ramenman could walk, talk, and fight again. He began training vigorously, learning several new techniques (including how to manipulate his hair as a weapon). He then desired to leave and help his friends fight evil Choujins again, so Dr. Bombay constructed a mask out of the tree bark (the Mongol Mask). As long as he wore this mask, Ramenman could move and fight as though he was still in the mountains. Forced to be a masked man, he assumed the identity Mongolman. He added to the disguise by wearing fake muscles. He first appeared during Brocken's fight with Devil Choujin Mister Kamen during the Individual Battles. Brocken had been captured in the Mummy Package and was done for when Mongolman threw a smokebomb into the ring and battled Kamen, defeating him with a Leg Lariat. After the smoke cleared, Brocken emerged from beneath the ring, unscathed and sure he saw Ramenman.
He showed up again during Suguru's fight with Atlantis as the ghost of the dead Devil Choujins held Suguru still, making him unable to truly fight Atlantis. He explained to Bibinba, Terry, and Brocken the real situation and showed them a magic mirror that could send them to the same plane of existence as the ghosts. Terry was untrustworthy of the mysterious Choujin, but Brocken, who (correctly) believed the stranger to be Ramenman, rushed right in. Terry and Mongolman followed and the three of them got rid of the ghosts, saving Suguru. As Suguru went to his locker room after defeating Atlantis, Mongolman knocked him out and ran away. This confused Terry and Brocken, whom had begun calling him their Messiah. Suguru awoke with only an hour left to defeat the final two Devil Choujins (Buffaloman and Springman). Mongolman arrived, claiming to want to help Suguru in a Tag Match, confusing everyone even further on Mongolman's allegiance (in truth, he had knocked out Suguru to force him to recover from his fight with Atlantis). Their doubts were put at ease when Mongolman stopped Suguru from throwing Springman out of the ring, because his body would've hit one of Meat's limbs (the prize in the fight). He went on to use his sweat to make a rain cloud, using the rain to rust Springman, preventing him from bouncing around. He then defeated him with a Leg Lariat, and left the fight (leaving it between Kinnikuman and Buffaloman). He showed up again during the Golden Mask arc to referee the match between Kinnikuman and Akuma Shogun.
During the Dream Tag Tournament, he teamed up with Buffaloman to form the 20 Million Powers. Their first match was scheduled to be against the Most Dangerous Combo (Brocken and Wolfman), but Screw Kid and Kendaman interrupted and took them out. So Mongolman and Buffaloman fought them instead, soon defeating them with their trademark Long Horn Train. In their second match against the Hell Missionaries (Neptuneman and Big the Budō) Mongolman was unmasked, revealing that he was, in fact, Ramenman. Being unmasked meant he was becoming a vegetable again, so he had Kinnikuman put his mask back on him so he could explain the origin of Mongolman. After that, he passed out and the Mongol Mask was reclaimed by Neptuneman and Budō.
Ramenman made his triumpant return during the second round of the Survivor Match for the Kinniku Throne against Team Zebra, wearing a headband made form the same healing mist as the Mongol Mask over his head wound. He disguised himself as Bikeman and interfered in the Terryman/Motorman fight, destroying Motorman within seconds with his Camel Clutch. He then fought the real Bikeman in a Thunder Dome Death Match. Bikeman gave Ramenman a severe beating, causing his heart to stop. Believing him to be dead, Suguru, Meat, the rest of Team Kinnikuman, and the fans all began to shed tears for Ramenman. This caused Ramenman to revive, gain the advantage, and defeat Bikeman with a Kowloon Wall Drop. As Team Soldier went up against Team Super Phoenix, Ramenman was the one who figured out that Brocken Jr. had disposed of his Choujin Body in order to deflect Prisman's Choujin destroying Rainbow Shower beam. Brocken later shattered Prisman's head with his Bremen Sunset, but then died when he fell into the canyon below.
In the final round against Team Super Phoenix, Ramenman avenged Brocken in a match against Prisman, who was still alive. The match took place in a jungle gym-type thing. Prisman began blasting Ramenman with his Rainbow Shower, but it oddly had no effect on Ramenman. After a few more times, Ramenman climbed to the top of the jungle gym and abosrbed the power of the sun. He then blasted Prisman with his own Rainbow Shower and then defeated him with the Kowloon Wall Drop. Immediately afterwards, Super Phoenix caused the jungle gym to collapse, knocking Ramenman out and causing the match to officially end in a draw. After Kinnikuman took over the throne, Ramenman went back to China to become a teacher.
In Nisei, Ramenman secretly aids Suguru in training his son Mantarou Kinniku before helping open the Hercules Factory with the other Seigi Choujins. He serves as the hand-to-hand combat instructor, and defeats the Indian wrestler Sammu, repeating what he once told Brocken Jr. about the arrogance of youth. During Choujin Olympics: The Revival, Ramenman, along with Buffaloman and Wolfman, is at ringside to witness Mantarou's match against Robin Mask's wayward son, Kevin Mask.
When Mantarou, Terry the Kid, Jade, Seiuchin, Ilkouhine, Barrierfreeman, Check Mate, and their supposedly human companion Chaos travel back in time (along with Neptuneman and Rinko Nikaido, who had stowed away on their time ship) in order to prevent evil Time Choujin from killing Robin Mask, and thus preventing Kevin from having ever been born, Ramenman (as Mongolman) witnesses Mantarou accidentally shoving Robin's wife Alisa into the Time Choujins' Death Watch Branding attack. Like the other Idol Choujin, Ramenman distrusts the New Generation. When the Ultimate Choujin Tag Tournament is announced, Ramenman pairs with Buffaloman once again as the 20 Million Powers.
During their second round match against the Muscle Brothers Nouveau (Mantarou and Chaos), Ramenman is amazed at how similar Mantarou's hand to hand combat techniques are to his own. He and Buffaloman attempt their speciality, the Long Horn Train, but the attack is thrown off by Mantarou copying the attack with Chaos (using Chaos' legs as the "horns" in their version). They are defeated when the Muscle Brothers Nouveau debut their new move, the Muscle Evolution. During the attack, the Mongolman mask is destroyed, and Ramenman disappears through a warp gate formed by Suguru, Terry, and Robin before he can be reduced to his vegetative state once again. The paradox that would be formed by Ramenman being unable to train Mantarou is corrected by Mantarou having found one of Ramenman's scrolls and using it to train himself. (More to come)
Championships
Titles
Nicknames
Win/Loss Record (Singles)
Win/Loss Record (Tag)