The appeal and evaluation of Tiger Mask: A deep look into the legendary wrestling anime

Tiger Mask - The moving story of a legendary wrestler

■ Public Media

TV anime series

■ Original Media

comics

■ Broadcast period

October 2, 1969 - September 30, 1971
October 2, 1969 - September 30, 1971 Every Thursday 7:30pm - 8pm

■Broadcasting station

YTV

■Frequencies

half an hour

■ Number of Episodes

Episode 105

■Original Story

Ikki Kajiwara and Naoki Tsuji

■ Production

Toei Animation, Yomiuri TV

■Works

©Kazuo Kajiwara, Naoki Tsuji/Kodansha, Toei Animation

■ Story

Tiger Mask, wearing a tiger mask, is a wrestler at Toranoana, a training institute for villain wrestlers. However, his true identity is a young man named Date Naoto, who grew up in an orphanage. After graduating from Toranoana, Naoto became a villain wrestler and donated part of his fight money to the orphanage. However, the orphanage's business started to deteriorate. In order to save the orphanage from its predicament, Naoto donated the money that was to be paid to Toranoana to the orphanage, and was deemed a traitor, becoming the target of the fierce wrestlers at Toranoana. This prompted Naoto to change from a villain to a righteous wrestler and to fight.

■Explanation

Despite the absurd premise of the main character being a wrestler who graduated from a training institute for villain wrestlers, the dramatic portrayal of the bond between the people at the orphanage and the deadly battle with the assassins from the Tiger's Lair makes it suitable for adults to enjoy. The show is also notable for featuring real wrestlers such as Giant Baba and Antonio Inoki. It is the first real Japanese TV anime to use machine tracing, a method of mechanically transferring the original drawings onto cels, and has succeeded in recreating the line-filled, gekiga-style drawings. Nearly half a century after the series ended in recent years (since 2010), a phenomenon has arisen in which the name of the main character, Date Naoto, is used when making anonymous donations to children's homes and other facilities.

■Cast

Tiger Mask - Naoto Date / Kei Toyama, Koichi Mori (episodes 32-39)
・Ruriko Wakatsuki/Nana Yamaguchi (episodes 1-77), Michiko Nomura (episodes 78-105)
・Mr. Wakatsuki/Kenji Nakagawa ・Kenta/Masako Nozawa ・Giant Baba/Shingo Kanemoto ・Mr. X/Hidekatsu Shibata ・Boss of the Tiger's Den/Yasuaki Suzuki

■ Main staff

・Original story: Kajiwara Ikki, Tsuji Naoki・Planning: Saito Yuu, Eto Masaharu・Production: Eto Masaharu・Character design: Kimura Keiichiro・Art: Urata Mataji, Hata Hidenobu, Numai Hajime, Endo Shigeyoshi, Fukumoto Tomoo・Cinematography: Sakai Toshikazu and others・Development: Toei Chemical・Production: Toei Animation, Yomiuri TV・Editing: Hanai Masaaki and others・Sound: Kanbara Hiromi and others・Sound effects: Taihei Noriyoshi・Music: Kikuchi Shunsuke・Published in: Kodansha, Bokura, Weekly Bokura Magazine, Weekly Shonen Magazine・Records: King Records, Toshiba Records, Teichiku Records, Victor Records, Nippon Columbia, Asahi Sonorama

・Song selection: Shigeru Miyashita ・Cooperation: Japan Pro Wrestling (Episode 1), Weekly Bokura Magazine (Episode 1), Weekly Shonen Magazine (Episode 2 onwards), Japan Pro Wrestling Association (Episode 2 onwards)

■ Main Characters

・Naoto Date (Tiger Mask)
A young man from the orphanage Chibikko House. He is scouted by the Tiger's Den and becomes the villain Tiger Mask, supporting the orphanage with his fight money. Although he is an honest young man, he behaves frivolously in front of the children at the orphanage so that they won't find out that he is Tiger Mask.

Ruriko Wakatsuki is the younger sister of Mr. Wakatsuki, the representative of the Chibikko House, and Naoto's childhood friend. A kind woman who helps her brother and acts as a mother to the children. She has a slight crush on Naoto.

・Kenta An orphan at the Chibi House. A mischievous boy with a strong competitive spirit. He used to dislike Naoto because he thought he was pretentious, but he eventually opens up to him. He admires Tiger Mask.

・Mr. X
He is the manager in charge of the Tiger's Den's Far East region. Contrary to his gentlemanly appearance, he is cold-hearted and cruel. He marks Tiger as a traitor when he refuses to pay his tribute, and sends assassins and Grim Reaper wrestlers to Japan one after another.

Giant Baba is a popular wrestler who is the ace of the Japanese professional wrestling world. His special move is the 16-mon kick that he unleashes from his huge body. He recognizes Tiger's abilities and advises him to become a traditional wrestler.

■Subtitle

・Episode 1: The Yellow Devil ・Episode 2: The Storm Calling Tiger ・Episode 3: The Return of the Man
Episode 4: The Rules of the Tiger's Den Episode 5: The Desperate Tiger Episode 6: The Fearful Death Match Episode 7: The Bloody Tiger Episode 8: The Trap of the "Tiger's Den"
Episode 9: Hungry Gorilla Man Episode 10: Meatball Megaton Drop Episode 11: The W-League Match of the Century Episode 12: Who is the Fight for? Episode 13: The Terrifying Hellish Strategy Episode 14: Secret Training "Tiger's Den"
Episode 15: A Bruised Victory Episode 16: Defeated Tiger Episode 17: Awakened Tiger Episode 18: Fated Showdown Episode 19: 2 Hours Before the Game Starts
Episode 20: Shadow of the Tiger's Lair Episode 21: Red Fangs of Revenge Episode 22: Challenge for Tomorrow Episode 23: Tiger Risking His Life Episode 24: Opening!! Masked League Match Episode 25: Deadly Battle with the Golden Mask Episode 26: Beyond Glory Episode 27: Open Your Eyes, Tiger Episode 28: Resurrection of the Tiger's Lair
・Episode 29/Strong Challenger ・Episode 30/The Immortal Fighting Spirit "The Story of Rikidozan"
・Episode 31: Intense training on Mount Daisetsu ・Episode 32: The birth of the special move!
・Episode 33: The showdown of the century ・Episode 34: The hot-blooded boy of "The Tiger's Den" ・Episode 35: The road to becoming a champion - G. Baba's struggle -
・Episode 36 / Opening of the Asian Championship Deciding Match ・Episode 37 / Beastman Himalayan Snowman ・Episode 38 / Tiger Aiming for the Throne ・Episode 39 / Crown of Tears ・Episode 40 / Triumphant Return of the Immortal Tiger
Episode 41: The Mask of Red Death Episode 42: The Tiger with No Tomorrow Episode 43: The Strongest Villain on Earth Episode 44: Kamikaze's Challenge Episode 45: The Boy Who Longed for Home Episode 46: Secret Order: "The Tiger's Lair"
Episode 47: The Ring of Verbal BattlesEpisode 48: The Battle with KamikazeEpisode 49: The Return of the Fierce TigerEpisode 50: Love for these kidsEpisode 51: The Young Hawk and the Fierce TigerEpisode 52: Winning!! W League MatchEpisode 53: The Mystery of The MiraclesEpisode 54: New FriendsEpisode 55: The Sun in the SmokeEpisode 56: The Black DemonEpisode 57: The V Sign of DeathEpisode 58: Black V
Episode 59: A Life-threatening Challenge Episode 60: The Tiger and the Strange Doctor Episode 61: The Way of the King Episode 62: The Black Challenger Episode 63: Meriken Joe Episode 64: Until the Bell of Happiness Rings Episode 65: Deadly Battle for the Masked Championship Episode 66: The Terror of the Tiger's Lair Episode 67: The Return of the Yellow Devil Episode 68: The Phantom Yellow Devil Episode 69: The Rule-Breaking Challenger Episode 70: The Mat with Regrets Episode 71: Danger!! The Fierce Tiger Episode 72: Mr. Fudo Appears Episode 73: The Trump Card of the Tiger's Lair Episode 74: The Third Traitor Episode 75: The Great Escape from the Tiger's Lair Episode 76: The Phantom Wrestlers Episode 77: Deadly Battle Tag Team・Episode 78: Clash of Fierce Tigers・Episode 79: The King of the Tiger's Lair・Episode 80: The Birth of a New Star・Episode 81: The Hellish Promoter・Episode 82: A Deadly Battle in the Cage・Episode 83: When Will Happiness Come?・Episode 84: Vow to Victory・Episode 85: The Deadly Hunter・Episode 86: Jekyll and Hyde・Episode 87: The Tiger Hunting Plan・Episode 88: The Fiery Gallows・Episode 89: Yoshibo's Happiness
Episode 90: The Uncrowned ChampionEpisode 91: The Devil's Spider's WebEpisode 92: The Suspicious MonsterEpisode 93: Today's LifeEpisode 94: The Substitute TigerEpisode 95: The PiranhaEpisode 96: The Tiger's True Identity?
・Episode 97/Premonition of Defeat ・Episode 98/Sacrificial Tiger ・Episode 99/Wolf, Howl for Blood!!
・Episode 100/Opening up a new tomorrow・Episode 101/Execution at "The Tiger's Den"・Episode 102/The truth behind "The Tiger's Den"・Episode 103/The Tiger's Den struggles
Episode 104: Bloody Battle!! "Tiger's Lair"
Episode 105: The Vanishing Tiger

■ Related works

・Sequel "Tiger Mask II"

・Theatrical version of "Tiger Mask" (released March 17, 1970)
"Tiger Mask: The Masked League" (released July 19, 1970)
"Tiger Mask: Black Demon" (released March 20, 1971)

■ Theme songs and music

・Theme song/OP "Go! Tiger Mask"
Lyrics by: Nario Kitani; Composition and Arrangement by: Shunsuke Kikuchi; Vocals by: Hiroshi Nitta and Schoolmates

・Ending Theme "Ballad of an Orphan"
Lyrics by: Nario Kitani; Composition and Arrangement by: Shunsuke Kikuchi; Vocals by: Hiroshi Nitta and Schoolmates

Tiger Mask - The moving story of a legendary wrestler

"Tiger Mask," which aired from 1969 to 1971, is a touching story about the bond between professional wrestling and an orphanage, and was loved by many viewers. This anime depicts the heroic figure of Tiger Mask, also known as Date Naoto, who escapes from the "Tiger's Den," a training institution for villainous wrestlers, and fights to protect the orphanage. Below, we will take a closer look at the appeal and background of this work, as well as its influence.

■ Background and production of the work

"Tiger Mask" is based on a manga by Kajiwara Ikki and Tsuji Naoki and was made into an anime in 1969. It was broadcast on Yomiuri Television (YTV) in a 30-minute slot every Thursday from 7:30 to 8:00 p.m., with a total of 105 episodes. It was produced by Toei Animation (now Toei Animation), and drew attention for using a new technique called machine tracing to reproduce the manga-like touch of the original. This technique involves mechanically transferring the original drawings onto cels, and was an advanced attempt for TV anime at the time.

In addition, real-life wrestlers such as Giant Baba and Antonio Inoki appeared in the work, which heightened the realism and attracted attention from wrestling fans. Furthermore, the music was composed by Shunsuke Kikuchi, and the theme song "Go! Tiger Mask" and the ending song "Ballad of the Orphan Child" became memorable masterpieces for many people.

■ The appeal of the story

The story of "Tiger Mask" depicts the story of a young man from an orphanage, Date Naoto, who is scouted by Tiger's Cave, a training institute for villain wrestlers, and fights to protect the orphanage while performing as Tiger Mask. At the heart of the story is a deep bond with an orphanage called "Chibikko House," and the plot in which Tiger Mask rises up in rebellion against Tiger's Cave to save the orphanage struck a strong chord with viewers.

Particularly impressive is the scene where Tiger Mask behaves frivolously in front of the children at the orphanage and hides his true identity. This contrast leaves a strong impression on the viewers, and portrays Tiger Mask's humanity in depth. Other highlights include the powerful wrestling scenes, such as his deadly battle with the assassins from the Tiger's Den and his showdown with Giant Baba.

■Charm of the characters

The main character, Naoto Date (Tiger Mask), is an honest and strong-willed young man, but he also has a dual personality, behaving frivolously in front of the children at the orphanage. The depth of this character resonated with viewers. His interactions with the other characters at the orphanage, such as Ruriko Wakatsuki and Kenta, also add warmth and emotion to the story.

On the other hand, the villains such as Mr. X and the boss of the Tiger's Den are also attractive, and their ruthlessness and cruelty highlight Tiger Mask's sense of justice. In particular, the gap between Mr. X's gentlemanly appearance and his ruthless inner self left a strong impression on viewers.

■Influence and evaluation of the work

"Tiger Mask" was highly praised when it was first broadcast, and gained many fans. In particular, the image of Tiger Mask fighting to protect the orphanage touched viewers' hearts and became a social topic. Even now, nearly half a century after the series ended, there is a phenomenon in which "Naoto Date"'s name is used when making anonymous donations to children's homes, demonstrating the extent of his influence.

Furthermore, this work was made into a sequel, "Tiger Mask II," and three theatrical versions were released, making it a successful series. The theme song and ending song were also popular, and many records were released.

■ Recommendations and how to watch

"Tiger Mask" is a masterpiece that depicts professional wrestling and a touching story, and is a work that can be recommended to a wide range of generations. It is especially a must-see for professional wrestling fans and those who like touching stories. It is also a good work to teach children about courage and a sense of justice.

Currently, it is possible to watch it on DVD and Blu-ray. In addition, some parts are distributed on streaming services, so you can enjoy it easily. Please experience this moving story.

■ Summary

"Tiger Mask" is a moving story about the heroic figure of Tiger Mask as he fights to protect an orphanage. This work, which combines professional wrestling and human drama, left a strong impression on viewers and was loved by many. Even now, more than half a century after it was broadcast, its influence has not diminished, and it has even become a social phenomenon. Please watch this masterpiece and experience the excitement for yourself.