So the request for more anime threads that are not Naruto got me making this. Ultimate Muscle: The Kinnikuman Legacy is the localized version of Kinnikuman II-sei anime and it is, by far, the best thing ever.
Here's why-
It completely pisses all over the drama
Kinnikuman II-sei follows the usual Shonen tropes. MC meets progressively stronger opponents and, through forging bonds, defeats them with the power of friendship.Occasionally a character or two might have to die.
Ultimate Muscle says nuts to all that. Character arcs get scrapped, emotional bonds are not formed and everybody's either an idiot or an unrepentant douchebag. Meat's father, Munch, is turned from a wise old sage to a creepy asshole nobody likes and his death is changed to him having simply broken a hip.
Localized anime is no stranger to taking creative liberities but I'd argue the 'core' of the show is more or less preserved. Here, absolutely nobody grows or changes.
JP:
*Mars being taken away*
Kevin: Mars, next time I hope you fight the Muscle League with no dirty tricks.
DUB:
*Mars being taken away*
Mars: ....squealer.
Kevin: Heey, that was uncalled for. So what if I betrayed my father to Mars and then betrayed Mars about the betrayal? I know two wrongs don't make a right but I have three wrongs! That's one right with a wrong to spare. I'm in the clear!
Everybody's a stereotype and it works
Because the show is basically about the antics of wrestlers from around the world, everybody gets an accent. This has the unfortunate (but hilarious) side effect of turning every character into a walking stereotype. It even bleeds into the storyline. Lord Flash, who is secretly the Russian Warsman, can't stop saying comrade.
JP
Kuroi: ...
Kevin: Is something the matter, Kuroi?
Kuroi: No. I will fulfill my duty as Kevin Mask's second.
Kevin: Good.
DUB:
Kevin: Lord Flash, is something the matter?
Flash: No, comrade...err, I mean Kevin. Everything's fine.
Kevin: Lord Flash, I'm beginning to suspect you're not who you say you are.
Flash: What makes you say that?
Kevin: Your frequent slips of the tongue, your inability to raise your finger while drinking tea all point to the fact that you're not an Englishman. Am I right, COMRADE??
Flash: Gah!
It turned Dik Dik van Dik into the show's MVP
And this. This guy is the real reason why I love this Dub so much.
Gazelle Man is a fairly uninteresting and pathetic character. He'd give Yamcha a run for his money. He's so pathetic that the authors made a few stand-alone chapters to try and inflate his terrible win/loss record. The dub not only embraces Dik Dik van Dik's loser status, it outright RUNS with it. Characters who've never heard of Dik Dik would rub it in his face.
Combine that with a great voice and I just love everything about this guy.
Dik: The buck stops here.
*awkward silence*
Dik: Don't you get it? The buck. stops. here. I'm a buck. A male deer. That's what a Dik-Dik is.
*awkward silence*
Dik: What is wrong with you people?? Vote for me! The buck stops here for goodness sake!
Announcer: Dik-Dik van Dik. But seriously, just call him Dick
Dik: It's Dik-Dik!
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So who here watched and loved Ultimate Muscle? And if you think you've seen a better localized show, I'd love to be proven wrong. Believe it!
