The Way of the Luchadore

Here is a Pound Puppies fanfiction, which was a collab between fellow writer brave kid and I(He had the initial idea for the story and title, and I wrote it up), which is a continuation of a series he and I will be writing in the future. This story, BTW, contains several nods to the movie Nacho Libre, such as Niblet suggesting eating an eagle's egg to get stronger.). In this story, Madame Pickypuss, a cat belonging to a rich family, comes seeking the Pound Puppies and Kennel Kittens' help finding her wayward friend, a Chihuahua(Who looks very much like Squirt) named Cuddlesworth P. Wigglebottom. The dogs and cats aren't sure where to look, until they spot a masked Chihuahua by the name of Lucha Grande in a commercial for a Mexican restaurant, and opt to search there. No sooner do they go to look for him, however, than a pair of evil Lucha dogs challenge Lucky and Niblet to a wrestling match, which Lucha Grande volunteers to help train them for. Will Lucky and Niblet have what it takes to win the match? And where exactly is Cuddlesworth? Please enjoy!(This story, BTW, also contains several nods to the movie Nacho Libre, such as Niblet suggesting eating an eagle's egg to get stronger.)

Pound Puppies Generation Gap: A Case of Mistaken Secret Identity

BTW, here are a few pics of the story's characters:

Madame Pickypuss and her associate Cuddlesworth, both of whom originally appeared in the episode, "The Prince and the Pupper." Pickypuss' earrings are based on those of Violet Vanderfeller, and Cuddlesworth's monocle is based on that of Barkerville.

 

Lucha Grande, the mascot of Mucho Grande Taco and self-proclaimed Lucha expert, whose real name is revealed to be Antonio(He originally appeared in the episode, "Hot Dawg".) Though his training methods are fairly strange, they prove to come in handy later on.

 

Crusher the pitbull and Grinder the Rottweiler, an evil Lucha wrestling duo backed by the villainous Milton Feltwaddle, who confront the group in the restaurant and challenge Lucky and Niblet to a match. Though very strong, these two, fortunately for the good guys, are not very bright.

 

And the Ring Announcer cat, who announces the beginning of the match, as well as the somewhat accident-prone referee dog.

 

 

Just for fun, I've also added a picture of Niblet, who's just learned about hair vs. hair matches, and is afraid of getting shaved if he loses the match.(As he himself states, "A bald sheepdog ain't a pretty sight.)

 







 

 



Cartoon Showcase: Ultimate Muscle: Bone Cold Story Arc

In this story arc(on its ten-year anniversary), Kid Muscle faces the final(and nastiest!) member of the Gruesome Threesome, Bone Cold. To compound things, he's also kidnapped Minch and is holding him hostage! Can Kid win the final match...and is there more to both Minch and Bone Cold than meets the eye? Please enjoy!

 

 

 

 

 

Cartoon Showcase: Ultimate Muscle: Hanzo Story Arc

In this story arc of this very cool and highly underrated anime*, Kid Muscle takes on the second member of the villainous wrestling trio the Gruesome Threesome, Hanzo the Horrible. Can he, with the help of legendary wrestler Ninja Ned(as well as his new travelling buddy Checkmate) defeat this fiend? Please enjoy!

 

 

 

 

 

Bonus joke: How might someone greet Hanzo or Ninja Ned?

 

"How warrior?"

*On this arc's ten year anniversary as well!

In the Lemon-Limelight:Ultimate Muscle:The Kinnikuman Legacy

 

150 posts! ALL RIIIIIGHT!! YEAH! YEAH! WOO! WOO! HEY! HEY! Ah...ahem, where was I? Oh yes...

 

 

Ultimate Muscle:The Kinnikuman Legacy was an anime series dubbed into English by 4kids Entertainment and broadcast on FOX as part of the FoxBox block in 2002. Interestingly, although this franchise never became very popular in America, it's had a rather sizeable fanbase in Japan for over 30 years.

 

The franchise began in 1979 as Kinnikuman(which literally means "Muscle Man" in Japanese), a comic apprearing in the Weekly Shonen Jump magazine. The series chronicled the adventures of King Muscle(or Kinnikuman), a dumb but brave wrestling hero. In 1998, the current series Ultimate Muscle came along, which stars King Muscle's son Kid Muscle, a dumb but not-so-brave wrestler...Actually, this is putting it lightly! Kid Muscle, basically, is a whiny, cowardly, lazy, klutzy nitwit. Fortunately, however, he certainly lucked out when it came to inheriting his dad's powers. Whenever his friends are in danger, he lays the smackdown to the villains with his powers of Ultimate Muscle!

 

Kid Muscle's group of friends includes the feisty cowboy Terry "The Grand" Kenyon, who is his best friend(and the son of King Muscle's own best friend Terryman), the conceited, antelope-costumed Dik Dik Van Dik(who, despite all his bragging, is not really that good at wrestling), the optomistic, walrus-costumed Wally Tuskett(who loves to eat fish*), the quiet German wrestler Jaeger, and the polite, bashful, chess piece-costumed Checkmate, who was a reformed villain. Kid Muscle also has a rival in the form of the ill-tempered, knight's helmet-wearing Kevin Mask**(who is the son of King Muscle's own rival Robin Mask). Kid Muscle was also joined on his adventures by his personal trainer Mr. Meat(who had previously been King Muscle's personal trainer), and his on-again-off-again girlfriend Roxanne, and her two friends Trixie(No relation) and Kiki.

 

Episode plots often concerned Kid and his friends wrestling in tournaments and battling villainous wrestlers such as the evil DMP. The various legendary wrestlers(including King Muscle himself) would also appear from time to time.

 

Overall, this is a fun, interesting, and utterly HILARIOUS show***; a standout among most anime series, which make a point of taking themselves seriously. The art style is beautiful, the storylines are well-written, the characters are likeable and relatable, and the voices are expertly dubbed(a rarity for 4kids, to be sure****). It's particularly impressive how the writers had managed to imbue their many characters with distinct personalities and abilities. Honestly, it's quite a shame that this show was never as popular as some of the bigger anime franchises, such as Yu-Gi-Oh! and Dragonball Z, because it's every bit as good. An underrated anime classic(which is also one of my personal faves, BTW) that's certainly worth a look.

 



The opening theme is mighty catchy, too!

 



Although the complete English dub regrettably hasn't been released on DVD yet, a DVD of the first few episodes is available at the link below*****(A few episodes are also availabe on Youtube now): 

 

Ultimate Muscle Vol. 1

 





 

Several sets of mini figures, as well as a number of(very cool!) action figures of the characters were also made. These figures occasionally show up on ebay and Amazon.

 

Also made were a couple of Ultimate Muscle video games, which I plan to review in future Game Show sections. :)

 

There's even an Ultimate Muscle fansite, complete with character bios, episode recaps, a forum, and lots of other cool stuff:

 

Kinnikuman.com

 



 

 

 

"Bulging Biceps!"



 

 

 

 

Something I just had to add:

 

 

 

*Many of the show's running gags concern his appetite for fish, even.

 

**IMHO he kinda' looks like a knight going to a punk rock concert! :-D

 

 

***I highly reccomend watching this show in a room with a soft rug, because anyone who does will be rolling on the floor laughing! :-D

 

****Someone reviewing the DVD had even commented that the dub job was an improvement, to which I certainly agree; 4kids added more humor, gave the characters better voices and names et al.

 

*****A second DVD was planned, but regrettably, never made. :-(

 

And that's the end of that! :-D