Ask John: What are the Best Otoko Anime?

Question:
In general I love “manly” anime, stuff like Golgo 13 and Fist of the North Star. Heroes that could drunk arm-wrestle a young Arnold Schwarzenegger and still probably win. Men that could liberate POWs from an enemy nation with just one attractive female helping them. Manly men that could kill a small army of Predators. What are the best and most obscure and well-known ultra-manly animes you could you recommend to put chest hair on all the young ones?

Answer:
At least since the early 1980s, the Japanese otaku community has used the term “otoko anime” to categorize anime about men exerting their unbridled masculinity. In 2008 the American otaku community invented its own term with the same meaning, “gar.” While the term was briefly novel, it’s since practically vanished from the American lexicon. I can immediately recall a number of “otoko anime,” of note, but I’m sure that I’ll forget to mention several as well.

As far as I know, the term “otoko anime” originated with 1984’s Hokuto no Ken television series. Fist of the North Star was originally a tremendously masculine anime because of its depiction of Kenshiro, a wandering muscle-bound warrior who fought for love and justice. However, in recent years the steel-willed antagonist Raoh, and an emphasis on manly tears have risen to prominence in the franchise.

Following the end of the Hokuto no Ken television anime, Toei Animation sought to continue the burgeoning trend of “otoko anime” with the Sakigake!! Otokojuku (Charge! Man School), an anime about a school specifically oriented to instill the virtues of masculinity and the brotherhood of men into its students.

However, these shows designated as “otoko anime” may not have been the first instances of manly anime. 1969’s Tiger Mask, 1970’s Kick no Oni (the biography of kickboxing champion Sawamura Tadashi), 1973’s Karate Baka Ichidai (the biography of Kyokushin karate founder Masutatsu Oyama), and to some degree, although a bit less than the forementioned shows, 1969’s Kurenai Sanshiro were all shows about strong-willed young men that risked their pride, their bodies, and their lives to reach their goals. Few contemporary anime follow in the footsteps of these early series. Hajime no Ippo may adhere to a similar narrative, but Ippo Makunouchi doesn’t personally exhibit the aggressive and obstinate masculinity that the stars of these earlier anime do. The 2001 Grappler Baki television series may be one of the only contemporary anime to literally revive the ultra-macho attitude and narrative format of these early 70’s series.

The 1978 Muteki Kojin Daitarn 3 giant robot anime from Sunrise and Yoshiyuki Tomino deserves mention from a different perspective. Main character Haran Banjou channeled the suave masculine confidence and charm of Sean Connery’s James Bond. He even had a faithful pair of “Bond girls,” ex-Interpol agent Reika Sanjo and Beautiful “Beauty” Tachibana regularly assist him in his battle against the devious Meganoids. Plus Banjou had a giant robot.

Captain Harlock has never been especially physically intimidating, but his devotion to the masculine frontier spirit and the philosophy of “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger” positions him as a exemplar of male spirit. If Harlock was not a man, he’d be the lion that throws cubs over cliffs to see if they survive. Harlock’s universe is one in which any man unwilling to stand tall for justice is no man at all.

Creators Go Nagai and Buichi Terasawa have spent much of their careers creating macho anime. Go Nagai’s Violence Jack, Devilman, Mazinger Z, and Getter Robo consistently idealize “burning blood” and the idea that might makes right. Buichi Terasawa’s Cobra, Kabuto, and Midnight Eye Goku are ramped up incarnations of James Bond: smooth ladykillers and tough brawlers always getting into deadly situations and defying death through brute force, ingenuity, and fortunate luck.

Masami Kurumada’s St. Seiya may technically be an otoko anime, but bishounen and pink armor has never felt especially masculine to me. Kurumada’s slightly lesser known high school ninja series Fuuma no Kojiro has all of the burning blood, macho posing, and philosophy espousing that St. Seiya does with characters that don’t look quite so effininate. Kurumada’s boxing/street fighting series Ring ni Kakero is also quite macho, but it’s also so ridiculous that it’s very difficult to watch seriously.

If a cooking anime can possibly be macho, than 1991’s Ippon Bocho Mantaro OVA series is it. Mantaro literally rolls up his sleeves and faces other chefs as though they were challengers in a boxing ring. He has none of the oafish charm of Cookin Papa, the polite respect of Mister Ajikko, the refinement of Oishinbo, nor the naivete of the patissiers of Yakitate Japan.

While the manliness of the Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure anime may be debatable when spread over the whole 13 episode series, episodes like Jojo’s stone-faced card game against master gambler D’Arby and the sheer macho tension and violence of Jojo’s duel with Dio qualify as some of the most masculine sequences in anime ever.

Despite having a second OVA that’s widely considered one of the worst anime in existance, the late 80’s Riki-Oh OVA series is an epitome of uncompromising masculinity. Saiga Riki-oh has the strength to beat down any opponent, yet he tempers his fists with masculine tolerance. He bows to the rule of law, but when he encounters situations which defy his own sense of justice, he unleashes his unrepentant strength without mercy.

The three episode Kinniku Banzuke: Kongo-kun no Bouken (Muscle Ranking: Adventure of Kongo-kun) mini-series is otoko anime for an even younger audience than usual. Its heroes, two boys and one girl, take such pride in their strength and sportsmanship that they enter a tournament to crown the world’s strongest athlete knowing in advance that the competition is a rigged death match.

The 12 episode Shounen Bakusozoku OVA series isn’t necessarily the typical image of “otoko anime” because it revolves around teen motorcycle gangs rather than martial artist or robot pilots. But the series is characterized by young men with an unshakeable loyalty to the spirit of rebellion and plenty of fist fights.

The 2006 television series Naikaku Kenryoku Hanzai Kyosei Torishimarikan Zaizen Jotaro (Government Crime Investigation Agent Zaizen Jotaro) is not good anime by any stretch, but its terrible animation quality and protagonist who’s so assured of his own debonaire masculinity make the series a laughable guilty pleasure.

To be honest, I don’t recall very much about the 1995 Koryu no Mimi OVA, but I do recall it starring a young and handsome ladies man who exhibits supernatural “man” powers when he removes his earring. When I watched this in the late 90s I recall thinking of it as a serious attempt at dramatic, charismatic macho anime that took itself so seriously that it became laughable. The 1986 Kizuoibito OVA series fared slighly better if only because it revolved around a laughably macho protagonist doing macho things while avoiding becoming a parody of itself.

Along with Grapper Baki, 2007’s Shigurui may be the most masculine anime of the 2000s. It’s a show which respects faithfulness to masculine principles to the extent that heterosexuality is merely a tool which men employ while real masculine gratification comes from homosexuality or self-gratification. This is a grim, grotesque, gruesome show filled with blood, guts, mutilitaion, and vengeance all in persuit of ultimate masculine ideals.

It’s ironic that half of the cast of Black Lagoon is female, and it’s the girls that drive the series when the show is so butch. Honestly, I’ve long been disappointed with Black Lagoon because the series is far more masculine posing, posturing, and attitude than relentless action. However, it is tremendously popular, and the sexy pirate Levy has got more masculinity in her than nearly all contemporary male anime protagonists.

I won’t discuss Golgo 13 because it was already cited before I started my response. But there are a few more titles I do want to briefly mention. I haven’t watched enough of this year’s Rainbow ~Nisha Rokubo no Shichinin~ television series to know where it stands in the scale of “manime,” but viewers may want to investigate it. Shows including Needless, Sengoku Basara, and Sakigake!! Cromartie Koukou effectively parody otoko anime. Kamen no Maid Guy is also designed to parody otoko anime conventions, but I don’t find it as effective as its bretheren.