TV-Series
Description
Hanzō is a character from the anime Ultimate Muscle, also known as Kinnikuman Nisei. He is a brutal and skilled fighter who initially serves as a major antagonist before undergoing a significant reformation. Hailing from Planet IGA, a world neighboring Planet Kinniku, Hanzō is introduced as the second member of the No Respect trio, a group of powerful and villainous wrestlers known as the Gruesome Threesome in some adaptations.
Hanzō's background is marked by tragedy and violence. His face was horribly disfigured in a fire when he was very young, an event that left him with a deep-seated fear of flames. In another version, his burns were the result of radiation from a meteor shower. The psychological trauma from being bullied because of his scarred face drove him to despise others and set him on a path of cruelty. He chose to hide his features behind a mask and became a phantom killer, earning the nicknames Hanzo the Horrible and the Face-Stealing Brute. During his rampage, he murdered 295 soldiers from Planet Kinniku, including a student of the legendary wrestler The Ninja.
His personality is defined by a sadistic and merciless nature. Hanzō is not only a physically powerful assassin but also a cunning manipulator who enjoys psychological torture. He developed a gruesome habit of skinning the faces of his victims and keeping the hides as trophies, which he would later use in macabre tactics against their loved ones to instill fear and lower their defenses. Despite this brutality, his character is driven by a deep-seated pain and a desire to inflict the suffering he endured onto others, though this changes following his defeat.
Hanzō's primary role in the story is as a formidable obstacle for the protagonist, Mantaro Kinniku. Before his scheduled match with Mantaro during the Kajiba no Kuso Djikara Challenge, The Ninja intervenes, seeking to avenge his slain student and stop the villain himself. In a devastating fight, Hanzō outmatches The Ninja, using a puppet with the face of The Ninja's dead student to create a moment of fatal hesitation. He then kills The Ninja by slicing his face with his sword and knocking him from the ring to his death.
This sets the stage for Hanzō's climactic match with Mantaro. He proves to be a dangerous opponent, using his sword to cut the ring's ropes. However, Mantaro is spurred on by the spirit of The Ninja and eventually defeats Hanzō with his Muscle Millennium Lengths technique. The key moment in Hanzō's development occurs after his loss. As he begins to fall through the broken ring mat, Mantaro saves him from falling. In an act of profound kindness, Mantaro then takes The Ninja’s scarf and ties it around Hanzō’s head to cover his disfigured face from the jeering crowd. This selfless gesture deeply moves Hanzō, making him see the error of his ways and igniting his path toward redemption.
Grateful for Mantaro's compassion, he warns the hero that his final opponent, Bone Cold, is far more powerful and malicious than he or his ally Fork the Giant. This marks the beginning of his transformation. While he is originally a brutal choujin, he later reforms and reappears as an Idol Choujin, a hero, during the Demon Seed Arc. He is granted a temporary release from prison to help the heroes fight the greater evil of General Terror. In this conflict, he battles and defeats the villain Gepparland but is ultimately impaled and killed by General Terror. His sacrifice underscores his complete turn to heroism. He is later resurrected by a mystical artifact known as the Reborn Diamond.
Hanzō shares several key relationships that define his arc. His hatred for The Ninja is central to his villainy, while his rivalry and subsequent bond with Mantaro Kinniku is the catalyst for his change. His relationship with his two partners in the No Respect trio, Fork the Giant and Bone Cold, establishes him as a major threat, though he ultimately distances himself from their malice.
As a fighter, Hanzō possesses incredibly high combat power, with a recorded power level of 1,470,000. His most notable abilities are ninja-like and weapon-based. His primary weapon is the You'ude Katana, a razor-sharp sword capable of slicing through ring ropes and even removing an opponent's face. Among his signature techniques are the Tsurigane Wari, a powerful skull-crushing move he used to defeat Gepparland. After his reformation, he continues to employ his brutal ninja techniques, now in the service of justice, and uses moves translated as Hanzou Style Secret or Wasabi Wallop in different adaptations. His lingering fear of fire, stemming from the accident that scarred him, remains a notable psychological weakness throughout his appearances.
Hanzō's background is marked by tragedy and violence. His face was horribly disfigured in a fire when he was very young, an event that left him with a deep-seated fear of flames. In another version, his burns were the result of radiation from a meteor shower. The psychological trauma from being bullied because of his scarred face drove him to despise others and set him on a path of cruelty. He chose to hide his features behind a mask and became a phantom killer, earning the nicknames Hanzo the Horrible and the Face-Stealing Brute. During his rampage, he murdered 295 soldiers from Planet Kinniku, including a student of the legendary wrestler The Ninja.
His personality is defined by a sadistic and merciless nature. Hanzō is not only a physically powerful assassin but also a cunning manipulator who enjoys psychological torture. He developed a gruesome habit of skinning the faces of his victims and keeping the hides as trophies, which he would later use in macabre tactics against their loved ones to instill fear and lower their defenses. Despite this brutality, his character is driven by a deep-seated pain and a desire to inflict the suffering he endured onto others, though this changes following his defeat.
Hanzō's primary role in the story is as a formidable obstacle for the protagonist, Mantaro Kinniku. Before his scheduled match with Mantaro during the Kajiba no Kuso Djikara Challenge, The Ninja intervenes, seeking to avenge his slain student and stop the villain himself. In a devastating fight, Hanzō outmatches The Ninja, using a puppet with the face of The Ninja's dead student to create a moment of fatal hesitation. He then kills The Ninja by slicing his face with his sword and knocking him from the ring to his death.
This sets the stage for Hanzō's climactic match with Mantaro. He proves to be a dangerous opponent, using his sword to cut the ring's ropes. However, Mantaro is spurred on by the spirit of The Ninja and eventually defeats Hanzō with his Muscle Millennium Lengths technique. The key moment in Hanzō's development occurs after his loss. As he begins to fall through the broken ring mat, Mantaro saves him from falling. In an act of profound kindness, Mantaro then takes The Ninja’s scarf and ties it around Hanzō’s head to cover his disfigured face from the jeering crowd. This selfless gesture deeply moves Hanzō, making him see the error of his ways and igniting his path toward redemption.
Grateful for Mantaro's compassion, he warns the hero that his final opponent, Bone Cold, is far more powerful and malicious than he or his ally Fork the Giant. This marks the beginning of his transformation. While he is originally a brutal choujin, he later reforms and reappears as an Idol Choujin, a hero, during the Demon Seed Arc. He is granted a temporary release from prison to help the heroes fight the greater evil of General Terror. In this conflict, he battles and defeats the villain Gepparland but is ultimately impaled and killed by General Terror. His sacrifice underscores his complete turn to heroism. He is later resurrected by a mystical artifact known as the Reborn Diamond.
Hanzō shares several key relationships that define his arc. His hatred for The Ninja is central to his villainy, while his rivalry and subsequent bond with Mantaro Kinniku is the catalyst for his change. His relationship with his two partners in the No Respect trio, Fork the Giant and Bone Cold, establishes him as a major threat, though he ultimately distances himself from their malice.
As a fighter, Hanzō possesses incredibly high combat power, with a recorded power level of 1,470,000. His most notable abilities are ninja-like and weapon-based. His primary weapon is the You'ude Katana, a razor-sharp sword capable of slicing through ring ropes and even removing an opponent's face. Among his signature techniques are the Tsurigane Wari, a powerful skull-crushing move he used to defeat Gepparland. After his reformation, he continues to employ his brutal ninja techniques, now in the service of justice, and uses moves translated as Hanzou Style Secret or Wasabi Wallop in different adaptations. His lingering fear of fire, stemming from the accident that scarred him, remains a notable psychological weakness throughout his appearances.