Plawres Sanshiro

Plawres Sanshiro
Cover of the first DVD volume
プラレス3四郎 (Puraresu Sanshirō)
Genre	Mecha, Sport
Manga
Written by	Jirō Gyū
Published by	Akita Shoten
Demographic	Shōnen
Magazine	Weekly Shōnen Champion
Original run	August 6, 1982 – May 3, 1985
Volumes	14
Anime television series
Directed by	Kunihiko Yuyama
Studio	Asatsu DK Kaname Production Toho
Original network	TBS
Original run	June 5, 1983 – February 26, 1984
Episodes	37

Plawres Sanshiro (プラレス3四郎, Puraresu Sanshirō^?) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Jirō Gyū. It was serialized in the Akita Shoten magazine Weekly Shōnen Champion from August 6, 1982 to May 3, 1985. An anime adaptation aired in 1983 in Japan, Hong Kong, Greece and Arab countries. The name is a shortened derivative of "Plastic Model Wrestling Sanshiro." The animation is based on the manga of the same name, though the visuals of the characters, in particular the PlaWrestler robots, were different.

The story is about a young boy named Sanshiro Sugata and his miniature PlaWrestler pocket robot with super LSI circuit named Juohmaru. Initially, the show was about Sanshiro's battles with Juohmaru against other PlaWrestlers in robot battle tournaments that were a hybrid blend of modern professional wrestling, hi-tech Robot Wars and Japanese noh theatre. As the series went on, its focus shifted to Sanshiro exploring the possible uses of PlaWrestling technology in medical implants, and his clash against those who wished to use it for military purposes instead.

Sanshiro is the series' protagonist and a PlaWres modeler. His PlaWrestler, Juohmaru (柔王丸 Jūōmaru), is custom-made. Initially, Sanshiro is an ambitious rookie, and his overconfidence and brashness leads to several mistakes that he sometimes does not get out of. As the series, progresses, Sanshiro learns to think more rationally and consider the benefit of others rather than only his own.