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The Street Fighters Group falls off the radar.
Blue Killer bursts into the ring, after a 25 year break, to take on his onetime partner, The King of Evil. |
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In April, Kami-Robo make their international debut at the Institute of Contemporary Art in London. In September, Kami-Robo Fight TV aired on TV Asahi Channel, showing prerecorded fights. In November, a new live Kami-Robo event, mixing real wrestling, theatrics, and Kami-Robo fighters, was held at Omotesando Hills, a trendy, uptown shopping complex. The event, titled "Kami-Robo Fight! The King of Evil vs. Blue Killer," was staged four times before packed audiences. |
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The Ole brings the King of Evil to his knees, when he's crowned the new world heavyweight champ.
The Ole is quickly challenged by Fujiyama for the championship belt. He easily puts the cocky upstart in his place.
The Ole, Bird Man, and their band of wrestlers find themselves at odds with The King of Evil's group. The fighting becomes increasingly underhanded and dirty, as demonstrated by the appearance of mysterious masked men named Evil Cell X and XX.
For children, Coconut Great is the fighter to root for. |
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On April 2, the Kami-Robo EXPO 2005 opened at Parco Museum in Shibuya, Tokyo. As a part of its promotion, 20 people were invited to btf's Kachidoki office to watch the first public viewing of a Kami-Robo fight. Four months later, on August 3, Yasui sat before a much larger audience at Korakuen Hall, Japan's mecca for professional wrestling. Back to the audience in an effort to stay focused, the crowd was swept away by Yasui's skillful manipulation of Kami-Robo wrestlers whose moves were shown on big screen. |
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Genie Jr. joins the Max League, the largest, entertainment-oriented organization in the Kami-Robo wrestling industry.
Also drawn to the Max League by its notorious owner, The King of Evil, are The Meagan, Sword Man, and Strobolt, who left a trail of blood behind them at the Underground Wrestling Group.
The King of Evil trounced Bird Man, becoming the world heavyweight champ. Emboldened by his success, he began calling the shots both inside and outside the ring.
Max League forms an alliance with the Night Cobra Gym, allowing it to draw on the gym's top wrestlers, like Shark Hawk, when organizing Max League fights. |
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Kami-Robo wrestling, previously kept behind closed doors by Yasui, takes the public by storm. Fights are videotaped, and shown regularly on "Hobo-Nikkan Itoi Shinbun," a popular website, under the title of "Kami-Robo Fight!" On his own, the play-by-play action runs silently through his head. For video, however, Yasui can be seen slapping the ring, as a referee would, signaling the count. |
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| Genie takes a new name, King of Evil, and assumes ownership and control of the entertainment fighters organization. Fujiyama and Love Shock make their debut under his management and quickly shoot to stardom.
Genie Jr. and The Tagger join Satan King's death-match team, where they find a taste for blood in the ring.
Barron Bomber of the Original Madroneck Force succeeds his master and is crowned "Madroneck Barron Bomber." Without a clear battle plan, Madroneck King drops out of the kami-robo industry in search of another fighting arena. |
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Yasui used to only imagine what death matches would entail. He then decided to arm wrestlers with nails and the jagged cutting edge from boxes of saran wrap to give form to this gruesome fantasy. |
| Genie Jr., son of the notorious Genie, The Tagger and other young wrestlers turn the streets into their fighting ring, performing outrageous and dangerous stunts that attract huge crowds.
A major entertainment fighters organization is founded. Its wrestlers include the rowdy street fighters, the Mexican-style fighters led by Bird Man, Red Great Viper and other remaining terrorist wrestlers, as well as Genie and Night Cobra.
Madroneck Force splits again. Madroneck King forms the Original Madroneck Force, which includes Super Power, Savanna, Sunrise and Barron Bomber.
Madroneck Sun founds the New Madroneck Force, which has six newcomers, including Fierce Deity, Hurricane Rock and The Danillamie.
Satan King and a small band of other wrestlers leave Fire Bird's indies group after it lost its edge and fell into disarray. They launch a death-match organization and quickly gain fame.
Madroneck Sun becomes a jailbird. The Original Madroneck Force approached the New Madroneck Force with a business proposition to help get it out of financial straits. Taking offense, Madroneck Sun went berserk. The police were called in and he was carted off to jail to serve time. |
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The first "junior" wrestler appears, creating emotional conflicts and storylines that can only be possible and seen between blood-related wrestlers. After 20 years of wrestling, it seemed natural to Yasui that a son of one of the older wrestlers would want to follow in his father's footsteps. Of course Genie was proud to have his son debut.
A number of new wrestlers debut this year. Yasui creates new kami-robo with the thought that one will emerge within one to two years flexible and strong enough to challenge the status quo and lead the wrestling world into a new era.
Yasui intentionally puts his favorite wrestlers on the grill, deriving pleasure from watching them endure the hardships of life in and out of the ring.
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| Great Red Viper, Madroneck Warrior, Super Lead and other wrestlers pushed out during the restructuring campaign, establish a terrorist group to wreak havoc on the wrestling world. |
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In the real world of professional wrestling, even the most disgraceful and vile wrestlers would not destroy the ring or cause a match to be canceled. Yasui kept his terrorist wrestlers on a loose leash, wondering if they would cross that line. |
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| Madroneck King champions restructuring. After merging with Madroneck Sun's group, he announced a radical restructuring plan, which gave birth to a new Madroneck Force.
Fire Bird, who had temporarily dropped out of the picture, returns to the scene and starts an indies group.
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| Kami-robo founder Madroneck Fighter retires. His was the first retirement match ever held. The great pioneer's final match was slated against Madroneck King, whom he went up against when he debuted. The historic event was seen by every wrestler from every organization.
Utterly dangerous Vale Tuder appears.
The kami-robo wrestling industry hits hard economic times, causing Madroneck King's organization to fold. Barron Bomber apprentices himself to Madroneck King, who is now on his own.
Wrestlers lose their fighting spirit, just going through the motions, like Japanese salarymen, to get their paychecks. Madroneck Sun's organization also bites the dust.
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Many wrestlers go into semi-retirement, but Madroneck Fighter is the only one brave enough to completely step away from the ring.
Influenced by trends in the real world of wrestling, Yasui created Vale Tuder, a fighter who stops at nothing to win. His style was modeled after Vale Tude, a form of wrestling in which anything goes, which is popular in Brazil. Vale Tuder made a splashy debut, but he has yet to play a major role.
Yasui reworks organizations when he grows tired of events in his wrestling world. By splintering, merging and doing away with various organizations, he is able to create new plots with greater drama, inspiration and dynamics. |
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| The Ole, famed for losing with his head held high, lands a contract with Madroneck Sun's organization. Paired with Matador de Oro, he wins the tag-team championship title. |
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| The period of raging group rivalry comes to an end with only two major groups left standing strong: Madroneck King's organization and Madroneck Sun's group. The period of a bipolar wrestling world begins, with smaller groups participating in matches under the auspices of either organization.
Super Power takes part in events held by Madroneck Sun's organization. He continually challenges Madroneck Sun, battling till the mat is wet with blood. |
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| Trying to capitalize on his popularity, Bird Man challenges Madroneck Sun to wrestle. After suffering a humiliating defeat, his group loses its momentum and ends up merging with Madroneck Sun's organization. |
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| Bird Man and amateur wrestlers form a Mexican-style air-fighting group that takes the audience by storm.
Madroneck Sun, who repeatedly quits and rejoins Madroneck King's organization, walks away again. |
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Madroneck King, the master, and his apprentice, Madroneck Sun, recognize each other as equals, but are quickly at loggerheads. The state of their tumultuous love-hate relationship is something even Yasui cannot predict. |
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| The Ole appears, and wanders from one indies group to the next. Though an unexceptional wrestler, he is loved by the crowd for his ability to lose with style. |
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Great Red Viper debuts.
Super Power hails from The King's death-match team. After an extended period of bad luck and misfortune, he donned a new mask, thereby creating a new persona. |
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As a college wrestler, Yasui was called Great Red Viper. When he quit, he passed on the name to a new kami-robo for its debut. Great Red Viper was a keen observer and listener, allowing Yasui to glimpse into the backstage world of wrestling. |
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Red Goblin King, Madroneck King's second apprentice, appears. He later betrays his master, and becomes a dastardly foe.
The dawn of the economic-gang era begins. Prior to a match or major tournament, savvy negotiators, with pockets full of cash, hammer out who fights whom, as well as the time and place.
Uncomfortable with the backstage jockeying, Fire Bird takes a break from the ring. |
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From around this time, Yasui began to ponder what kami-robo do and say outside the ring. |
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To stem the tide against a wrestling world in which one wins through sheer strength and size, Madroneck Fighter opened a school to teach joint-attack techniques. The school was open to everyone and a world apart from the brutal conflicts, rivalry and personal vendettas that pervaded the ring. Fire Bird, a star wrestler with awesome power, was a dedicated student.
Madroneck Sun beat his master, Madroneck King, for the first time in a historic "Master vs. Apprentice" match. From that point on, the two develop a love-hate relationship. Their ongoing matches are amongst the most interesting and high caliber to watch.
Dynamite Stone, disciple of Fire Bird, appears.
Satan King, who took on the role of Fire Bird's henchman, despite being considerably older, called on all sinister, ill-willed wrestlers to join hands in the formation of a so-called losers' group. To prove to the audience that matches between weak players could be exciting, Satan King sponsored death matches, which catapulted his group to fame.
The King establishes a death-match organization.
Madroneck Fighter leaves the Madroneck Force and forms a team with K-1 color.
With one major organization chaired by Madroneck King and the indies chaired by Fire Bird, the kami-robo world enters the age of rivaling parties, great and small. |
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Newborn kami-robo move awkwardly because of stiff joints. The school was the training ground for limbering up new kami-robo, whose numbers had greatly increased.
To allow for a greater number of wrestlers to enter the ring, Yasui established various competing groups and pit teams against teams. This storyline reflected what was going on in the real world of Japanese professional wrestling.
Usually, kami-robo wrestle against their own team members. One group's conflicts, though heated, are minor when compared with the overall hate and rivalry seen at every level within the industry. The heat of passions is explosive when all wrestlers converge to participate in a major tournament. |
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After a six-year standstill, matches resume among the kami-robo.
Fire Bird is born. Made from improved construction materials and with a better design, he is exceptionally powerful, capable of smashing first-generation wrestlers to smithereens.
The first tournament, open to all wrestlers regardless of team affiliation, is held. It develops into a major event.
A young fighter named Madroneck Sun joins the Madroneck Force.
Karate Man, Silver Dragon, B Bomber and a slew of other new wrestlers enter the ring, creating a fierce generational conflict.
The King establishes a death-match organization.
Madroneck Fighter leaves the Madroneck Force and forms a team with K-1 color.
With one major organization chaired by Madroneck King and the indies chaired by Fire Bird, the kami-robo world enters the age of rivaling parties, great and small. |
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After graduating from high school and entering Kyoto College of Art and Design, Yasui found himself surrounded by bold and diverse individuals.His university friends prompted him to revisit his childhood fantasy world.And he concluded there was nothing wrong with playing with kami-robo, even if he was 18 years old.
The birth of new kami-robo created a clear distinction between senior and junior, master and follower. A generational conflict naturally arose between the two groups of wrestlers. |
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| 1984-1989 |
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Yasui graduated from elementary school |
All falls quiet over the kami-robo world. |
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Yasui determined to close the door on his solitary world of make-believe wrestling because it suddenly seemed to be nothing more than child's play. Though ready to abandon them, he couldn't bring himself to throw them out, so he tucked them away in the back of his closet. |
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| 1982 |
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Yasui in the 5th grade |
Madroneck Fighter vs. Madroneck King: the match that started it all.
Madroneck King, Madroneck Fighter, Madroneck Z and Madroneck X form the Madroneck Force.
The sinister Genie appears. Together with his tag-team partner and disciple, Blue Killer, he battles relentlessly with the Madroneck Force.
Satan King, the self-proclaimed fake Madroneck King, forms a wicked faction to fight against the honorable and just Madroneck Force.
Madroneck X goes on to betray his party by joining the team of darkness. |
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Yasui came up with the name "Madroneck" while playing with katakana letters. It has no special meaning. |
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