IKKI-MAN

No. of Episodes:32 episodes
Aired:Apr. 13, 1986 - Nov. 23, 1986

Battleball, has almost the same basic rules as contemporary baseball, yet has been seasoned with elements from all genres of sports. Ikki Sawamura, nicknamed Ikkiman, has joined the most popular battleball team, the Blue Planets, with the hope of becoming a full-fledged superman. Then a great showdown, on which the fate of the earth is staked, unfolds with the Satano Blackies, who are based on Halley's Comet.Ikki is a show-off who often makes careless slips. However, his is basically a cheerful personality which does not get disheartened and is quick to recover from upsets.While firmly building up his friendship with Midorikawa, the lowest level pitcher, Son Tengu, third baseman who originally did kung-fu in China, Ivanof, behemoth catcher who came from an ice hockey background, and Catherine, a girl who is a former tennis player, Ikki frantically meets the challenge of each match. His is the portrait of radiant and beautiful youth!There are episodes involving romantic trouble with Manager Uko. Then there are the drama of the fervent battle with his arch enemy Samson, the suspense with which the true evil character and goals of the Satano Blackies come to be exposed, and the excitement and sudden reversal toward the climax when Ikkiman's background is ascertained, etc.Today, too, fervent battles are unfolding in grounds enclosed in transparent domes in various parts of the world.