title: The Burning Wild Man
text: # The Burning Wild Man
  
  The Burning Wild Man, known in Japanese as Moeru! Onii-san (燃える! お兄さん, Burning Older Brother) is a manga created by Tadashi Satō. It was serialized in Shueisha's shōnen manga anthology Weekly Shōnen Jump from 1987 to 1991 with its chapters collected in 19 tankōbon volumes. It was later adapted into an anime series by Studio Pierrot. The 24 episode series aired on Nippon Television from March 1988 to September 1988.
  
  Kenichi Kokuho (国宝ケンイチ, Kokuhō Ken'ichi) became lost in the mountains as a small child. A foster father raised Kenichi; when Kenichi was 15 the foster father told Kenichi about his background and the teenager returned to the civilized world at age 15.
  
  ## Characters
  
  ### Kokuhō Family
  
  **Kenichi Kokuhō (国宝 憲一, Kokuhou Kenichi) Voiced by: Kazuki Yao**
  
  
      a.k.a. Onii-san (お兄さん, big brother). The main character and a practitioner of Cha Genmai Style Karate.
  
  **Yukie Kokuhō (国宝 雪絵, Kokuhou Yukie) Voiced by: Chieko Honda**
  
  
      Kenichi's little sister who often acts as his straight man.
  
  **Kenkichi Kokuhō (国宝 憲吉, Kokuhou Kenkichi) Voiced by: Kenichi Ogata**
  
  
      a.k.a. Tou-chan (father). The head of the Kokuhō family and a potted plant artisan.
  
  **Kenji Kokuhō (国宝 憲二, Kokuhou Kenji) Voiced by: Yōko Matsuoka**
  
  
      Kenichi's little brother.
  
  **Kaede (かえで) Voiced by: Megumi Hayashibara**
  
  
      The young girl who lived as Kenichi's sister in the mountains.
  
  **Cha Genmai (玄米 茶, Genmai Cha) Voiced by: Fumio Matsuoka**
  
  
      The old man who found and raised Kenichi and taught him karate.
  
  **Flipper (フリッパー) Voiced by: Ikuya Sawaki**
  
  
      Kenichi's wolf companion from the mountains. He becomes the Kokuhō family pet. His face looks more like a cat face.
  
  ### Classmates
  
  **Gai Hidō (火堂 害, Hidou Gai) Voiced by: Shūichi Ikeda**
  
  
      A school delinquent and third generation yakuza of the Hidou Boryokudan Group. He is always depicted with his mouth open in an evil smile. He likes Yukie.
  
  **Sayuri Ayanokouji (綾小路 さゆり, Ayanokouji Sayuri) Voiced by: Yuriko Yamamoto**
  
  
      Yukie's best friend.
  
  **Rocky Hada (ロッキー羽田) Voiced by: Yūsaku Yara**
  
  
      A half-Japanese and half-Filipino boy who is highly influenced by American culture and is always wearing flashy outfits.
  
  **Akira Shiranui (不知火 明, Shiranui Akira) Voiced by: Show Hayami**
  
  
      A pompous student who presents himself as chivalrous and tries to impress girls.
  
  **Sandy Uper (サンディ・ウーパー) Voiced by: Michie Tomizawa**
  
  
      An American transfer student who is very fascinated by Japanese culture.
  
  ### Animals
  
  **Duck Nicholson (ダック・ニコルソン) Voiced by: Kōichi Yamadera**
  
  
      a.k.a. Duck-kun (ダックくん).
  
  ## Video game
  
  Im 1989, Toho released an action video game adaptation of the anime for the Famicom, developed by Advance Communication Company. The game starred Kenichi as the main character, while featuring Hidou, Rocky, and Shiranui as playable characters in some levels. The goal of the game is to rescue Yukie from a dragon simply named Dra Gon.
  
  The game was re-branded with a circus theme and released in North America under the name Circus Caper, also published by Toho. The RPG element with the final boss was removed, the stages and bosses are in different order, and many graphical and musical changes were made to better resemble a circus theme.
  
  