In the manga and anime, Tiger Mask (whose real name was Naoto Date) was a feared heel wrestler in America who was extremely vicious in the ring. However, he became a face after returning to Japan when a young boy said that he wanted to be a villain like Tiger Mask when he grew up. The boy resided in an orphanage, the same one that Tiger Mask grew up in during his childhood. Feeling that he did not want the boy to idolize a villain, Tiger was inspired to be a heroic wrestler.
The main antagonists in the manga and anime was Tiger's Cave, a mysterious organization that trained young people to be villainous heel wrestlers on the condition that they gave half of their earnings to the organization. Tiger Mask was once a member of Tiger's Cave but no longer wanted anything to do with them, instead donating his money to the orphanage. This infuriated the leader of the organization and he sent numerous assassins, including other professional wrestlers, to punish him.
Most of the environment and characters were fictitious, but real-life pro wrestlers Antonio Inoki and Giant Baba were included in the manga and anime as well.
Tiger Mask has finished publishing and it has 70 Chapters. It is also Known as: タイガーマスク, Tiger Mask
Try our anime quiz: Anime Characters Guessing Quiz/Game
Top Manga Like Tiger Mask [2025 List]
- 3. Ashita no Joe
- 2. Garouden
- 1. Grappler Baki
3. Ashita no Joe
Joe Yabuki is a troubled young man who runs away from an orphanage. Wandering through the Tokyo slums, he meets former boxing trainer Danpei. Joe is later arrested and goes to a temporary jail where he fights Nishi, his future best friend and leader of a group of hooligans. He and Nishi then go to a juvenile prison miles away from Tokyo. There Joe meets Rikiishi, a former boxing prodigy, and a rivalry develops between them. They face each other in a match in which Rikiishi dominates Joe until the latter hits him with a cross-counter, resulting in both being knocked out. This inspires the other prison inmates to take up boxing. Joe and Rikiishi vow to fight again.
Ashita no Joe has finished publishing and it has 171 Chapters. It is also Known as: あしたのジョー, Rocky Joe, Tomorrow's Joe
2. Garouden
The central plot revolves around a man named Bunshichi Tanba, a dojo-crasher who seeks stronger fighters to prove his strength to himself. While traveling to several schools and challenging the best each had to offer, Tanba came to the FAW (a gym that trains pro-wrestlers) and is pitted against T. Kajiwara. Tanba is defeated and humiliated after realizing that he is not strong enough and disappears for 3 years. Upon his return, he has become nearly unbeatable.
Garouden has finished publishing and it has 238 Chapters. It is also Known as: 餓狼伝, Ga-rou-den, Ga-Ro-Den, Legend of the Hungry Wolves
1. Grappler Baki
The story revolves around Baki Hanma and his quest to proclaim himself as the strongest grappler in the world, thus taking the title from his father. Baki also fights to gain the trust of his overly psychotic mother.
Baki the Grappler has finished publishing and it has 371 Chapters. It is also Known as: グラップラー刃牙, Grappler Baki
