- "This is what we call 'Peak Condition'."
— Murobuchi to Yanagi Makoto[2]
Murobuchi Gozo (
Appearance[]
Murobuchi Gozo is a powerfully athletic man with a strong build, short cropped black hair with a small widow's peak, a long face, with a circle extended goatee beard and confident eyes. He is almost always sporting a confident grin. Murobuchi tends to wear clothes from the United Clothing brand, the company he fights for.
Personality[]
Murobuchi is a confident individual with an indomitable attitude when it comes to overcoming seemingly insurmountable challenges, no doubt due to his background as an unbeatable gold medallist decathlete.
In spite of that, he is also humble, admitting Akoya is his superior.
History[]
Born to a hammer thrower father and a javelin thrower mother, Murobuchi shocked his family by standing up just 10 days after being born. But it was only in middle school that he became involved in track and field athletics, breaking records in all events. At the age of 16, he represented Japan in the decathlon and for the next 25 years he became dominant in the athletics world, achieving countless victories.[2]
Having become a national hero, his feats surpassing the boundaries of a mere athlete, Murobuchi Gozo suddenly announced his retirement two years ago at the age of 41 and he vanished from the public stage to focus solely on fighting in the Kengan matches.[2] In the Kengan matches, Murobuchi managed to attain nineteen victories, with his only loss from his eleventh match, against Wakatsuki Takeshi as his opponent.[2]
Plot[]
Kengan Ashura[]
While sitting on the toilet in the restroom, he noticed Kiohzan Takeru annihilating the assassins that had come for his representative position and acknowledged that Kiohzan was pretty strong.
Murobuchi represented United Clothing in the Kengan Annihilation Tournament and fought Wakatsuki Takeshi. Despite putting up a better fight, he still lost to his rival.
Hospitalized, Murobuchi was given new teeth and was soon back on his feet. During Hayami's attempted coup, Murobuchi helped defend the medical area alongside Hanafusa Hajime, Sekibayashi Jun, Inaba Ryo and Kono Haruo. While fighting, they were soon aided by Muteba Gizenga.
The next day, Murobuchi and the defeated fighters from the previous rounds watched the final day of the tournament unfold.
After the Annihilation Tournament, Murobuchi began doing "top-secret" training in order to take down Wakatsuki.
Kengan Omega[]
At least one and a half years after the Annihilation Tournament, Murobuchi was brutally beaten by Akoya Seishu in a Kengan match[5], which got the latter suspended for deliberately trying to kill him. Murobuchi would also be defeated by newcomer fighter Utsubuki Kokuro, though the latter noted that Murobuchi was not in peak condition.[6]
Murobuchi was eventually forced to take an extended leave from the matches due to complications with his injuries.[7] While he was the cause of his injuries, it was Murobuchi himself who vouched for Akoya to join the roster for the Kengan Association VS Purgatory Tournament, noting that though he was brutalized, he wasn't killed.[8]
Power & Abilities[]
A former decathlete, Murobuchi Gozo has highly developed physical strength, speed and technique. Without any true martial arts experience, he is still a powerful fighter who relies purely on his athletic ability. As a demonstration of his condition for his boss, he demolished a trailer with his bare hands; after this feat he claimed he was at "peak" condition.[2] Despite having no formal martial arts training, he was able to perform a cross arm lock on Wakatsuki Takeshi.[9] However, his greatest asset is his physical speed, being considered the fastest man on earth; using this speed, he was able to perform the "world's fastest flying knee kick" on Wakatsuki.[9]
Etymology[]
- Murobuchi means "room, greenhouse/icehouse, cellar" (室) (muro) and "abyss, edge, deep pool, depth/the depths" (淵) (fuchi/buchi).
- Gozo means "sturdy, strength, robust, tough" (剛) (go) and "three" (三) (zo).
Notes & Trivia[]
- Murobuchi is modelled after (though some would say caricaturizing) Olympic hammer-throwing gold medalist Koji Murofushi.[1]
- Murobuchi was initially conceptualized as a karateka at first, but the manga's editor Kobayashi essentially suggested that athletes were also potential affiliate fighters in the Kengan Association. Thus, Murobuchi became track-and-field athlete.[1]
- Murobuchi's favourite team sport is baseball.[1]
- His favourite phrase is, "You can do it if you try!".[1]
- Murobuchi has only been beaten five times in international competitions and his abilities sometimes exceeded specialists in their own events.[2]
- He is well acquainted with Ohkubo Naoya and co-starred in a lot of sports programs with him before retiring. The two have had dinner every so often ever since.[2]
- Murobuchi has made a cameo in Dumbbell Nan-Kilo Moteru?.[10] His name also appears on a list of actors that appear in a movie Deire made.[11]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 Murobuchi Gozo's profile
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 2.9 Chapter 63
- ↑ 19 wins prior to the Kengan Annihilation Tournament(Ch63)(Ep12)
- ↑ 1 loss prior to the Kengan Annihilation Tournament to Wakatsuki Takeshi(Ch63)
1 loss after defeat to Wakatsuki Takeshi during the tournament(Ch64)(Ep12)
1 loss after defeat to Utsubuki Kokuro after the tournament(Ch4 (Omega))
1 loss after defeat to Akoya Seishu after the tournament(Ch39 (Omega))(Ch57 (Omega)) - ↑ Chapter 39 (Omega)
- ↑ Chapter 4 (Omega)
- ↑ Chapter 57 (Omega)
- ↑ Chapter 104 (Omega)
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Chapter 64
- ↑ Chapter 39 (Dumbbell)
- ↑ Chapter 76 (Dumbbell)
