>No, at least not directly. Ryo Zan Paku is the last bastion of the
>Experts of Justice in Giant Robo the Animation: The Night the Earth
>Stood Still, which is in turn a sort of lovingly built pastiche of
>a bunch of stuff Giant Robo manga creator Mitsuteru Yokoyama
>did - it probably comes to GRtA from one of those other sources, and
>then could be traced from there back to some common thread in Japanese
>myth that Kenichi is also referencing.

Ryo Zan Paku is the Japanese translation of the Chinese Liang Shan Bo, which is the area where the 108 heroes lived in the Chinese classical novel "Shuihu Zhuan", AKA "Water Margin" or "or The Marshes of Mount Liang".

Lots of characters in Giant Robo the Animation : The Night the Earth Stand Still also comes from this novel. E.g. Taisou and Shishin of the nine kings, Goyou, Youshi, Kaei, and many many more.

Ref :
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_Margin
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Liang

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CuSO4