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ANIME REVIEWS

Copyright © Urasawa Naoki / Madhouse / Kitty Animation Circle 1987-92










—by Roderick Lee

In 1989, Kitty Animation Circle, in conjunction with Nippon TV, debuted two animated versions of SHONEN SUNDAY manga titles, both destined to run for over a hundred episodes each. One of those titles is essentially a household name to English language fandom, and its sponsoring company even claims it is the most popular English language title. Meanwhile, the sister show, YAWARA! A FASHIONABLE JUDO GIRL, exists in relative obscurity despite the fact that it scored top ten and top five ratings in Japan over its more well-known sibling, RANMA 1/2.
  Inokuma Yawara is, at heart, a typical high school senior. When not preparing for her entrance exams, she wants to shop with her friends, cook, and most of all, find a boyfriend. However, she is also a judo prodigy, having been trained by her grandfather, Jigoro, since she was very young. The early episodes of the series deal with the struggle between Yawara and her grandfather over judo. Yawara is finding that the rigorous judo routine is infringing on her quest for a "normal life," while Jigoro single-mindedly views everything that is not judo as a distraction from Yawara's training, much to Yawara's chagrin.
  Jigoro is a seventh-dan judo master and five time national champion; he also authored what is recognized worldwide as the definitive guide to judo. And his plans for his granddaughter are even greater: he wants to guide Yawara to a gold medal at Barcelona (Remember, the series begins in 1989, three years before the 1992 Barcelona Summer Olympics.) and the National Medal of Honor which would inevitably follow. Yawara's protests largely fall on deaf ears. For example, when she says she wants to find a boyfriend, her grandfather replies that when she is a national sports hero after winning the gold medal, she can have any man she wants. But Yawara does not want to wait till she is twenty. When her interest in judo flags during the second episode, Jigoro falsely concludes that her lack of interest is from the absence of a suitable rival and decides to create one, quite obviously not what Yawara wants.
  Honami Sayaka is the spoiled only daughter of the very rich Honami family and a child sports star. She has achieved top ranking in tennis, gymnastics, and equestrian riding, but now she is bored. After a freak near-accident (Sayaka, out of boredom, grabs her driver from behind and obstructs his view of the road.) in which Yawara and her grandfather are almost run down by the Honami car, Sayaka invites them back to her family's estate in apology. Once there, it is only a matter of time before Jigoro, seeing the array of Sayaka's sports achievements, exploits her superiority complex and piques her interest in judo. Like it or not, Yawara now has a rival.
  The first character the series actually opens on is the sports reporter Matsuda Kousaku. As a sports reporter, he has great interest in sport idols and when he sees Yawara take down a purse thief on the street with a perfectly executed judo throwdown, he immediately recognizes her talent and sets off to discover the identity of this hidden judo talent and future sports idol. Matsuda must contend with both Yawara's reluctance as well as Jigoro's own plans for Yawara's debut, which do not include a surprise scoop article from some third-rate newspaper. It does not help that his first encounter results in a racy photo of Yawara throwing the purse thief, but also includes a glaring shot of her panties.
  Later, Matsuda becomes Yawara's confidante and ally, sometimes sacrificing a sure scoop to help her. He also becomes enamored of her later in the series, though most of his attempts to ask her on a date end up being interviews instead. Meanwhile, Yawara has eyes for Kazamatsuri Shinnosuke, whom she first meets on the bus home from school. What neither knows at first is that Kazamatsuri is Sayaka's judo coach. Naturally, Sayaka cannot stand it when Kazamatsuri pays more attention to Yawara than her.
  All the major players are in place already by the end of the first LD; the author wastes no time in exposition and lets character background surface over the course of the series. Both of Yawara's parents eventually show up, and viewers get some insight on why Yawara is ambivalent to judo. She continues to try to live a normal life from high school to college and on, while at the same time preparing for Barcelona. At some point, she even begins to work for it out of her own desire rather than her grandfather's; and all along the way a frustrated Sayaka continues to try to best her. One cute touch is that the end of each episode features a countdown of days till Barcelona. The first episode is 1006 days away.
  The artwork is reminiscent of the style and production level of TV shows of that time, perhaps a little bit better than RANMA. The character design is a very good representation of the original manga art. Yawara is not a flashy beauty like Madoka or Kyoko, but she does have an unassuming cute attraction like URUSEI YATSURA's Shinobu. The OP/ED themes are catchy and poppy, especially the first OP, "Miracle Girl," a danceable tune which conveys the lightheartedness of this series.
  Viewers do not have to be judo or martial arts fans to find charm in this series. While this is of course a sports title and the central focus is obviously the road to Barcelona (There is even a later series closing theme of that name.), the integration of this quest with "real world" events make this series accessible to all. And while judo is obviously more commonplace in Japan than outside of Japan, that is not sufficient to explain its winning ratings during its broadcast days. However, these are easily explained when one considers its attractive and interesting characters, decent artwork, pleasant music, and engaging interwoven collection of storylines.

First Box: JVLA 1-37
¥60000
Second Box: JVLA 38-99
¥90000
Third Box: JVLA 100-124
Available Now
Where to buy


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