English Dub Review: Hinomaru Sumo “Onimaru Kunitsuna and Dojikiri Yasutsuna Go Again”

The unstoppable force vs. the immovable object.

Overview (Spoilers Below)

The fifth bout has arrived, and the hero of Dachi High, Hinomaru, is set to fight Tennoji, a fearsome national treasure known for his brutality and love of the fight. He stands to be the greatest fight Hinomaru has ever faced. Before they begin their battle, though, Tennoji takes a moment to rally his team, which has suffered some pretty dramatic defeats. He shows his strength as a captain by inspiring them to continue hoping for their victory. Soon, as Hinomaru and Tennoji step into the ring, a tension falls upon the ring and the crowd. The stats favor Tennoji, but Hinomaru has proven himself to be a powerful rookie so far, and is no one to be underestimated.

Their fight begins, and both Hinomaru and Tennoji begin their battle at full force. Each of them offers the most powerful moves and abilities they know, but Tennoji, who is more experienced than Hinomaru, is able to counter each and every one of his offensives. It seems as if Hinomaru has no chance of victory.

What’s worse, the fire of combat vanishes from Hinomaru’s eyes. He begins fighting passively, giving up ground and allowing Tennoji to make his advance. In that instant, the crowd sees Hinomaru’s fighting spirit slipping away. Tennoji laments that Hinomaru was not the man he thought he was.

At least, that’s what Hinomaru wants him to think.

In an instant, Hinomaru revives himself, revealing that he wasn’t giving up, just taking a step back to launch an even greater offensive. Hinomaru then starts going blow for blow with Tennoji, unleashes several demon drops, and kicks the fight up a notch. Both of them recount how it was the strength of their teammates that allowed them to get as far as they have. For Tennoji, he was able to fight against a variety of diverse sumo styles that gave him the opportunity to hone his sumo even further. For Hinomaru, he could have never come as far as he has on his own.

The two give it their all, but ultimately, it is Hinomaru who comes out on top, launching Tennoji with one final throw, dropping him onto the ground and taking the bout for Dachi High. It’s an incredible victory and a hard loss for Tennoji, but he rejoins his teammates, and tells them not to put on a brave face for him. They’ve earned their moment of weakness.

Our Take:

Week after week, Hinomaru Sumo has pushed us deeper into the throngs of sumo warfare, with each bout in the tournament bringing the stakes up higher and higher for Dachi High’s potential victory. How fitting then, that this episode should give us the most intense, exciting battle in this show to date. The fight between Hinomaru and Tennoji was destined, something that we knew would occur from the very beginning of the tournament. But this fight surprises because of how much the episodes before it have added to the satisfaction of seeing Hinomaru defeat one of the strongest sumo wrestlers in this tournament.

Everything about this fight generates naturally from the plot surrounding it. On its own, its just a standard sumo wrestling match between Hinomaru and a much stronger opponent, which we’ve already seen many times before. However, with the added impact of the episodes before, this fight exists as the culmination of all of Dachi High’s efforts to push through this tournament so far.  In Hinomaru’s battle, we see not just his desires taking form, but the desires of all his teammates who fight with him.  The emotional intensity of this fight is nothing to scoff at. Hinomaru Sumo has managed to find a moment of brilliance in its first season.

This strength of theme is supported by a fight that’s paced well and animated with ferocity and strength. I’ve never been too happy with Hinomaru Sumo’s visuals, feeling like the fights don’t amount to much, animation wise. Though they’re pretty good at incorporating the show’s themes into the fights, they don’t follow up on that with the kind of complex combat and visceral animation I expect to see in a shounen. Too often, fights get lost in the intricacies of sumo, and end with a takedown given a flashy name. Yet, here there is a lot more at play than what we’re used to seeing. Though there’s plenty of reaction shots to give exposition and a few flashy takedowns, there is more going on than usual, fight-wise. Hinomaru and Tennoji have something akin to a fencing duel occur between them; a battle not just of strength, but of wits. The two unleash the full force of their sumo abilities, and it shows in this episode’s fight.

There’s quite a bit to love, here. I don’t believe that this is the best a shounen can do, but it’s some of the best I’ve seen from Hinomaru Sumo so far. I was thrilled the entire time during this episode, and happy to see this new shounen manage to pull off one of it’s more important moments. We don’t have many episode left in this season, but it looks like Hinomaru Sumo wants to finish strong.