English Dub Review: Hinomaru Sumo “Wrestling vs. Sumo”

The age old question is finally put to rest.

Overview (Spoilers Below)

Ozeki and Ushio need to get more people for the sumo team so they can compete in tournaments. To that end, Ushio decides the best way to get more wrestlers is by offering a special sumo stew that is sure to light the fires of their hearts.

At their school’s club rush, Ushio and Ozeki offer their stew, but it tastes so terrible that no one takes it. It’s there that Ushio runs into Kunisaki Chihiro, a member of the wrestling club. Later, Ushio challenges Chihiro to a wrestling match, his sumo versus Chihiro’s wrestling skills. The two settle upon rules, to which Chihiro has the advantage in the fight. Meanwhile, Reina, the student council president, uses this opportunity to further her own popularity among the school by serving as the referee.

Ushio shows the power of his sumo abilities, quickly proving to Chihiro that he is way stronger than previously thought. No matter what Chihiro tries to use on Ushio, his sumo strength trumps every move that Ushio knows.

With their fight complete, Chihiro finds respect in Ushio, and asks to join his club. In addition, a young boy named Kei and Gojou, the bully from the first episode. To top it all of, a mysterious glasses wearing student comes in to offer his assistance, but not as a wrestler. He says that with his guidance, Ushio and his team can be champions in no time.

Our Take:

This episode is a vast improvement over the first, which got bogged down by its simplicity. Things felt a bit constrained, without a whole lot of complexity or interesting ideas to keep things moving, but that problem gets remedied real quick here. We’re introduced to a bunch of new characters and treated to a fight that demonstrates what a sumo wrestling anime is really about. Tense, powerful fighting. This episode marks a strong step forward for the anime, which I wasn’t sure about after seeing its just okay first episode. However, after enjoying the strength of this great episode, I think the series is off to a much better start.

The fight between Ushio and Chihiro is the kind of fight that should have been present in the first episode. It demonstrates a wide array of sumo abilities, indicating what makes it different not just from other combat sports, but what makes sumo wrestling a different kind of sports anime to watch. As Ushio shows, again and again, sumo is sometimes a life-or-death game, with physical dominance being central to the combat sport. Their fight is also very visually appealing, too, giving us a full view of the action. The excitement of the sport isn’t just talked about, its shown, by having these two physical titans pummel each other into the ground. Nothing like a bit of good ass kicking.

In addition, the episode also adds a good amount of other things besides just the fighting to the story. By the end of it, we have a new team of characters to develop, along with a mysterious manager-looking guy, and the student council president, more interested in playing politics than anything else. This is a good setup for future stories and gives the plot a lot of room to grow with its characters. The setting, too, feels more alive for this reason, with the high school feeling more like an actual school, where sumo is the underdog of their sports selection.

Hinomaru Sumo is shaping up to be a really good shounen, having successfully drawn me in with a strong second episode. I’m reminded of “Eyeshield 21” a bit, the American football anime also based on a relative underdog of a sport. Only time will tell if this series can match the incredible heights of that legend, but I think no matter how it ends up, the audience will enjoy the ride.