Yawara! A Fashionable Judo Girl

Infobox animanga/Header
name = Yawara! A Fashionable Judo Girl


caption =
ja_name =
ja_name_trans =
genre = Comedy, Drama, Romance, SportsInfobox animanga/Manga
title =
author = Naoki Urasawa
publisher =
magazine = flagicon|Japan Big Comic Spirits
demographic = Seinen
first = 1986
last = 1993
volumes = 29Infobox animanga/Anime
title =
director = Hiroko Tokita
studio = Kitty Films
network = flagicon|Japan NTV series
flagicon|Taiwan CTV
flagicon|Philippines QTV 11
licensor = flagicon|USA flagicon|Canada AnimEigo
first = October 16, 1989
last = September 21, 1992
episodes = 124

"YAWARA!", also known as "Yawara! A Fashionable Judo Girl", is a Japanese manga series by Naoki Urasawa which ran in "Big Comic Spirits" from 1986 to 1993. In 1990, it received the 35th Shogakukan Manga Award for general manga.cite web | url=http://comics.shogakukan.co.jp/mangasho/rist.html | title=小学館漫画賞：歴代受賞者 | publisher=Shogakukan | language=Japanese | accessdate=2007-08-19]

In 1989, Yomiuri TV (part of the Nihon TV network) began broadcasting an anime adaptation, which ran from October 16, 1989 through September 21, 1992 for a total of 124 episodes. Each episode ended with a countdown to the number of days remaining to the start of the Barcelona Olympics. AnimEigo licensed the TV series for North American distribution in August 2006. [See [http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/article.php?id=9387 AnimEigo Picks up Yawara] , August 17, 2006]

ummary

The story is about Yawara Inokuma, a young girl who aspires to an ordinary life but who, due to her innate talent, is forced to keep practicing judo by her authoritarian grandfather, Jigorou Inokuma, with the aim of achieving championship in Japan and the gold medal in the Barcelona's 1992 Olympic Games. Because of all the pressure from her grandfather, she has a generally bad attitude about judo, avoiding it as much as she can. However, as the manga continues, she begins to understand why her grandfather so loves judo, and she begins to appreciate it more.

Characters

;nihongo|Yawara Inokuma|猪熊 柔|Inokuma Yawara :anime voices|Yuko Minaguchi:Yawara is a young girl who aspires to an ordinary life but who, due to her innate talent, is forced to keep practicing judo by her authoritarian grandfather. She is always having romantic daydreams about an ordinary life, her biggest dream being to find a boyfriend.

;nihongo|Jigorou Inokuma|猪熊 滋悟郎|Inokuma Jigorou :anime voices|Ichirou Nagai:Jigorou is the 7th-dan Judo Master and 5-time National Champion, his passion for judo is rivaled only by his love for Yawara and food. He has great expectations for Yawara's judo career, and is constantly pushing her to do her best and focus primarily on judo. His motto is "Judo was not built in a day". He also does work on the side as a bone-setting doctor.

;nihongo|Sayaka Honami|本阿弥 さやか|Honami Sayaka :anime voices|Yoshino Takamori:Sayaka is an extremely spoiled daughter of one of Japan's richest families, she has never failed to dominate any sport she's cared to try, and when Yawara shows her up, she decides to stop at nothing to defeat her and becomes her rival. She has a false tooth, which is a sore point for her, and one that Yawara keeps accidentally bringing up.

;nihongo|Shinnosuke Kazamatsuri|風祭 進之介|Kazamatsuri Shinnosuke:anime voices|Akira Kamiya:Shinnosuke is one of the finest judo coaches in all of Japan, he idolizes Jigorou, and has been hired by Honami. Despite being incredibly shy, he is an unbelievable babe-magnet thanks to his good looks and caring personality. Unfortunately for him, for all the women in the world, and in particular, for Sayaka, the one girl he's got his eye on is Yawara.

;Matsuda Kosaku and Kamoda :A reporter and cameraman team working for a sports paper, Matsuda's becomes convinced Yawara is going to be the next great sports superstar, while Kamoda seems to have a knack for taking "the perfect shot" for headlines.

;Hanazono :Hanazono, the large, overly-emotional captain of the judo club at Yawara's high school, he becomes devoted to Yawara when she comes to his attention as an skilled judoka.

;Sudoh :Sudoh is the resident bad boy at Yawara's high school, he begins to pester her when she starts making headlines, and acts as a foil to Hanazono. When Yawara becomes the high school judo club coach, he joins and is the only new member to withstand Yawara's rigorous training program.

;nihongo|Jody Rockwell|ジョディ・ロックウェル|Jodi Rokkuweru :anime voices|Miyuki Ichijou:Jody is the previous year's female judo world champion, she is a Canadian who comes to challenge Yawara to a match part way into the series, becoming a friendly rival and regular character.

Music

Opening Theme:

*nihongo|"Miracle Girl"|ミラクル・ガール|Mirakuru Gāru: Eps. 01 - 43
*:Lyrics by: Yoshiko Miura
*:Composition by: Kouichi Fuji
*:Arrangement by: Takayuki Negishi
*:Song by: Mariko Nagai

*nihongo|" Rain-Kissed Bouquet… "|雨にキッスの花束を|Ame ni Kiss no Hanataba wo: Eps. 44 - 81
*:Lyrics by: Yuuho Iwasato
*:Composition by: KAN
*:Arrangement by: Jun Satou
*:Song by: Miki Imai
*nihongo|" Girl Can't Lose "|負けるな女の子!|Makeruna Onnanoko!: Eps. 82 - 102
*:Lyrics and composition by: Yuko Hara
*:Arrangement by: Takeshi Kobayashi
*:Song by: Yuko Hara

*"YOU AND I": Eps. 103-124
*:Lyrics and composition by: Taizou Junouchi
*:Arrangement by: Takayuki Negishi
*:Song by: Mariko Nagai

Ending Theme:

*nihongo|"Stand By Me"|スタンド・バイ・ミー|Sutando Bai Mī: Eps. 01 - 43
*:Lyrics by: Takashi Matsumoto
*:Composition by: Wataru Yahagi
*:Arrangement by: Mitsuo Hagita
*:Song by: Rika Himenogi

*nihongo|" Searching for a Smile "|笑顔を探して|Egao wo Sagashite: Eps. 44 - 81
*:Lyrics and composition by: Midori Karashima
*:Arrangement by: Kei Wakakusa
*:Song by: Midori Karashima

*nihongo|" Girl Era "|少女時代|Shōjo Jidai: Eps. 82 - 102
*:Lyrics and composition by: Yuko Hara
*:Arrangement by: Takeshi Kobayashi, Keisuke Kuwata
*:Song by: Yuko Hara

*nihongo|" You Were Always There "|いつもそこに君がいた|Itsumo Soko ni Kimi ga Ita: Eps. 103 - 124
*:Lyrics and composition by: LOU
*:Arrangement by: Akihisa Matsura, LAZY LOU's BOOGIE
*:Song by: LAZY LOU's BOOGIE

Cultural Context

The significance of the 1992 Barcelona Olympics in the story is that in the real world, this was the first time that Women's Judo would be a full competition event, and would thus see the awarding of the first ever Olympic gold medal for Women's Judo. [Judo at the 1992 Summer Olympics]

"Yawara!" was very popular in Japan, so when real life Japanese teenager Ryoko Tamura won a silver medal for judo at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, she was seen as a real-life "Yawara" (her age, stature, and ability all being strikingly similar to those of the fictional character) and promptly nicknamed "Yawara-chan". [ [http://web-japan.org/trends00/honbun/tj000125.html A Decade of Dominance | Sports and Fashion | Trends in Japan | Web Japan ] ] She was still known by this name eight years later, [ [http://web-japan.org/trends00/honbun/tj001130.html Olympic Glory | Sports and Fashion | Trends in Japan | Web Japan ] ] indicating perhaps the enduring popular recognition of the series as well as that of Ryoko Tamura herself.

References

External links

* [http://www.5-ace.co.jp/yawara/ Official site]
* [http://www.animeigo.com/PRODUCTS/YAWARA-PREVIEW.T AnimEigo Official site]
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