- I should support this because the distributor is taking a big chance
- It's Urasawa
- A Japanese judo prodigy actually arose for real just after this and was called Yawara-chan by her numerous fans even though that wasn't her name.
Definitely closer to the lighter aspects of Master Keaton but much fluffier all around, Yawara is the story of a high school girl who's a genius at judo but wants nothing more than to be a normal teenager (who has fun, wears pretty clothes, goes to college, falls in love, etc.). Her scheming old grandfather has been training her since early childhood, and he has a plan that won't end until she's won the gold medal at the olympics (even though judo wasn't a medal sport yet) and a National Merit Award. He tries to set things up to go his way, and I pretty much hate him, but he has his moments.
There's a bit of mystery here, too, because Yawara's judo genius father is missing. There's some romance and heartbreak. A former judo prodigy with competition-prohibiting stage fright becomes the object of her affection. A reporter who was always a mediocre athlete and is now working for a trashy sports paper in the hopes of discovering a genius hero athlete just like the ones he always idolized wants to make her into a star.
A lot of the humor comes from the situations that start out cliched but aren't. Yawara's grandfather entices a talented-but-spoiled rich girl athlete to become Yawara's rival (I kind of hate her, too). Yawara couldn't care less. The reporter wanted to discover a genius athlete, but he never anticipated what life would be like for a genius who wants nothing to do with the spotlight.
It's light and fun and goofy and sometimes quite touching. Just don't go in with any expectations above that, and you'll probably enjoy it, too. If you've seen it, do let me know your thoughts about what made you watch it and what you liked about it.
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