Here’s my take after reading the first volume of the palm thrusting manga; Hinomaru Zumo by Kawada.
The premise of the story is about Ushio Hinomaru an incoming freshman of Oodachi High School who enthusiastically joins the, at that time, 1-member sumo club.
Hinomaru has one dream; to be Hinoshita Kaisan (Yokozuna). However, his small stature is often seen by other people as a disadvantage or a characteristic that a sumo wrestler should not have. But little do these people know the demon-like power and passion that he carries inside.
I rarely read or watch manga o anime that revolves around sports since sports is a straightforward genre, and in reality, I’m not a sports fan.
Well, I do love Takehiko Inoue’s Slam Dunk and George Morikawa’s Hajime no Ippo but that’s it. However, this manga about sumo is interesting to me due to several reasons.
I am a Nihonmono (Japan things) Otaku, I try my best to learn more things about this culturally rich country, so in one way or another, I would eventually hit on their national sport. There is so much to learn about it because everything is new for me.
The characters in the story are fleshed out and easy to relate to. Their ideals and head-on intense battles would keep you pumped up and on the edge of your seats
The are is beautiful and has that finesse that I rarely see from other manga that I read, so it is a treat to the eyes even if you are looking at burly men going at it.
With that said, I would give Hinomaru Zumo 8 sets of mawashi (loincloth) out of 10.
