Yawara! A Fashionable Judo Girl

A Challenge to Yawara Over Love! (1x15)

Air date: Feb 05, 1990

Dozens of would-be new members join the judo club because of their attraction for Yawara, but they all soon quit because they cannot take her rigorous training. Sayaka visits Musashiyama High School to tell Yawara to keep her hands off of "her" Shinnosuke, and is offended by how shabby and dirty it is. Sayaka insults Hanazono as an "Eastern Island Stone Face man," and Sudoh as a "street gangster." When Sayaka boasts that she is Number One in judo in Japan, Sudoh rushes her but is thrown in an instant. Sayaka accuses Yawara of delaying her decision over the tournament to "entice Shinnosuke," but Yawara replies that she has decided to enter the tournament "just this once to find out if she shines brilliantly in judo." In a "testing range," Yawara puts on a black belt for the first time and easily defeats another black belt; Jigoro boasts to others that Yawara is at least already a 6-dan, and challenges a 5-dan to a match before Yawara quickly squelches the idea. Yawara and the judo club discover that their respective tournaments occur on the same Sunday, and Yawara promises to finish her own tournament quickly so she could coach the judo club next. Shinnosuke reflects his experience so far coaching Sayaka, which includes being given a Ferrari not yet sold in Japan and an offer of a permanent position in the Honami Group (with an implied offer of eventual marriage to Sayaka). Matsuda likewise reflects on his mixed feelings for Yawara, who he loves but also believes that she will soon be "unreachable" for him as she becomes a judo superstar.