Yawara! A Fashionable Judo Girl

Ippon-zeoi smile! (1x78)

Air date: Jul 29, 1991

Assisted by her dancer's flexibility, Fujiko is able to invent new pinning moves and hang on for the victory, with only the finals separating her from her Yugoslavia dreams. During match intermission, Matsuda interviews the company representatives and tells Yawara that the companies are just using her (for publicity) and will not allow her to work "normally," which is overheard by Fujiko, who is saddened to learn that she may be forcing her Yugoslavia dreams on her friend. Matsuda also tells her she cannot lead a normal life wherever she goes and can never get away from judo. Tsurukame president confesses to Yawara that they lied about having a judo dojo to lure her into signing with the company, which does not deflate Yawara because she can work a normal job. Yawara is matched with an old rival from Tsukushi, Ogaki, who has been armed with a secret technique developed by her coach to counter Yawara. Matsuda recognizes Yawara's "smile" as the same one during her debut, when her intent was to fake a loss so she could leave judo. But Matsuda is completely wrong, as Yawara was not about to throw the match and beats her opponent smoothly anyway. She runs off to catch the Tsurukame people to accept their offer, but they had already left. Tsurukame's president has become a Yawara fan and decides that they will never lie to her, though they believe she is heading for Sakai. As her finals match begins, Fujiko is at a loss, not knowing that she has never been taught how to deal with a lefthanded opponent.