is a Japanese sumo manga series written and illustrated by . It was serialized in Shueisha's manga magazine Weekly Shōnen Jump from May 2014 to July 2019, with its chapters collected into 28 volumes by Shueisha. A 24-episode anime television series adaptation produced by Gonzo aired from October 2018 to March 2019.
Plot summary On his first day of high school, sumo practitioner Hinomaru Ushio joins Odachi High's sumo club. Despite his short stature (professional sumo has a height requirement of ), Hinomaru aims to become the best in high school to force the professional sumo association to let him compete, and then reach the sport's highest rank of yokozuna. However, the club's captain and only other member, third year student Shinya Ozeki, informs him that delinquents have taken over their dojo. Hinomaru challenges their leader and "strongest" student at the school, Yuma Gojo, to a fight to take back the dojo, and beats him with one hit. Humbled, Yuma also joins the sumo club after being dragged to a practice match by Hinomaru and seeing how strong the wrestlers are. They compete in a local three-man team tournament, but are knocked out by Ishigami High School. In order to avoid having the club shut down, they recruit two more members during the two-day cultural festival; the national wrestling champion Chihiro Kunisaki, and the small, unathletic Kei Mitsuhashi.
The members of Odachi High's sumo club then enter the Kantō newcomer tournament, which is fought one-on-one, where Chihiro, Yuma and Hinomaru are all defeated by the return of the prodigy Sōsuke Kuze. Hinomaru's childhood friend Kirihito Tsuji enters Odachi High and becomes the coach of the sumo club. Tsuji devises training regimens for each member, including having Hinomaru train with professionals at Shibakiyama stable, to get them ready for the Chiba preliminaries of the Inter High Tournament. At the preliminaries, Odachi High defeats Ishigami High in the team finals earning a spot at the nationals, while Hinomaru wins the individual tournament. Shibakiyama invites Odachi High to Nagoya to train with professionals, where Hinomaru gets special training with sekitori and former yokozuna Shunkai Tokio. On the first day of the national Inter High Tournament at Ryōgoku Kokugikan, Hinomaru is eliminated from the individual competition by reigning champion Shido Tennoji and injures his arm. With Hinomaru out for the rest of the day, Odachi High advances in the first two rounds of the team competition without him. On the third and final day, Odachi High and Hinomaru defeat Tottori Hakurou High and Tennoji in the semifinals, before defeating Eiga University High and Kuze in the finals to become the national champions.
Three and a half years later, Hinomaru is returning to the top makuuchi division of professional sumo after having suffered a serious injury to his right arm two years earlier. During the July tournament in Nagoya, Hinomaru defeats Tsuji before Mongolian yokozuna Jin'o, who has reigned at the top of the sport for the last decade, wins his 44th championship and announces he will retire if he wins the next one due to a lack of competition. This lights a fire within the young Japanese wrestlers and they organize a training camp together in Gifu Prefecture in order to defeat him. After Hinomaru loses on the second and third days of the September tournament, including once to Jin'o, the old Odachi High sumo club reunites to help him strategize and stays to support him. On national television after defeating ōzeki Kinkaizan, Hinomaru proposes that he and Reina marry after the tournament. Hinomaru goes undefeated for the rest of the tournament and defeats Ozeki on the 15th and final day. Although Jin'o is initially ruled the winner of his final day bout with Kuze, Tennoji calls a mono-ii and the decision is overturned into a win for Kuze. This forces the need for a playoff between four wrestlers with 13–2 records. Jin'o defeats his stablemate Akihira Kano, and Hinomaru defeats his stablemate Norihiro Saenoyama. Hinomaru then defeats yokozuna Jin'o to win the September tournament. In the epilogue six months later, Hinomaru and Reina have gotten married and he is still competing in the top division.
Characters Odachi High School
A two-time yokozuna champion in elementary school due to his natural talent, he was given the epithet National Treasure . But his career stalled in junior high due to his diminutive size of , and he left competitive sumo after suffering his third-consecutive loss. He decides to make his return in high school three years later. Despite his size, he is extremely muscular and fights using "yokozuna-style" sumo, which sees him attacking his opponents head-on with better leverage due to a far lower center of gravity. This, combined with his gung-ho attitude and scant regard for health and safety, often puts him in harm's way. He is known for his right underarm throw: the . After finishing third in the All-Japan Championship during his first year of high school, he leaves school and enters professional sumo via sandanme tsukedashi, which allows him to bypass the height requirement. He joins Shibakiyama stable and uses his epithet as his . He reaches west maegashira 3.
A third year high school student at Odachi High and captain of its sumo club, and the only member of the club before Hinomaru joins. Known for his mental fortitude, Ozeki has great lower body strength. Despite being the most senior member of the team, he lacks actual match experience and has never won a real bout in five years. After high school he becomes a professional sumo wrestler affiliated with the Nagato stable so that he can face Hinomaru; if they were members of the same stable they would not be allowed to fight each other. He uses the . He reaches west maegashira 16, and receives the Fighting Spirit prize in the September tournament.
A third year high school student and former Kanto regional karate champion in junior high school, who is feared as the strongest at Odachi High. His delinquent actions had him expelled from his karate dojo and he led the group that took over the sumo club's dojo and destroyed Ozeki's meticulously prepared sumo ring. He takes up sumo after being humbled by Hinomaru's strength and hardworking attitude despite being smaller than everyone else, and aims to makeup for what he did to Ozeki. With his karate and fist-fighting background, he uses oshi-zumō; pushing and thrusting. After reforming, his sensei welcomes him back into karate and trains him in techniques that supplement sumo. Despite his delinquency, he is among the top 30 students of his grade academically. He is the older brother of Reina. He continues sumo in university. In Part 2, he is studying medicine and apprenticing under Dr. Kanie.
Second year student and last year's national wrestling champion, who is known for wearing a lucha libre mask and nasal tape. He is the only member of the wrestling club as everyone else quit because he is too strict. He aims to become the best mixed-martial artist and challenges members of other combat sports clubs to exhibition matches. He quits wrestling and joins the sumo club after conceding defeat to Hinomaru in a special match where each combatant followed the rules of their own sport. A phenom with great natural talent, he utilizes his wrestling background in sumo by performing throwing techniques. Academically speaking, he has the worst grades on the team. After his second year of high school, he goes to America to enter MMA. When he returns to Japan in Part 2, he is the champion of a small MMA promotion and a new single father. Chihiro also appears in Kawada's Martial Master Asumi manga series, alongside his now-teenage daughter, .
The newest and weakest member of the Odachi High sumo club, who was inspired to join after watching the match between Hinomaru and Chihiro. Small, physically weak and timid, he focuses on feints and negating opponent's momentum shifts in order to compensate for his disadvantages. In Part 2, he becomes more confident and is very popular with women.
A first year student at Odachi High, who enters school and the sumo club late due to being in the hospital. He was an elementary school friend of Hinomaru's and was on his same level of skill when they trained together at the same dojo, but they have not seen each other in over three years. He moved away to be closer to a hospital and gave up on sumo. After seeing Hinomaru continue to defy his fate, Tsuji vowed to help his old friend. Despite retaining his skills from elementary school, he can only fight in 20-second bursts due to impaired lung function caused by a birth defect. Because of this, he becomes the coach of the Odachi High sumo team and not a wrestler. His technical knowledge helps train the club members' technique and core strength, and identify their weaknesses and how to compensate for them. When Hinomaru got injured in Part 2, Tsuji decided to leave high school and enter professional sumo, where his 20-second limit is less of an impairment since pros only fight once a day. Like Ozeki, he joined Nagato stable so that he can face Hinomaru. He uses as his , and reaches east maegashira 17.
Vice president of the student council and Miss Odachi High for the last two years. Like her brother Yuma, she initially views sumo as a weird sport and plans to disband the club if they can not recruit two more members for a team of five by the end of the two-day cultural festival. But after continually watching the team to support Yuma, she is inspired by their hard work and, when Chizuko asks to be the manager of the club, Reina becomes a co-manager alongside her. In Part 2, she is a third year university student. She also accepts her feelings for Hinomaru and, with help from all of their friends, they start dating. She becomes friendly with Jin'o's wife, Yumi, to learn the duties of a professional sumo wrestler's wife.
First year student at Odachi High, she is saved by Hinomaru on the first day of school when he confronts a molester on the train. After the sumo club passes the preliminaries to enter the national tournament and earns respect at school, she becomes a co-manager of the sumo club alongside Reina. A quiet introvert, she was inspired by Hinomaru to change and develops a crush on him. In Part 2, she is a second year university student working as an assistant photographer for Gekkan Sumo Dō magazine. At the end of the series she seems to have developed feelings for Saenoyama.
Ishigami High School
A first year student at Ishigami High who is considered the ace of the team. He began sumo in junior high, where he was last year's champion, and is known under the epithet . He is recognized by Hinomaru as one of his rivals to become the best in Japan. Despite his aloof personality, his relaxed attitude helps him dodge attacks. His attacks rely on arm holds, ottsuke, so nobody can touch his mawashi, and he is so successful at it, that his mawashi is known for being spotless. In his third year, he was captain of the club and became high school yokozuna. As a professional sumo wrestler, he joined Minagawa stable and uses his epithet as his . He reaches west maegashira 2, and receives the Technique prize in the September tournament.
A third year student at Ishigami High and captain of its sumo club. tall and with several scars on his forehead and lip, he is nicknamed "Hercules" due to his strength and muscular physique. He has a serious personality. His favorite grip is migi-yotsu; right hand inside on his opponent's mawashi.