Hinomaru Sumo
A “small” new student, Ushio Hinomaru, appears before the weak little sumo club of Oodachi High School! The words “big” and “heavy” are the rules to this sport, which does not fit this newbie any inch, but this guy goes and does what...!? Ushio and the small sumo club climbs its way to the top! The goal is Hinoshita Kaisan, a title for the highest rank in professional sumo, equivalent of Yokozuna.
Episodes
His goal is to become a professional sumo wrestler and yokozuna! Ushio Hinomaru is on his way to visit Ishigami High School, famous for it's sumo program, but arrives at Odachi High School by mistake. There he meets Ozeki Shinya, who trains diligently at sumo, but whose dojo has been overrun by delinquents. Angry that they would defile the hallowed practice area, Hinomaru confronts the leader Gojo Yuma and challenges him to a duel.
Hinomaru is finally doing sumo in school! However, they need five members in order to participate in group tournaments. Ozeki and Hinomaru try to attract new members at club activity day. But Hinomaru's chankonabe stew which he planned to use to generate instrest tastes terrible and the plan fails spectacularly! But one other student thinks the stew tastes delicious! The student is Kunisaki Chihiro from the wrestling club, and he and Hinomaru hit it off well, since they are both in fighting sports.
Tsuji Kirihito has joined the club as a supervisor. The club's first step on the road to the national tournament is facing Eiga University High School in a practice match. The club members don't fully trust Kirihito, but they still go to Eiga High. There, Hinomaru encounters his former rival, National Treasure Kusunagi Sword, Kuze Sosuke.
Early in the morning, Kirihito orders the club members to harvest seaweed and do many other strange things, like standing on an unsteady boat to improve their balance. The club members admire Kirihito's methods, but have doubts about his experience and abilities. They eventually confront him. In order to demonstrate his coaching abilities, Kirihito declares that he will have the rookie Mitsuhashi Kei beat the other club members.
The Dachi High sumo club will be practicing with Ishigami High School in the next down. Ishigami High School is a powerhouse which took second in the Kanto sumo tournament. The former middle school yokozuna, national treasure Mikazuki Munechika, Sada Mitsuki is enrolled there. Hinomaru hoped to fight Sada, but Tsuji gives Hinomaru somewhere else to go. Meanwhile, Chihiro, forced to take remedial class for failing his midterm, encounters a mysterious sumo scout from another school.
Hinomaru is to practice at the Shibakiyama Stable, but he is so small they do not pay him much attention. Hinomaru is able to prove his prowess against a wrestler who had recently graduated. The relaxed atmosphere becomes tense, the practice intensifies, and someone starts watching from the shadows...
The inter-high prefectural prelims have begun! The unknown Dachi High was initially laughed at, but Hinomaru easily defeats a student from another school. Next the other team members also win and Reina and her friends cheer. After winning their initial bouts, they begin their match with the fated Ishigami High School. Kei has yet to win a bout, but he has strong determination in his eyes.
The score is 1-1 as Yuma's bout against Kanamori begins. Yuma is quickly cornered and asks himself why he's here. Before the match, Yuma went to the dojo where he learned karate before becoming a delinquent. He apologizes to the master for the things he's done. He asks to reenroll as a student, but the master flatly refuses, saying she will not teach karate to someone who hurts others.
The tense match between two national treasures Onimaru Kunitsuna and Mikazuki Munechika has ignited. Hinomaru has trouble keeping up with Sada’s movements. The Demon Wheel and Demon Storm techniques he developed are not effective. After several attempts at the double combo Hundred Demon Takedown, Hinomaru is caught by Sada’s Crescent Moon.
Immediately following the team battle, the individual tournament begins. Ozeki worries about fighting his teammates, while Chihiro is thoroughly excited. He uses his fighting instincts to win bout after bout. Ozeki grows nervous watching him. Meanwhile, Hinomaru hides the arm injury he received in the team tournament from the others, believing it would be rude to deny them a proper bout.
Following their heated tournament battle, the Dachi High sumo club return to school to find a banner congratulating them on their victory and encouragement from the other students. They are taken aback after learning that a video of the tournament has been circulated around the school until first-year Hori Chizuko appears and explains that she recorded and uploaded the video. And she has another confession to make.
The Dachi High sumo club has been invited to train with the Shibakiyama Stable. At Hinomaru’s suggestion, they go to visit Nagoya Castle. Hinomaru then volunteers for a sumo event there and ends up challenging another student there. That student, coincidentally, is national treasure Odenta Mitsuyo, Hikage Tenma. Their bout quickly becomes a serious battle. Hinomaru tries to execute the Hundred-Thousand Demon Drop, but...
Reina and Hinomaru are at former yokozuna Shunkai's dojo. He orders them to prepare curry for thirty people with 100 yen. Hinomaru and Reina try various approaches, but all fail. Training time is limited until they can find the answer, when suddenly Tenma comes to the training hall. He demands that Shunkai take him as an apprentice instead of Hinomaru. With the apprentiship on the line, their battle begins anew!
Chihiro takes Ozeki and Hori to spy on Kanazawa Kita High in order to test Ozeki's courage. Kita High's captain Aizawa refuses to pay any attention to them, criticisizing Dachi High for lacking tradition and history. Ozeki is shocked. Meanwhile, after training with Master Shibakiyama, Kei gives his opinion on what Kirihito can do to help.
Chihiro takes Ozeki and Hori to spy on Kanazawa Kita High in order to test Ozeki's courage. Kita High's captain Aizawa refuses to pay any attention to them, criticisizing Dachi High for lacking tradition and history. Ozeki is shocked. Meanwhile, after training with Master Shibakiyama, Kei gives his opinion on what Kirihito can do to help.
Shibakiyama takes Hinomaru to a clinic he trusts to treat his arm. The clinic's Dr. Kanie initially refuses, saying that urgent treatment won't help because Dachi High won't beat a powerhouse like Kanazawa Kita High. Hinomaru tells the doctor how he feels about the team and convinces Dr. Kanie to begin treatment. Meanwhile, Dachi High must face Kanazawa Kita High, the third-ranked school in the country.
Following the first day of the team tournament, Dachi High heads to thee practice area. The Ishi High team, including Sada, comes to see them. Sada suggests having Ishi High stand in for Tottori Hakuro. Meanwhile, in the individual tournament, the yet-undefeateed Kuze wages battle against the experienced reigning champion Tennoji.
Kei has been practicing the reverse, which some consider a dishonorable technique. Hinomaru fights head-on, and Kei worries that he'll stain it. Even so, he wants to get one win for the team, and faces an opponent far larger than himself. Knowing that his reverse will be anticipated, Kei unveils a new strategy.
Chihiro will face the Hakuro sumo club’s #2, Kano. Chihiro was having trouble with his powerful sumo, but then counters with his characteristic fighting sense. But being cornered brings out Kano’s fighting spirit and he grabs Chihiro’s belt with both hands!
In the match against Hakuro, the fifth bout is about to begin. After losing to Kuze, Tennoji thinks of himself as a challenger and works to live up to his teammates’ expectations and become a yokozuna again. Hinomaru, supported by his teammates and the other high school teams that have helped him, rises to the challenge. Having both lost bouts, their battle begins with the contenders anticipating each other’s moves and the advantage trading sides.
After winning a difficult match, the Dachi High sumo club cheers, but Reina feels uneasy and does not join in the cheerful mood. Reina breathes new life into Dachi High through their loose and lax mood, strengthening their resolve to win. Then the team tournament begins. Leading off against Eiga High is Chihiro, who will face Hyodo Masato, who turns out to be his brother.
Kirihito enters the sumo ring. He’s supported the team as a trainer, but shouldering the injured Kei’s strong emotions, he now rises as a competitor. He uses numerous techniques against Eiga High’s Sawai, but the opponent’s skill draws out the bout beyond Kirihito’s twenty-second limit.
It’s the fourth bout of the Inter-High team championship. Though they were born and raised completely differently, Daniel and Ozeki both joined sumo due to their admiration for yokozuna Yamatokuni. They challenge each other’s love of sumo head-on. Then the fifth bout. The greatest sumo rivalry, Hinomaru and Kuze, is about to ignite.
Kuze and Hinomaru are evenly matched in battle. Kuze practiced sumo in isolation from a young age, while Hinomaru’s physique was a handicap he had to overcome. Through the battle, they acknowledge each other’s strength, and give all of themselves to achieve victory.
