Hinomaruzumou
Hinomaru Sumo

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Do you know anything about Sumo? Do you like Sumo?

Neither do I. But that doesn't stop this manga from being any less enjoyable to read. The story isn't groundbreaking. It's your standard sports shounen plot, but it's done well. It progresses at a nice pace and keeps it interesting. The characters are where Hinomaru-Zumou really shines. Especially the protagonist. Multidimensional, well-written, likable/interesting, understandable backstory... It's all there, and then some.

If you're looking for a fun new manga to pick up, Hinomaru-Zumou is a pretty good choice.

Awesome title. Let me see... A lot of cool fights without magical powers (until now at least - chapter 13 released this week xD), a truly original theme (sumō), the super nice cliches of boy's manga like friendship, superation, nice hairs even for the manly dudes (shonen jump after all). Totally worth it.

Seeing sumo as a main sport in a manga is original and something really different to see. At first I was a little skeptical because it's Sumo and never really seeing the sport gave me low expectations. However all that changed seeing the main characters and their rivals go at it making it such and interesting story and sport. After seeing many sports in animes and mangas, this one stands out the most having engaging characters and seeing good action with amazing art. It's a good read that never gets boring and always has something exciting going on.

Hinomaruzumou the story of Ushio Hinomaru a sumo wrestler who aims to become a Yokozuna, little in size Hinomaru is the underdog everyone wants to win wanting to prove everyone wrong and with an incredible passion for sumo, hinomaru joins the Oodachi High sumo club and meets his awesome friends together they aim to become the best high school sumo club in the country.

So what makes this manga so good? The character development in my opinion, the character development is amazing every character is likeable and has their own backstory and reason they want to win and be the best. Over all the ... interaction of the characters you feel like you’re actually part of the sumo club not just a bystander. By getting to know all the characters pretty well and understanding their failures, ambitions, and aspirations you want them to win just as much as they do themselves which makes any loss that much more painful for the characters and the reader himself after seeing all the effort they put in how can you not want them to win.

Which brings me to my second point the characters are strong because of their training, having acs of the manga that focus on training and improving the characters they don’t randomly become strong, every character has to put in an effort to win against rivals seemingly impossible to beat the sumo club does everything to improve and become stronger.

The art is incredible you can feel the intensity of the fights and see just how much both of the people participating want to win. With the art capturing every detail it makes the manga journey a lot more enjoyable and helps elevate the story to new levels every move push, pull , throw etc feels real helping the reader get immersed into the story and characters easily.

Overall i really like this manga giving it a 9/10 at first i though sumo was weird two overweight males pushing each other to the ground as someone who’s not from that side of the world i never thought it would be so good throughout reading the manga I’ve developed an incredible respect for sumo and all the sumo wrestlers, seeing how much effort they put in to be the best i could only admire it I’ve even started watching real sumo enjoying it a lot. I started reading the manga after seeing the anime which i got recommended to I really enjoyed the anime(hopefully they make a season 2) in the wait for season 2 I decided to read the manga enjoying it just as much as the anime if not more for anyone wondering if you should read the manga or watch the anime and is reading my review please do it you will not regret it.

In Japan, there is no lack of sports manga. Although not very popular in the West, especially because of their length and the themes they deal with, which do not necessarily speak to the majority of the public, the genre is doing quite well in Japan. In the different pre-publication magazines, especially those related to shonens, there are at least one or two of them proposed according to the times. Not so long ago, the WSJ proposed us two monsters: Haikyuu, one of the best sports manga of the decade and the much more discreet Hinomaru Sumo. I have the opportunity to come back on ... the second one in this review.
Hinomaru Sumo is a manga full of quality, and unfortunately it didn't benefit from the popularity of Haikyuu. Indeed, the latter was so exceptional that it totally overshadowed Hinomaru Sumo. The anime adaptation did not really help to rewrite the letters of nobility manga. It's a sad thing.
However, I think Hinomaru Sumo is an excellent sport shonen.
First of all, Hinomaru Sumo is one of the heirs of what we can call "manime". Indeed, the manga adopts the same spirit as its predecessors in Jump, notably Toriko and Hokuto no Ken. The characters are often inflated in muscle and have atypical physiques for high school students, although they are sumos. Some characters are literally inspirations for our greatest joy.
On the sports aspect, I found the manga really excellent. In its approach, we are very down to earth with the high level sport in general. The author took care to show the evolution of the characters, and to confront them with the reality of sport. He shows us their evolutions, their victories and their defeats. In a sport manga, I think it's very important to confront the characters to the reality of things. By applying himself on this point, the author was able to develop many personalities and develop the different themes of high level sport, whether high school or professional. Kawada also relied on slice-of-life sequences to make the mentalities evolve and confront the characters with various situations.
The artwork of the manga is quite unique in its kind. The series has a very personal imagery which is inspired by Japanese myths and legends. In the catches specific to Sumo, Kawada has fun to show us bestial situations where the protagonists are completely unleashed. I found it great personally. Hinomaru Sumo really excels on this aspect of graphic metaphor. The author doesn't hesitate to abuse it and the result is really honorable. The cutting of the series is rather clean. We have two distinct parts which have their own thematic.
In short, it is a pity that the series did not have the success it deserved. Hinomaru Sumo is a wonderful sport shonen with really explosive and atypical characters. Although it doesn't really revolutionize the sport shonen genre, Hinomaru had the merit to bring back the sport nekketsu spirit which was missing in Jump during its publication. Since the end of these two monsters the magazine has a hard time to bring a new sports nugget in the magazine...

Hinomaruzumou is just like any other shounen and sports manga out there. It starts with a protagonist who's deeply passionate on a particular sport, joins a high school club, and together with his new comrades, they'll conquer the whole country.

So what makes this manga different from the rest?

I have two answers for you: story and character. Sure it still has that "power of friendship" feel to it but believe me when I say that it's not the same "nakama power" bullcrap that's very common in shounen anime. It's the "power of friendship" done right and it's completely justified.

And the characters are just ... so freaking lovable! Kawada-sensei makes sure to give as many characters (no matter how minor they are to the plot) backstory/development as much as possible and I truly appreciate that. Not every manga author does that and often forget the supporting ones.

These two are what I believe to be the #2 and #3 strength of this manga.

What's #!?

The romance subplot. Wait, don't leave yet! Let me explain. In shounen and/or sports anime, there's little to none romance. They just focus on the camaraderie of the team and even if they did add fluffy moments, it either didn't fit the story or feel so forced.

Hinomaruzumou isn't like that. Slowly but surely, you'll see the development between two characters that's so frustrating but rewarding once they end up together. Believe me, be ready to feel so overwhelemed with happiness.

As for the art, I love it. Per page/panel, I can really feel the intensity during sumo fights and the likes.

Overall, everything about this manga is so beautiful. From the story, art, character, and to enjoyment, I can really feel the passion in order to realize this work. And that's why I'm giving this manga a score of 10.

P.S.: Before I knew it, this manga became my most fave sports manga and manga of all time!

P.P.S.: Binge reading this for 3 days is so worth it.



Story: 10/10
Art: 10/10
Character: 10/10
Enjoyment: 10/10
Overall: 10/10

As this manga is now officially complete and i assume people want to read this because it's finished so the best opportunity to read this series.

Does it reach the heights as the legendary sports manga/anime like Hajime no Ippo, Major, Slam Dunk, Ashita no Joe.... well nope this is a serviceable sports manga however its a fun read.

Art:

This is honestly the biggest highlight for me, it damn impressive framing and considering this is drawn in a weekly schedule idk how the author does this amount of detail this ridiculously fast. Thats not really it though, good art is easy to appreciate like ... death note but framing more important ( where death note fails at) this succeeds. The Art the framing .... tells the story and what can be considered pretty cliche and general okay in terms of writing is goes to new heights because as a whole it works wonderfully.

Story/Writing :

if u read a sports manga ( or watch anime) you know the plot straight away and doesn't really stray from it too much its pretty standard. However, that said the author does a good job making characters likable and relatable pretty quickly they is really a lack of padding everything pretty much plot and concise.

This isn't a particular deep in writing like the ones i listed above however for what its worth it does a solid job. Its good knowing that this isn't only High School but also as a Professional.


Cons:

as i said don't particularly amazing, its good though for what its worth. It gives u some perspective of the life style of a wrestler but i would like to know more about them. Like when u read Hajime no Ippo u really do feel u understand the lifestyle because ( author is an actual boxer trainer) the amount of time and detail the author puts in into his craft.


The Ending its not bad, its exactly as you expect however its the type of ending u feel like 30 pages was cut. This needed some sort of epilogue even the cliche main character marry Heroine and updates of all the former members....


Conclusion

Before MAL basically made 5-7 worthless, when i mean 6.7/10 that's a compliment, not a diss if the ending was better definitely give it a 7/10 however i just can't unfortunately. Everyone will have a fun time reading this manga for sure and it does emotional pretty well as a short person i do relate.

I've got to admit it, at first when I saw a manga about sumo I thought "OMG what's wrong with WSJ they're run out of ideas, this isn't gonna work", but hey, after 30 chapters were released in english and I saw his rankings in TOCs I gave it a shot and it really surprised me on the good way.

Of course, this is a shônen released in WSJ, so it obviously has some clichés, but they are well implanted in the story and you don't get sick of them as, for example, in Fairy Tail or Black Clover.

The story is a very normal one ... and is a story that is starting to be used by most of the spokon authours: "a boy with a little body who aims to be at the top of the sport he adores", but the MC's past is well introduced and makes you understand him and like him. Also the rivals are just great. They're not those empty rivals a normal shônen would have, they also have their background story that makes you ending up empathizing with them (my favourite character so far is sada).

The art is awesome, unlike Haikyuu or Kuroko, which first chapters's arts were poor and a bit lame, this manga's art is very beautiful and well drawn from the start.

My personal opinion is that this is a great sports manga of a sport that is not very popular out of Japan and even among Japanese these days, so it's underrated. But I highly recommend it to everyone who likes spokon manga because it's very enjoyable.

Are you looking for a good Shonen Jump manga to read, and disappointed that Toriko's anime ended? THEN READ HINOMARU ZUMOU!!!!!

It's got a lot of things, from a kid trying to become a macho character, he's got surreal moves like Baki, Ring Ni Kakero, and my favorite manga of all time, Kinnikuman. Ushio Hinomaru is a small kid who wants to become a Yokozuna, and meets various friends and enemies along the way. This manga deals with friendship, the prize of winning, the punishment of losing, and more. It's not as goofy as many other shonen jump series, but it's not quite as dark as ... City Hunter, Hokuto no Ken, JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, and Sakigake!! Otokojuku, Great for people wanting to get into shonen manga, but don't want to deal with older series, Bishounen characters, or dark plots. The series is ongoing, and I have I hopes for the series. Go read this series, even if you're not into sumo wrestling, like a lot of my favorite sports manga (for their respective sports), like Kinnikuman. The biggest problem (if any) with the series is that the stakes aren't up to my liking, but the series is still young, and it could get more surreal...

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 sighted 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 ... genre that is straightforward, 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 for 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 have 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.

I never thought that a manga about sumo could be so enjoyable and fun to read.

The story isn't something out of the ordinary and it doesn't even need to be because what really stands out are the characters, everyone has their own goal and great character development and I just love the bromance and the way they cheer for each other. The art isn't outstanding but I really like this "clean" style. This has to be one of the most enjoyable manga I have ever read, there wasn't even one chapter where It got boring it just kept getting better and better and that's why ... I love this manga.

If you are looking for a manga with good pace and some awesome fights, Hinomaruzumoh is the way to go.

This is a review written for people interested chiefly in sumo and not so much in manga.

The main character, 火ノ丸 Hinomaru, has a shikona-like last name. Perhaps as an homage, his "maru" (circle) is the same as in Musashimaru. The no is in katakana, similar to Terunofuji or Ichinojo.

His physique is diminuitive and muscle-based, unlike all of Musashimaru, Ichinojo and Terunofuji (Teru is muscle-based but, damn, that size). His preferred styles are migi-yotsu, yori and nage. His oshi attack is weak as is expected of a short rikishi (160 cm, first year of high school). He posesses a powerful uwatenage and uwatedashinage, his signature ... moves.

While he does perpetuate the hai, ganbarimasu movement, he is ballsy enough to directly aim for yokozuna. Think Mainoumi meets Oosunaarashi meets Shodai.

Apart from the main character, the sumo is much more realistic and varied than what you'd expect from a manga. In the first ten chapters, we've seen railroad sumo, oshizumo, some nages and an old-fashioned morozashi-grip power struggle.

As for the plot, the pace is good and it seems promising. If anything, it is lacking in supporting cast.

**Spoiler Free**
I normally don’t write reviews for series I’m not overly passionate about, but I feel partially more motivated to at least comment on Hinomaru Zumou; despite its popularity and the recent conclusion of its “Part 1,” the latest review written on MAL only goes up until chapter 25 of the (current) 195 chapters at the time of this review.

If I had to describe how I felt about Hinomaru Zumou in a few words, I would say it’s a sports manga that *almost* gets everything right. If I had to phrase it a little more bluntly though, I’d say it’s a sports manga that ... barely gets everything wrong.

To elucidate, it’s not as if Hinomaru Zumou is some terrible manga, nor is it a title that tries to rely on its flash in the same way that titles like Prince of Tennis does. It makes a commendable effort trying to tackle the themes like competition that has made series like Eyeshield 21 and Ashita no Joe so popular, and it does this all while tackling a relatively unpopular and comparatively less dynamic sport. However, despite its epic speeches about heart and competition and the wide cast of characters that have blessed the 200 chapters thus far, the manga in my opinion lacks a fundamental soul that ties all these pieces together.

There are two major components of really any story that provides the fuel to keep the narrative going: one, the main character, and two, the motivation. While really this is helpful for any story format, it’s particularly more relevant when addressing sports narratives as they naturally always gravitate towards the hero’s journey. In my opinion, Hinomaru Zumou is weak because it doesn’t tackle either of these components very effectively.

There are usually two ways that shounen mangaka like to write their main characters; they’re either already shining jewels blessed with talent and experience (Prince of Tennis, Kuroko’s Basketball) or they are diamonds in the rough with potential for talent requires training (Haikyuu, Eyeshield 21). As entertaining as the former can be, it’s usually the latter that ends up leaving a lasting impression past the sport itself because it allows readers to grow with the characters that they read about, which forces the stories to tackle themes that don’t only exist within the court; as they say, the best sports narratives are ones that aren’t actually about the sport itself.

Hinomaru Zumou is kind of in a weird spot because it seems apparent it doesn’t really want to be like the exaggerated shounen sports titles, but it’s foundation doesn’t seem to really reflect that. This can be exemplified by how the main character, Hinomaru, is structured. He isn’t like Joe from Ashita no Joe whose talent is hindered by his brash personality, nor is he like Sena from Eyeshield 21 where his unreal speed hasn’t reached its full potential yet. Straight from the start, Hinomaru is an already talented sumo wrestler with years of experience behind his belt; much like Kuroko’s Basketball, he was already endowed with a special title due to his accomplishments as a sumo wrestler before the events of the manga take place. Of course, you can’t have an underdog story without an underdog, so the manga tries to rectify this by giving Hinomaru a small figure, a natural disadvantage in any sport, much less one as tough as sumo. However, the damage is done, and it is already incredibly difficult to write Hinomaru in a sympathetic way in which readers can grow with the character; despite any attempts that the manga tries to make you think otherwise, it’s very apparent that the main character is both highly physically and mentally developed. Normally, manga like Kuroko’s Basketball and Prince of Tennis can get away with doing this by making the sport visually interesting to see, but Hinomaru Zumou is unfortunately hindered by its sport of choice. It’s comparatively much harder to draw competitive sumo in an endearing way like tennis and basketball, especially when the reader is unaware of how the sport functions past its most basic rules. Hinomaru Zumou does make a heartful honest effort to make sumo look as interesting and epic as possible, but at the end of the day the techniques blend together too often due to how visually inflexible the sport is and how difficult it is to understand the nuances by the layman.

The second major issue that Hinomaru and frankly tons of new shounen manga are suffering from is its lack of a strong central goal. Now people will argue with me on this one, saying the high school championship is the ultimate goal for Hinomaru and his team, but in my opinion it isn’t conveyed nearly as well as it could be. Motivations in sports manga can be expressed in many ways, but often they’re expressed as some form of emotional debt: in Eyeshield 21, Sena and the Devilbats are highly driven to win the Christmas Bowl by how much they owe Hiruma and Kurita for bringing the team together. In Hajime no Ippo, Ippo is motivated to become the world champion by how much he feels he owes Takamaru and his coach for getting him into boxing. In Ashita no Joe, what pushes him forward is the legacy that Rikiishi left behind after their match. In Hinomaru Zumou’s case, while he does have some kind of debt that he feels through his mother, it isn’t really referenced much, and more importantly, it has very little to do with sumo wrestling itself. Of course it’d be shortsighted to say this is the only way to write an end goal, but in Hinomaru Zumou’s case there isn’t really anything else that exists in the narrative to supplement a motivation in any convincing way past just winning. Thus, in my case, it was extremely difficult to feel emotionally attached with the team’s journey no matter how far the story progressed, much less Hinomaru.

While I have other issues and compliments I can shower this manga with, all of them are less relevant because they all are negatively affected by these two issues in some way. The problem is that these two components are extremely hard if not impossible to fix and will most likely persist until the manga finally completes its serialization.

Another reason why I choose the words “this manga does almost everything right” is that the line between my less-than-positive impressions of the manga and thinking very highly of it (which is where a good deal of people I feel like seem to lie) is fairly thin; you could find yourself really enjoying this title if you’re able to look past these two issues or not believe they exist at all. Perhaps you do sympathize with Hinomaru in some way, perhaps you do find the way sumo is drawn in this manga to be captivating. Past that, the manga in reality is actually mostly solid in quite a few places. However, it isn’t enough to do it for me, and as much as I want to believe it, I can’t get myself to see the soul that the manga tries to convince me it has.