Hinomaruzumou (Hinomaru Sumo) as the name suggests is an anime based on the Japan National sports Sumo Wrestling. If you are a sports anime fan then you may have heard this anime name several times.
Hinomaruzumou (Hinomaru Sumo) anime is a sports anime based on Sumo Wrestling. It is really a great anime to watch, you will learn a lot about the traditions, practices and a lot about training and related things in this anime. The character development throughout the series is great. Though there was someplace to make a great storyline. Overall Pretty great anime to add in your “To Watch List”.
Overview-
Many of the sports anime series this anime also contains a Protagonist (Main Character) who has a small height. (If you are a haiku and Kuroko no Basket fan you can definitely relate this anime to be of a similar kind). Hinomaru is a red-haired guy who is ready to dedicate his whole life to be the Sumo Champion (The Yakuza).
The main twist here is that this guy is only 5’ 3’’ (160cm) but as per the Japanese Sumo association the minimum height that the contestant should have is 5’ 7’’ (167cm). Although he has trained his whole childhood he doesn’t meet the qualifications to even participate in the Sumo Wrestling Championship. Except for this one and only chance, he has to become a national high school champion he will get a direct entry in the Championship Tournament.
To achieve his goals he aims for the top School Known for its Sumo Club “Ishigama High”. But he is not perfect he loses a series of matches and ends up taking admission in Odachi High. Odachi high also has a Sumo club but the only problem is that it only has a single member in it “Shinya Ozeki”. So there is a good amount of time in the series that Hinomaru takes to assemble the team.
In this process, he has to compete with other members in their very own game such as wrestling, Karate, and other sports using the Sumo techniques. This helps him to win them over and sparks an interest in their mind to love and respect Sumo as a Sport.
So overall this anime has all the things that a typical sports anime should consist of. For example sparring competitions with the other school, a lot of training regiments, and a lot of exciting battles.
Why you should watch Hinomaru Sumo?
Training, motivation, and Dedication-
As many of the anime inspire you to train your bodies like the anime characters; this anime has a little more to it. Not only the character in this anime motivates you to train your body to achieve your goals but it also motivates you to push through when the conditions are against you. (Never Give-up Attitude).
A Lot to learn-
Not only these types of sports anime are fun to watch but you will really get a lot of knowledge too from such anime. You can learn a lot about Sumo Wrestling especially if you are not a person from Japan.
You can see the professional Sumo wrestler train in their Dojos. There training regiments and diets they follow to meet their calorie intakes. Speaking of diet they really have to focus on their diets like any other Sports but here the thing is they have to stuff them up as much as possible to increase their weight. This way they can become like a formidable wall in the arena that will be hard to tackle and defeat.
Apart from this, you can learn about the rules and regulations, the ring size and setup, the traditions and rituals they follow before having a match. It is really fun to watch how the Japanese schools have sumo Clubs in which the students start there training at a very young age to fulfill their dreams and aspirations.
Interesting Characters and animation-
Hinomaru Sumo really has a great character development throughout the storyline. The thing that I really liked in this anime was that the team that Hinomaru gathers are from different fields and mindset. It is really fun to watch a traditional wrestler or a karate champion using the techniques of his very own sports to defeat the opponent in a Sumo Match.
About the animation, the animation is pretty awesome during the Matches and if you are a diehard fan of Kuroko No Basket Zone transitions then you can see something similar in this anime. The animation style and the opening song are good enough to hype you up and to get chills down your spine giving you Goosebumps through adrenaline rush.
If you are interested in watching Hinomaruzumou (Hinamaru Sumo), checkout this trailer-
No of episodes and seasons in Hinomaruzumou (Hinomaru Sumo)-
No of Episodes- 24 episodes
There is only one season in Hinomaruzumaou (Hinomaru Sumo)
Pros and Cons of Hinomaru Sumo (Hinomaru Sumo)-
Pros-
Apart from all the reasons why you should watch this anime series, this anime is unique as it focuses on the traditional sport that very few of people outside Japan know. The anime is only of 24 episodes and doesn’t even contain a single filler episode. You don’t need to have huge commitment to complete this series like One Piece and Naruto (If you want to know more about Naruto or One Piece Click on them to read their reviews). It really meets all the expectations that are expected from a sports anime.
Also, the main character always strips him in an instant into his traditions sumo outfit (Mawashi Loin Cloth) when he is eager to fight. This anime also has a fair share of funny moments to keep the viewer engaged and entertained. Hinomaru Sumo anime also has really good anime opening and ending songs.
Cons-
Hinomaru Sumo (Hinomaru Sumo) has a really less focus on storyline especially in terms of the main character. There is very less background story about the main character, for which many of the viewers and anime fans roots for.
The other con this anime has is the character body design related to Sumo sports. If you have seen Sumo wrestlers in real life then you will really get disappointed watching the body compositions of the main character’s team. The main character himself doesn’t look like a sumo wrestler as he has ripped body on with his displays six-pack abs. To think about a Sumo wrestler with six-pack abs is absolutely not possible if you have been watching sumo wrestling in real life.
Also, there is only one character “Shinya Ozeki” who is the team captain, resembles close to a sumo wrestler. Other members are just with normal body structure and there is even a skinny member in the team. This looks good and interesting if we see it in terms of anime but if we see it with real-life examples it is not relatable to real life.
Similar anime to Hinomaru Sumo (Hinomaru Sumo)-
- Eyeshield 21
- All out
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- Hanebado!
- Run with the wind
- Ballroom e Youkoso (Welcome to the Ball Room)
- Haikyuu!!
- Kuruko no Basket (Kuroko’s Basket Ball)
About Author/ Writer/ Artist of Hinomaru Sumo (Hinomaru Sumo)-
Hinomaru Sumo (Hinomaru Sumo) is a series based on a manga written by Kawada. He is best known for his anime character developments. There are many chapters skipped in the adaption process. So you may find a significant difference in the anime and the Manga adaptations but both of them are quite entertaining. The anime is directed by Yasutaka Yamamoto and Kii Tanaka is the character designer. The anime aired from October 5, 2018, to March 29, 2019.
Ratings for of Hinomaru Sumo–
Action- 9 out of 10
Drama/Romance- 4 out of 10
Gag- 7 out of 10
Suspense- 6 out of 10
Plot- 7 out of 10
Thrill- 8 out of 10
Characters- 7 out of 10
Anime Ost- 8 out of 10
Anime opening and ending songs- 10 out of 10 (Especially for opening 1 song)
Animations- 8 out of 10
(These ratings are according to my own knowledge and experience these ratings may differ according to other people’s perspective)
Final thoughts-
In my opinion Hinomaru Sumo (Hinomaru Sumo) is a pretty great anime to watch if you like watching sports anime. I think it is really underrated in the anime world. You should really give it a shot. You will not regret watching this anime.
If you have already watched Hinomaru Sumo (Hinomaru Sumo) let us know what you think about this anime in the comments section.
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