Go watch Yawara! It's Good! [Archive]

Kempis Curious

2003-11-06, 22:29

If that recent posting on the list is Fashionable Judo Girl Yawara, then I'd recommend it to most people....especially if you have a fondness for the best of the older "completely hand-drawn" anime, or if you're into sports anime.

I myself don't like all the cliches that seem to go with nearly all sports anime, but Yawara avoids most of them.

Also, this anime was pretty popular when it came out, and some would group it with the "classics". I wouldn't. :D It's on the Kempis Good Anime List, though.

-k

And Yawara is so cute! :)

Koshiba

2003-11-06, 23:13

Kid

2003-11-07, 03:08

I like Yawara! :D

The anime looks somewhat dated but the story is interesting. Obviously a very character-driven series. I like Matsuda... played by my favorite voice actor ever.

SidSavage

2003-11-07, 10:00

I also enjoy Yawara immensly. It always brigtens my day when a new bittorrent comes out. It has some really endearing characters and superb voice work. This show is so much better than 85% of the stuff that's out there currently and I'm being generous!

Sukato

2003-11-08, 10:25

Well, I'm a pretty big sports anime fan..so I of course like this series a lot. However, it does focus a lot on the main character (Yawara's) life, and doesn't just focus on sports, so it is probably appealing to a larger audience base. 120+ episodes though...going to be another year or two before they can get this anime subbed completely....

Rigel

2003-11-09, 03:03

I agree! Yawara is an *excellent* series! It's too bad only like 40 episodes are available fansubbed. =/ I heard Animeigo once thought of picking it up but they never did. -.-;; I really hope it get's licensed though! >_<

UMMMMM, I can only find the first 13 eps. If you know where the rest up to 40 are and who did them then in the name of all things good tell me. I saw the first couple of eps and I was hooked.

Koshiba

2003-11-09, 05:06

UMMMMM, I can only find the first 13 eps. If you know where the rest up to 40 are and who did them then in the name of all things good tell me. I saw the first couple of eps and I was hooked.

The episodes up to 40 are available on VHS fansubs. ^_^;

GarBhaD

2003-11-09, 16:38

This anime was aired completely in my region. It was dubbed (Ginger instead of Yawara :P), but the meanings were still the same (all the judo words were left intact). Well, I didn't watched it all, because I couldn't stand it.
Yes, I think this anime is pretty bad. In fact, it's in my "worst anime" list. All the episodes are just the same. Yawara wants to quit to judo, but all her acquaintances say "Yawara, don't quit judo. Yawara, come on, you can win. Yawara, Yawara.... (Yawara, you're the center of our life :P)". Then she decides to fight and wins the combat terribly easily in a split of second. Yeah, all the judo stuff in the series is done pretty realistic but it's damn boring. And that's all! Repeat what I said for more than a hundred episodes and you have it.
Boring story and action, predictable "romance", plain characters which only move around the main character, the anime repeats itself and it's awfully long.
You still want to watch it? Well, you have been warned...

Kempis Curious

2003-11-10, 19:14

... And that's all! Repeat what I said for more than a hundred episodes and you have it.
Boring story and action, predictable "romance", plain characters which only move around the main character, the anime repeats itself and it's awfully long.
You still want to watch it? Well, you have been warned...

I actually am worried about the incredible number of episodes for this anime.
I really liked the first 13 eps (or so) of a couple of looooong anime: Ranma 1/2. Naruto. One Piece. Dragon Ball Z. Also, some long ones get a startlingly bad story arc or two and then come back to being great anime, like Naruto or Kodocha.

If Yawara does start repeating itself then I'll have to say. "Bleah, how disappointing!" but so far it hasn't. If it did why did you watch the whole set? Even during my most anime-starved college SLP VHS fansub days I stopped watching an anime series I didn't like.

-k

curious

a_nevels666

2003-11-10, 21:33

stpehen

2003-11-10, 21:58

The author of the Yawara manga, Naoki Urasawa, is far and away my favorite mangaka ever, but I must say that Yawara is also far and away his least interesting work. It's good if you like really insubstantial, fluffy stories that are heartwarming and cute, but if you seek even the smallest amount of challenge in your anime it will be a dull experience.

Personally, I am really really looking forward to Madhouse's Monster anime to be aired next year. Now that is some spectacular Urasawa material.

Relentless

2003-11-11, 00:27

I haven't watched this show yet, but I noticed this show is by Madhouse, just like Hajime no Ippo, and from the description it sounds really like Hajime no Ippo except with a female lead and Judo instead of boxing.

I'll give it a try...

Umm, Madhouse makes all kinds of anime, from bloodiest of the bloody shounen like Ninja Scroll to pinkiest of the pink shoujo like Card Captors Sakura. I always thought that Yawara! had more of a shoujo feel. Unlike Ippo, Yawara doesn't like her sport and doesn't want to be a champion. I don't want to make it sound like it's all angsty. On the contray, Yawara is one of the nicest, sunnier anime girls. And her grandfather is a riot

Try it anyways. It's lovely. It was broadcasted right besides Ranma and routinely used to beat it in ratings. Yawara's voice actress has a really nice, distinctive voice, completely different from your usual ear-bleeding young girl.

Besides the 140+ TV episodes, there's a 90 min. TV special "Road to Barcelona" also fansubbed. I have seen a low quality VHS rip floating in Streamload.com. It would be a nice addition to Animesuki's own torrents even if it's only 352x240, 15 fps DivX 3.11

Anax

2003-11-11, 03:18

Yawara is a great great series--a shoujo sports anime, yes. :) I've watched all the episodes that were subbed on VHS, and highly recommend it. If neither sports anime nor shoujo anime appeals to you, well, it may not be what you're looking for. :)

a7m4

2003-11-11, 05:37

Anax

2003-11-11, 06:22

Well, depends how you want to look at it, I suppose. I'd consider it more of a shoujo series because of the romance angle(s). I guess I should rephrase what I said above as saying that this is a romantic comedy and sports anime. :)

stpehen

2003-11-11, 10:31

If you go by the original publication's target audience, it's neither shoujo, nor shounen, but seinen.

Kempis Curious

2003-11-11, 12:02

If you go by the original publication's target audience, it's neither shoujo, nor shounen, but seinen.

Remind me what seinen is again. :(

-k

stpehen

2003-11-11, 18:46

Relentless

2003-11-11, 21:38

The seinen target audience is men of college age or older. Typically more sophisticated and mature than shounen. Yawara bears few resemblances to an average seinen manga/anime but it ran in Big Comic Spirits, which is a seinen magazine.

*nods* As it happens with other media like comics, many people equate "mature" with violent, edgy, openly sexual content, but that's not always the case. Another manga aimed at the seinen audience is Oh My Goddess, published in "Afternoon". Mind you, I have forgotten the last time Belldandy raped and disembowelled Keiichi :eyespin:

As I said earlier, Yawara! was broadcasted right after (or before, I forgot) Ranma, and a case can be argued that Ranma is not as "all ages" friendly as Yawara! considering all the nudity, yet Ranma (manga) ran in a boys magazine.

Cloudy-Sky

2006-08-17, 15:14

http://animeigo.com/Art-JPG/yawara_banner.JPG

It's official Animeigo have licensed the very long 124 episode series Yawara.

Animeigo have not made a new aquisition since they licensed Macross in year 2000.

Anyone else happy?

wilsonx81

2006-08-17, 15:23

Yawara got Licensed O_O

http://www.animeigo.com/

xris

2006-08-17, 15:24

If this was the beginning of April it might make more sense :) I first thought it was a joke considering they just ran a Most Outrageously Stupid Yet Possibly Believable AnimEigo License Rumor Contest (http://www.animeondvd.com/interactive/contests/aodcontest.php?id=64).

I shall look forward to the boxsets since I was in the process of watching this classic.

gumbaloom

2006-08-17, 16:00

Thank god someone at long last licenses Yawra.

LIVE-EVIL AND FROTH-BITE DROPS YAWARA LIKE A STONE!!!!!!!!!!

-gumbaloom

durrem

2006-08-17, 16:20

Thank god someone at long last licenses Yawra.

LIVE-EVIL AND FROTH-BITE DROPS YAWARA LIKE A STONE!!!!!!!!!!

-gumbaloom

lol, thanks for the work subbing it :)

Cloudy-Sky

2006-08-17, 16:51

Yeh thanks gumbaloom for your effort and hard work!

It's only been a few hours but i can't wait for Animeigo to release more details, lol

tugatosmk

2006-08-17, 17:35

Oh, joy... Now I'll never be able to see the rest of the series... :(

EDIT:
I wonder what the sucess of the DVD sales in USA will be. It doesn't really fit the american market, does it? Unless it's for the fans. If it doesn't get big sales, the company won't buy more eps, and then what?

I just hope they do a stellar work on the translation like the fansubbers did. Then again, what are the odds of that?...

Still, a big thanks for the hard work put on by the subbers. :)

Spirit Chicken!

2006-08-17, 19:31

Animeigo is a pretty good R1 company...one of the originals. Those that actually wind up buying the sets to support it thusly will probably be satisfied with their purchase if Animeigo's past work indicates anything. Releasing it in sets will likely result in a pretty quick turnaround for the entire series...which is always nice. I suspect I'll pre-order it myself when the time draws closer unless something out and out weird happens.

The next big question is what L-E and company will divert all their Yawara folk towards...new shows or the other ones currently under their wing.

Unless of course, Animeigo somehow licenses Gallery Fake next week just to somehow screw with them. :)

durrem

2006-08-17, 19:41

Yeah, Animeigo is really good. I have their big KOR box set and their small You're Under Arrest and Macross box sets. I hope they do one really big box set like the KOR one (or two). The liner notes area really good as well.

wilsonx81

2006-08-17, 23:05

I'd get a preorder if I weren't unemployed at the moment ^^uu, but as soon as I get money, I'm getting that boxset ^^

I hope more old school series would get licensed. :D

Stxopher

2006-08-18, 07:09

Thank god someone at long last licenses Yawra.

LIVE-EVIL AND FROTH-BITE DROPS YAWARA LIKE A STONE!!!!!!!!!!

-gumbaloom
And I'm very grateful they did sub it. Never would have seen it enough to start liking it if they hadn't.

(Never really been bothered by a "dropped subbing due to licensing" sitiuation. If I liked it so much that anger or disappointment is the first reaction then that must mean that I think it's good enough to pay for.)

gumbaloom

2006-08-18, 08:07

I was a big part of the reason why Yawara progressed so far along with Mamo-chan. We motored through a lot of eps last year before we jointed with F-B and I'm glad to see people are so excited about getting Yawara on DVD as I am.

Being able to own the R2's was just an unobtainable pipe dream.

I'll be first in line to preorder from Animeigo when it opens up.

-gumbaloom

mamo-chan

2006-08-24, 16:52

I'll be 2nd in line :D

Joojoobees

2007-03-21, 19:37

It's official Animeigo have licensed the very long 124 episode series Yawara.

As of today (March 21, 2007):
The Animeigo website is still showing that same banner about coming in "early 2007", but there really is no more information. The PDF catalog has no entry for Yawara, but that same picture of the three cast members is included on the cover and under "New Acquisitions".

harukamae

2007-03-22, 17:19

I love this series! To each his own, but yeah, it was something different in a sports anime for me - you can overgeneralize it just like any anime, but I really enjoyed it and thought having a strong female lead in a sports anime really made for a different dynamic!

OK...so maybe I'm a total judo freak and a little biased but yeah very good series! I LOVE the first ending theme and hope AnimEigo puts out a soundtrack!

Speaking of which...I wish AnimEigo would update us on progress/a release date for the DVD!

Red Herring

2007-03-23, 04:30

I saw a the first ten eps of this a while back and I wanted more. Its cool that Animeigo is coming out with it but WHAT IS THE HOLD UP. It won't be early 2007 for much longer...

JediNight

2007-03-23, 04:40

Isn't this about the time that people chime in with "I thought Animeigo was dead?" again? =D

mdauben

2008-04-04, 23:53

AnimeIgo just opened up their pre-order for the first season of Yawara, and the more people the preorder the cheaper the set will be.

So go out and buy Yawara NOW!!! :nod:

textureheap

2008-04-17, 05:08

Yes! This is a seriously great series. But I do wonder if AnimeIgo will come through.

SidSavage

2008-10-30, 15:20

Yes! This is a seriously great series. But I do wonder if AnimeIgo will come through.

They pulled through, they been shipping out box sets since the 20th now.

http://www.animeigo.com/PRODUCTS/YAWARA.t

I got my box set last weekend. It looks great for an early 90's series. Great subtitles. Was almost like watching a fansub with all the annotations they have in each episode.