【Obi o Gyuttone!!】A refreshing take on the Judo-themed manga series by Kawai Katsutoshi!

Obi o Gyuttone! (translated as “Tighten Your Black Belt Hard!”) is a sport manga series about the Japanese martial art of Judo. The manga was written and illustrated by Kawai Katsutoshi, and was one of the very first work that pave the way for Katsutoshi’s career. The series was serialized in Shounen Sunday Comics from 1988 to 1997, with a total of 16 volumes.

Obi o Gyuttone! follows a young boy named Kogawa Takumi and his friends, through their story of coming together to build a judo club in their high school. The group then make their way through many competitions and horn their skill to reach professional level. Obi o Gyuttone! is highly praised for its clean art style and refreshing approach to illustrate the sport of Judo in manga.

At the start of Obi o Gyuttone!, the main protagonist Kogawa Takumi got in an accident and his bike was completely destroyed by the incoming car. Luckily, Takumi got out unscratched.

He was in a hurry and crossed a red light, and because the driver was driving passed the speed limit, he could not stop in time.

When the two were arguing about who was in the wrong, a nearby policeman came to the scene. He quickly defused the situation. While assessing the damage caused to both sides, he found Takumi’s Judo uniform lying on the ground.

The policeman quickly understood why Takumi was in such a hurry – there was a Judo Dan advancement examination held that day and it was only 10 minutes until the examination start. He offered Takumi a ride to the examination hall in his police car.

At the sport center where the examination would be held, Takumi’s friend – Sugi, was talking with Saitou, another examinee that was waiting for Takumi to arrive. The two suddenly heard the screeching sound of the incoming police car. To their surprise, Takumi came out of the car and quickly rushed inside to change.

It was the first time Takumi entered such a high-level and well-organized exam, Sugi offered to take care of the registration process for him while Takumi changed into his Judo uniform.

In Japan, Judo has six grades for its practitioner, ranked in descending numerical order. Beginners were given the rank of sixth kyu (rank) and wore a light blue belt. Once they had passed an elementary level of instruction, they would adopt the white belt through fifth and forth kyu. For the remaining three grades: third kyu, second kyu and first kyu were all indicated with brown belts.

Sugi, Saito and Takumi were all wearing white belts that day. The examination they were taking was held once every 2 months, with the examinee having to win 10 points to advance to the next rank. However, if one was to achieve a “Batsugun” by winning 6 consecutive times, they would be immediately promoted to the next rank.

Honami and Sakurako were also at the sport center that day to cheer on Honami’s childhood friend, Takumi. When they were going to the examination hall, Sakurako and Honami spotted Takumi changing into his uniform.

Sakurako and Takumi quickly introduced themselves but were cut short by Sugi coming to take Takumi to his examination. Takumi’s opponent that day was Mitsumizo, a 180cm tall high school student who had beaten 5 of his opponents and was on his way to achieve a “Batsugun”. Takumi was to be his sixth and final opponent.

As he stepped into the ring, Takumi took a glance and noticed how gigantic his opponent was. In the midst of the crowd, Honami heard the news and rushed to where the match would take place out of worry for Takumi.

The match begun and Mitsumizo hastily went in for an offense move. He quickly scored a “Waza-ari” (the second highest score in Judo, awarded for throwing the opponent).

Honami could hardly hold back her worries for Takumi and let out a shout, telling him not to lose, which made the crowd went wild. In response to his friend, Takumi assured her that he would definitely win.

Mitsumizo got riled up by Takumi and his carefree attitude. He quickly rushed in again for attack as soon as the referee resumed the match. However, this time, Takumi held back his advance and promptly countered by attacking Mitsumizo’s foothold. Takumi threw Mitsumizo to the ground and scored a “Waza-ari” for himself.

Mitsumizo was on the offense again, and this time, he tried to lock both Takumi’s shoulder and arm. With this technique, Mitsumizo was sure that Takumi could not move nor escape from his grip. However, before Mitsumizo could take down Takumi, the seemingly “carefree” guy managed to break free of his clutch.

Takumi, now on the offense, attacked Mitsumizo’s foothold and made him lose his balance. He turned his back and got into position for a throw. Mitsumizo tried to block it by getting his foothold back, but Takumi intercepted his attempt and threw the gigantic Mitsumizo over his shoulder.

Will Takumi be able to win against Mitsumizo and advance to the next rank? Read the next chapter of Obi o Gyuttone! to find out!