The manga "Moiippon!", which is serialized in Weekly Shonen Champion, is a work that depicts high school girls who are devoted to judo. It is also attracting attention because the anime version will be broadcast in January 2023. It may be rare for a boys' magazine to have high school girls as the main characters, but it is a popular work that has a strong sports element and is said to be as interesting as a boys' manga. In this article, we would like to introduce the main characters that appear in this popular work!
Introduction: What kind of story is it?
Michi Sonoda, a third-year junior high school student who belonged to the judo club, had a strong desire to win by ippon. Naturally, she had planned to win her final tournament with a ippon and finish on a high note, but her opponent was stronger than any she had faced before, and she lost with a shimmy. After graduating from middle school and entering high school, Michi had planned to give up judo in high school and devote herself to romance and fun. However, when she meets the person who had defeated her in her final middle school match, her passion for judo is rekindled.
Michi Sonoda
The protagonist of this work, from the judo club at Aoba Nishi High School. Her hair is semi-short, but when competing, she uses a rubber band to hold the top of her head in place. She has a very cheerful personality and actively talks to everyone without discrimination. She is not very good at reading the atmosphere and sometimes makes people around her feel strange with her own comments, but she is very well liked because she honestly acknowledges and praises the good points of her opponents. She is small in the 48kg class, but is flexible, has a strong core, and has good reflexes. On the other hand, she is not good at ground fighting. She has a strong preference in matches, which is to win by submission. However, in her last match in junior high school, she lost by a chokehold. After entering high school, she will meet again with the opponent who beat her in her last match in junior high school.
Sanae Takigawa
She is the captain of the judo club at Aoba Nishi High School. She has glasses and braids, and has an intelligent atmosphere, and her weight class is 57kg. She has excellent grades and was second in her grade in junior high school, and even in high school, she always maintains her position at the top of her grade. For Michi, who is not good at studying, he is a tutor, and is one of the few people who can accurately point out Michi's comments without reading the atmosphere. His judo skills are relatively average, but he is good at drawing people into ground techniques. Although he is the captain of the judo club, he is weak to pressure because of his strong sense of responsibility, and he rushes to the toilet many times before tournament matches.
Towa Hiura
He was the opponent in Michi Sonoda's last match in junior high school, and he knocked Michi unconscious with a finishing move during the match. I felt sorry about that, but at the same time, I fell in love with Michi's attitude towards judo. After that, he turned down a recommendation from a private high school and enrolled in Aoba Nishi High School, the same school as Michi. Due to his strength, he is the backbone of Aoba Nishi, and although he is thin, he is physically strong. He is not good at talking and is shy, but when he puts on a judo uniform, his expression tightens up like a completely different person. He is a character with a gap between his usual self and when he is in a match.
Nagumo Anna
He is a person with thick eyebrows and a brown bob cut. He is Michi's classmate from elementary school and has been friends with her for the longest. He originally practiced kendo, and was skilled enough to compete in the national kendo tournament when he was in elementary school. She joined the kendo club in high school and soon became a regular, leading them to compete in the national tournament. However, she also wanted to play in a club with Michi, so she made up her mind and transferred to the judo club. She often calls herself a "child prodigy," but she never slacks off on her daily efforts, and she excels in both academics and athletics, truly excelling in both academics and sports. Although she had no experience in judo, she grew rapidly thanks to her natural physical ability and hard work.
Summary of Character Introduction
None of the characters have received a gifted education in judo or have special abilities. However, the match scenes are attractive even if they are not flashy, and the appeal of this work is that you can see the judo club in action in a life-size way. I'm looking forward to seeing how they act in the anime!
