720https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/1023291847071772757/1038021225080950854/yawara.png Yawarahttps://anilist.co/anime/691/YAWARAafashionablejudogirl/ is an anime by Naoki Urasawahttps://anilist.co/staff/96867/NaokiUrasawa about a cute anime girl just trying to be a normal girl but is constantly pressured by everyone around her to be a Judo superstar from her family friends and general public. From the first episode we follow not only Yawaras struggle with her desires and passion in light of social pressure but the friends and family around her that wants her to shine brightly as a Judo superstar either from selfishness or genuine care. Despite ostensibly appearing as a sports anime this anime really has very little to do about sports. Judo is just used as an elaborate plot device or setting for Naoki Urasawa to tell a character driven story about the intertwined interest of Yawara and the various people in her world. The whole schtick of Yawara being a genius Judo practitioner can be easily be replaced with being a talented painter a beautiful model an amazing singer or hell even a tofu delivery driver. Whether this is a good thing or bad thing is subjective and completely up to each individual. For me at least I did not really care about Judo. I am happy with great storytelling good vibes and nuanced characters to root for. Or simply for the just banger music of OP and EDs. https://www..com/watch?v=ZVsN9K66t1Y What can I say? I am a sucker for retro Japanese city pop. The early episodes of Yawara were pretty good in its execution. Great comedy a likable protagonist and in general just casual light hearted fun. Naoki Urasawa definitely has great patience in his conveying exposition something I feel is a lost art in comparison in todays fast paced consumer culture. This patience and subtle exposition really paid off for me as I was hooked on the comedy but grew exponentially attached to the characters and curious about the backstory to the point despite having a real slow and weak middle section of the story I continue on watching at least a few episodes a week. The binge worthyness of this series starts of well in the beginning but gets bad in the middle only to peak towards the end. Here is a 100 scientifically accurate portrayal of my enjoyment/interest in watching Yawara 520https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/1023291847071772757/1038036457157296178/GRAPH01.png After the strong initial part of the series definitely felt great to watch because of the comedy but starts to get little slow in the middle where the story shifts on a more character stories. The character arcs in the middle section of the anime is pretty much a hit or miss either providing strong nuanced character development or basic and predictable character plots that felt unnecessary. But those strong narratives persist throughout the end and felt really satisfying to experience. ALMOST every character towards the very end is given a proper conclusion towards their arc especially our main girl Inokuma Yawarahttps://anilist.co/character/12301/YawaraInokuma and the hardworking boy Matsudahttps://anilist.co/character/7226/KousakuMatsuda. This scene here where he says what everyone was too ashamed to say just made me so damn happy. What he said? its a major spoiler and I wont say. 520https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/1023291847071772757/1038039549181427752/EPICMOMENT.jpeg The mad lad actually has the balls to be upfront about not only his feelings but the feelings of everyone supporting Inokuma Yawara. Everyone flocks around and supported Yawara for the most part from a place of genuine love and care wanting her to shine and succeed as a Judo superstar. But each and everyone of them fail to be honest about their deep rooted selfish intentions for doing so. And this subtle dishonesty is blatantly hidden from each and every main character except one joke character. that is why when Matsuda said that line to support Yawara I felt a burden being lifted from my conscious as he owned up to the dishonesty that not only everyone that supported Yawara was reluctant to face but also myself as a viewer. Definitely one of the greatest moments in writing I have experienced. 520https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/1023291847071772757/1038047886610530314/EPICMOMENT.jpeg Yawara is an anime about coming to accept who you really are and honoring the wishes of everyone that supports you. It is also an story about placing your dreams on others and supporting them regardless if they or you know what is best for them. An amazing story about self discovery forgiveness persistence and the positives of being stubborn and selfish every once in a while. Sure there are some really poorly aged jokes and writing conventions sure there is plenty of really weak and slow paced character arcs in the middle. But all of this shortcomings were totally made up by the rush of emotions that I feel whenever I hear its final ED and retrospectively look back at this series. And that is why I love Naoki Urasawas Yawara https://www..com/watch?v=HcZVrv3dgpM